Agreement And Position

In English, adjectives do not change form for gender, but they do show number agreement when formed with suffixes like -s or when using determiner phrases. Adjectives themselves are usually invariable.

Adjectives typically appear before the noun they modify in attributive position, or after a linking verb in predicative position. Placement can shift emphasis or meaning.

Attributive adjectives come directly before the noun and give an immediate quality. Multiple adjectives generally follow a conventional order when stacked.

Predicative adjectives follow a linking verb like be and describe the subject or object. They cannot be separated out attributively without changing sentence structure.

Some adjectives change meaning depending on whether they are placed before the noun or after it in predicative position. Position can signal an inherent versus a temporary quality.

When several adjectives modify the same noun, they generally follow a standard order based on type: opinion, size, age, shape, color, origin, material, purpose. Deviating from this order sounds unnatural.

Adjectives in English do not change for gender, usually stay the same in number, and position—attributive versus predicative—affects meaning. Learn the typical adjective order to sound natural.