Basics. Basic Adjectives: Placement and Order: correct answers
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English adjectives add color and detail to your sentences, but they must be placed correctly to sound natural. Usually, they go right before the noun they describe (like a hot coffee) or after a linking verb (like the weather is cold). Unlike in some other languages, English adjectives also never change their form to become plural—you say fresh apples, never freshs apples.
In this challenge, you will help a wizard, a detective, a real estate agent, and a food critic by choosing the correct describing words. You will practice placing adjectives before nouns, using them predicatively after the verb to be, and applying standard adjective order when using more than one describing word (such as a cute brown dog or a big black truck). You will also identify the correct invariant forms when describing plural nouns.
You'll work through 12 questions featuring a mix of single-choice, multi-choice, drop-down, and drag-and-drop formats.
Try the quiz to check your knowledge!
Correct answers
Question 1
Drag the correct words to complete the cafe review.
The soup here is very cold, and the music is too loud! I just want a glass of cold water and some quiet time.
The soup here is very cold, and the music is too loud! I just want a glass of cold water and some quiet time.
Adjectives can come after the verb "to be" to describe the subject (the soup is cold, the music is loud).
Adjectives also come before nouns to describe them (cold water, not "water cold").
Question 2
Help the tired college student order their morning drink at the campus café. Choose the correct phrase to complete the sentence.
"Good morning! I would like a _____, please."
The correct answer is hot coffee.
In English, adjectives (like "hot") usually come before the noun they describe (like "coffee"). We say "a hot coffee," not "a coffee hot."
Question 3
Drag the correct words to complete the lost pet poster.
Have you seen my cat? She is a small black cat. She has beautiful green eyes. Please call me if you see her, because she is very friendly!
Have you seen my cat? She is a small black cat. She has beautiful green eyes. Please call me if you see her, because she is very friendly!
We use the base adjective form (small, not the noun "smallness").
In English, adjectives always come before the noun they describe (green eyes, not "eyes green").
Adjectives can also describe the subject after the verb "is" (she is friendly).
Question 4
strong bag
In English, adjectives almost always come before the noun they describe (a strong bag, not a bag strong).
fast
When using the verb "to be" (is, am, are), the adjective comes after the verb to describe the subject. We just need the adjective "fast" here, not an adverb or a repeated noun.
high
Just like "fast," the adjective "high" comes after the "to be" verb (is) to describe the price.
Question 5
The correct answers are We need ten fresh apples. and Please buy some sweet strawberries.
In English, adjectives are incredibly relaxed—they never change their form! Unlike in many other languages, English adjectives do not add an "-s" when they describe a plural noun. One fresh apple, ten fresh apples!
Question 6
cold soup
Adjectives go before the noun they describe. It is cold (adjective) soup (noun).
rude
After the verb "was" (a form of "to be"), we just need the adjective "rude" to describe the waiter.
bad review
The adjective "bad" goes before the singular noun "review." We know it must be singular because of the word "a" before the blank!
Question 7
Drag the correct words to complete the email to a friend about a new apartment.
My new apartment is very beautiful. It has a big kitchen where I can cook. I love it here because the neighbors are always quiet.
My new apartment is very beautiful. It has a big kitchen where I can cook. I love it here because the neighbors are always quiet.
Use the adjective beautiful after "is" to describe the apartment (not the noun "beauty" or the adverb "beautifully").
Adjectives go before nouns, so we say big kitchen.
Use the adjective quiet after "are" to describe the neighbors.
Question 8
Read the postcard from a disappointed tourist and choose the right words to finish their sentence.
"We are staying inside the hotel today because the weather _____."
The correct answer is is very cold.
Adjectives can also go after the verb "to be" (am, is, are). The correct order is subject ("the weather") + verb ("is") + intensifier ("very") + adjective ("cold").
Question 9
The correct answers are I am looking for a cute brown dog. and He is a friendly black dog.
When we use more than one adjective before a noun, we follow a specific order! Opinion adjectives (like cute or friendly) almost always come before fact adjectives, such as color (brown, black).
Also, remember that adjectives always go before the noun, never after!
Question 10
Complete the girl's excited text message about her new pet. Select the grammatically correct option.
"Look at this photo! I just adopted a _____ dog from the animal shelter."
The correct answer is cute brown.
When we use more than one adjective before a noun, opinion adjectives (like "cute") come before fact adjectives, like color (like "brown"). So, it is a "cute brown dog."
Question 11
big black
When using more than one adjective, size usually comes before color! So it is a big (size) black (color) truck.
long red
Size or length comes before color. We say long (size) red (color) scarf.
small brown
Size comes before color again! It is a small (size) brown (color) suitcase.
Question 12
The correct answers are The house is big and beautiful. and It is a big, beautiful house.
In English, adjectives have two main positions: directly before the noun they describe ("a big house"), or after the verb "to be" ("The house is big").
We never put the adjective directly after the noun ("a house big"), and we don't use articles like "a" or "an" right before an adjective if there is no noun following it ("The house is a big").