Describing Places- Adjective Word Order

Describing places adjective word order practice

Work in groups of two or three. Choose a different natural place from the list below. Each describe your (real or imaginary) natural place with one positive adjective, then take turns making your descriptions longer and longer by adding adjectives (also repeating the adjectives from the previous turns). When the teacher stops the game, vote on which of whose natural places sounds best. Then do the same with other natural places.

• beach/ coast
• campsite
• cave
• cliff
• cottage
• desert/ dunes
• estuary/ delta
• farm
• farm house
• field/ meadow
• forest/ wood/ copse
• glacier
• harbour/ bay/ port/ gulf
• hiking route
• hill/ mountain volcano
• island/ peninsular
• jungle
• lake/ pond/ lagoon
• lane
• mountain range
• path
• peak/ plateau
• plain
• rain forest
• river/ stream
• rock (formation)
• scenery/ view
• slope
• spring
• stately home/ mansion/ manor house
• tree/ bush/ hedgerow
• valley/ canyon
• village/ hamlet
• waterfall

Ask about any words above which you can’t understand, working together as a class to describe those things each time.

 

Suggested adjectives for describing natural places

Use any adjectives below which you haven’t used already to describe the places above.

• active
• amazing/ impressive/ incredible
• ancient
• authentic
• beautiful/ gorgeous/ stunning
• bubbling
• charming
• colourful
• crystal clear
• deep
• delightful
• dramatic
• enormous/ huge/ massive
• evergreen
• exotic
• extinct
• far-flung
• fertile
• gentle
• golden
• granite
• green/ emerald-green
• historic
• holy
• iconic
• impeccable/ perfect
• inaccessible
• interesting
• large
• lazy
• mysterious
• odd/ strange/ weird/ unusual/ unique
• old-fashioned
• organic
• panoramic
• picturesque/ photogenic
• pretty
• pure
• quaint
• red
• remote/ isolated
• roaring
• rolling
• sandy
• scenic
• slow moving
• snow-capped
• sun-drenched
• thatched
• tiny
• traditional
• tropical/ semi-tropical
• untamed
• untouched/ well-preserved
• white
• wide
• wild
• wind-swept
• world-famous

Ask about any words above which you don’t understand, working together to match them to natural places each time.

 

Adjective word order grammar presentation

What is the general rule for adjective word order?

Do factual adjectives or opinion adjectives go closer to the noun (= later in the sentence)?

Combine some adjectives from above with a noun, see which order seems most natural, and check that it matches the rule that you discussed above.

Do the same activity for towns or places in towns, making sure that you use the right adjective word order each time. 

 

Suggested things to describe in cities

… quarter/… area/… zone

amusement arcade

amusement park/ theme park

avenue

botanical garden

boutique/ designer shops

bridge

casino

castle/ palace

church/ cathedral/ mosque/ synagogue/ temple/ shrine

cinema/ movie theater

(capital) city

city walls

clock tower

department store

gate

high-rise building/ skyscraper

house/ mansion

main street/ high street

market/ supermarket

museum/ gallery

night life/ night club

office building

palace

park/ garden/ green space

parliament/ house of representatives/ senate

pavement/ sidewalk

port

riverside/ seafront/ promenade

shopping mall

shopping street

skyline

skyscraper district/ business district

square

station

suburbs/ outskirts

town centre/ city centre

town hall/ city hall

village/ hamlet

zoo/ safari park

 

Suggested adjectives for describing cities

ancient

buzzing/ busy/ crowded

charming

cheap/ reasonable

clean

colourful

compact

cosmopolitan

cutting edge

delightful

exciting

exotic

famous/ infamous

fashionable

historic

holy

large

lively

low-rise

modern

modernist

panoramic

pretty

safe

stylish

traditional

trendy

undiscovered

varied

welcoming/ friendly

world-famous

world-leading