Determiners (the, an, that...)
Observation (pretty, nice, awesome...)
Size and Shape (big, huge, great(usually)...)
Age (new, young, fourteen years old, antique...)
Color (blue, black, pale...)
Origin (French, American, Asian...)
Material (woolen, jade, metallic)
Qualifier -- this one can seem tricky. It's an adjective that has become part of a set phrase with the noun. Like "book cover" or "rocking chair". Those have to stay right next to the noun or it messes up the phrase (a rocking blue chair has a wobbly leg; a blue rocking chair is doing what it should). A "great dragon" is very dangerous and amazing, not just big.
There are also a few English phrases with postmodifiers, like 'mother-in-law' or 'attorney general', but they are few, and you learn them one at a time.
It isn't really logical, and every language has, more or less, its own order, but English is more firm in its adherence to its set order than most. It just sounds right to us!
There are also a few English phrases with postmodifiers, like 'mother-in-law' or 'attorney general', but they are few, and you learn them one at a time.
It isn't really logical, and every language has, more or less, its own order, but English is more firm in its adherence to its set order than most. It just sounds right to us!