🗺️ ORDER OF ADJECTIVES GRAMMAR MAP

OSASCOMP MNEMONIC FORMULA

Opinion → Size → Age → Shape → Color → Origin → Material → Purpose

(+) Positive a beautiful big old round red Italian leather handbag

(-) Negative not a red big handbag

(?) Question Which adjective comes first?

PRACTICAL APPLICATION (2-3 Adjectives max)

In real speech, native speakers rarely use more than 2 or 3 adjectives.

(+) Positive a lovely small black cat, an expensive new Japanese car

(-) Negative a Japanese new car

(?) Question Is it a small black cat?

1. Form & Structure

The OSASCOMP Breakdown Table

O - Opinion (Ý kiến): beautiful, lovely, delicious, terrible, expensive
S - Size (Kích cỡ): big, small, huge, tiny, long, short
A - Age (Tuổi tác): new, old, young, ancient, modern
S - Shape (Hình dáng): round, square, oval, flat, rectangular
C - Color (Màu sắc): red, blue, black, white, green
O - Origin (Nguồn gốc): Vietnamese, Japanese, Italian, American
M - Material (Chất liệu): wooden, leather, plastic, silk, metal
P - Purpose (Mục đích): sleeping (bag), sports (car), running (shoes)

Example / Question	Positive / Short Answer	Negative / Short Answer
Opinion + Size	a beautiful big garden	Not: a big beautiful garden
Size + Color	a small red ball	Not: a red small ball
Color + Origin	black Italian shoes	Not: Italian black shoes

2. Key Rules & Formation

Rule	Base / Standard Form	Applied Form
Opinion First Principle	Your personal opinion (beautiful, nice, terrible) ALWAYS comes BEFORE factual adjectives (size, color, origin)!	a nice wooden table (NOT "a wooden nice table")

3. Practical Usage & Examples

1. Describing Objects and People precisely

Arrange multiple descriptive words in correct natural sequence.

She was wearing a lovely red silk dress.
He drives an expensive new German car.

4. Signal Words & Usage Context

OSASCOMPOpinionSizeAgeShapeColorOriginMaterialPurpose

Formula Mnemonic:

Ông (Opinion) Sáu (Size) Ăn (Age) Súp (Shape) Cua (Color) Ốc (Origin) Mèo (Material) Phải (Purpose)

💡 Common Mistakes & Memory Tips

Mistake 1: Placing color before size or opinion
❌ Incorrect: a black big dog
✓ Correct: a big black dog.
Note: Size (big) comes before Color (black).

❓ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1: Do we put commas between adjectives?

Commas are used between adjectives of the same category (e.g., "a long, dark road"), but NOT between different OSASCOMP categories (e.g., "a beautiful big red house").

1. Form & Structure

The OSASCOMP Breakdown Table

O - Opinion (Ý kiến): beautiful, lovely, delicious, terrible, expensive

S - Size (Kích cỡ): big, small, huge, tiny, long, short

A - Age (Tuổi tác): new, old, young, ancient, modern

S - Shape (Hình dáng): round, square, oval, flat, rectangular

C - Color (Màu sắc): red, blue, black, white, green

O - Origin (Nguồn gốc): Vietnamese, Japanese, Italian, American

M - Material (Chất liệu): wooden, leather, plastic, silk, metal

P - Purpose (Mục đích): sleeping (bag), sports (car), running (shoes)

Example / Question	Positive / Short Answer	Negative / Short Answer
Opinion + Size	a beautiful big garden	Not: a big beautiful garden
Size + Color	a small red ball	Not: a red small ball
Color + Origin	black Italian shoes	Not: Italian black shoes

2. Key Rules & Formation

Rule	Base / Standard Form	Applied Form
Opinion First Principle	Your personal opinion (beautiful, nice, terrible) ALWAYS comes BEFORE factual adjectives (size, color, origin)!	a nice wooden table (NOT "a wooden nice table")