The Secret Order of Adjectives in English

Khan Academy

This educational video unveils the hidden rules governing the order of adjectives in English sentences. While native speakers naturally intuit that "old white French house" sounds correct while "French old white house" does not, this lesson explicitly breaks down the hierarchy of categories—from quantity and opinion to origin and material—that dictates this sequence. The narrator introduces a memorable and humorous mnemonic device, "DOSA-SCOMP," to help learners recall the correct order. The video covers key grammatical concepts including the specific categorization of adjectives (Determiner, Opinion, Size, Age, Shape, Color, Origin, Material, Purpose) and the distinction between cumulative adjectives (which follow a set order without commas) and coordinate adjectives (which come from the same category and require commas). It uses clear, handwritten visual examples to demonstrate how these rules apply to complex noun phrases. For educators, this resource provides an engaging tool for teaching syntax and descriptive writing. It is particularly valuable for English Language Learners (ELLs) who cannot rely on "what sounds right" and need concrete rules to master sentence structure. The lesson encourages students to play with language by constructing absurdly long descriptive phrases, making the dry mechanics of grammar fun and accessible.