English Langauage Grammar Rule you didn't know you knew

[Muttley]

There is a proper order for adjectives before a noun

So we would all say "I've just seen a great green dragon" but we wouldn't say "I've just seen a green great dragon"

My Greek Fat Big Wedding - wrong!

Leather walking brown boots - wrong!

There is an order that we use adjectives and as natural English speakers we simply know them as "sounding right" but the rule is: opinion → size → age → shape → colour → origin → material → purpose. There are some exceptions like "Big Bad Wolf" but this obeys another order we know without being taught it...

Vowel order, I then A then O so we get chit chat, singsong, flip flop and hip-hop not chat chit, songsing, flop flip or hop hip.

I was listening to something on R4 and this came up. Well I thought it was interesting!

 

[r00fie1]

Youse talkin to us lyke?
Wotsup mi duck?
Now then marra.

 

[Sheriff_John_Bunnell_ret]

Sounds like a fat big load of b***ks to me.

 

[Capybara]

That there are three 'a's in 'langauage'.

 

[Colgates_shaving_foam]

You could almost learn yourself not to speak proper I reckon, if you thought too much about it like.

 

[Laughing]

Gerund mate! Watch your gerund.

 

[Muttley]

That there are three 'a's in 'langauage'.

Saids its about grammar not speeling...

 

[rkangel]

When I wa an english teacher I used to use this if I hadn't properly planned a lesson, or if I had to cover someone's class. It was best with advanced students who thought they really knew and understood the language, but then couldn't get their heads round there not being an easy explanation. Sorted me out many a time.