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What's in the lost and found? The order of adjectives for describing things

A2 students learn the order of adjectives before a noun in this ESL lesson plan on lost things: a small old green wool cap.

Grammar
Opinion, size, age, shape, color, origin, material and purpose before the noun (a nice small old brown leather wallet), a or an by the first word, and no commas between groups.
Topic
The Lost and Found Office at Grand Central Terminal in New York City, with words such as wallet, purse, leather and photo ID.
Activities
The show's post from the office, a dialogue at the counter, a viewer's challenge, self-checking drills, a chat to report a lost backpack and open boxes for describing things.

What's inside

  1. Chapter 1Oops, I lost it!

    • PictureUnlock
    • Spin the wheel and answerSpin the wheelUnlock
    • Study the words: the lost and foundVocabularyTry it
    • Look at the pictures and chooseChoose by pictureUnlock

  2. Chapter 2Let's read: lost on the train!

    • Look at the photo: Grand Central TerminalPictureUnlock
    • Read the show's postReal-life documentTry it
    • Read and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock
    • Read again and choose the right answerQuizUnlock

  3. Chapter 3Let's listen: Marco's green cap

    • Listen to Nora and CalebListeningTry it
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and choose the right answerQuizUnlock
    • Listen to the Viewer's QuestionListeningUnlock
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock

  4. Chapter 4Grammar: a small old green cap

    • Study the scheme: adjective orderGrammar schemeTry it
    • Choose the correct optionChoose the optionTry it
    • Fill in the gaps: put the words in the correct orderFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Put the words in the correct orderUnjumbleUnlock
    • Choose the right descriptionQuizUnlock

  5. Chapter 5Let's talk: report a lost item

    • Choose the right replies: report a lost backpackChatTry it
    • Open a box and answer: describe it!Open the boxUnlock

  6. Chapter 6Homework

    • Find the matching pairs: words and meaningsMemory gameUnlock
    • Unscramble the wordsAnagramUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps with the words from the lessonFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Sort the describing words into the correct columnsSort into columnsUnlock
    • Fill in the table: the lost and found tagsFill in the tableUnlock
    • Match the clerk's questions and the answersMatchUnlock
    • Put the words in the correct order: the lost and found boardUnjumbleUnlock
    • Drag the words into the gaps: Willa's lost-item formDrag and dropUnlock
    • Choose the correct option: Marco's postChoose the optionUnlock

30 exercises in 6 chapters. Start a 7-day free trial to open all of them, copy any part into your own lessons, and teach the lesson live.

Vocabulary

10 words and phrases from the lesson, each with a picture and audio in edio.

+7 more with pictures and audio in the lessonMore words

  • wallet
  • purse
  • leather
  • cymbal
  • coat rack
  • photo ID
  • whispering gallery

Grammar: the order of adjectives

Two or three adjectives before a noun follow a fixed order in English: a small old green wool cap sounds right, and a green wool old small cap doesn't. Describing lost things so that a clerk can find them, learners line adjectives up from opinion to material, choose a or an by the first word and leave out commas between groups.

A small old green wool cap

Two or three adjectives before a noun? Put them in this order.

Eight groups in a fixed order

The full order runs opinion, size, age, shape, color, origin, material, purpose, and then the noun: a big round table, new black running shoes. Purpose sits right before the noun, so sleeping in a big red sleeping bag comes last.

OrderGroupIt tells you…Examples
1opinionwhat you thinknice, beautiful, strange
2sizehow big or longbig, small, tiny, long
3agehow oldold, new, young
4shapewhat shaperound, square, flat
5colorwhat colorgreen, brown, pink
6originwhere it's fromAmerican, Texan
7materialleather? wool? metal?leather, wool, cotton, metal
8purposewhat it's forsleeping (bag), running (shoes)
→the nounthe thingcap, wallet, umbrella

The five groups you use most

Most descriptions need opinion, size, age, color and material: a nice small old brown leather wallet. Two or three adjectives are usual, as in a new yellow jacket or a beautiful old train. Size comes before age: a small old cap, not an old small cap.

The five groups you use most

opinionsizeagecolormaterialnoun

a nice small old brown leather wallet

a beautiful long new red wool scarf

At the lost and found

  • Marco lost a small old green wool cap.
  • Nora has a new yellow jacket.
  • Look at that beautiful old train!
  • Big Blue is an old blue truck.
  • We have a big round table.
  • I want new black running shoes.

A or an, and no commas

A or an depends on the first word after it: an old cap, but a small old cap. Commas stay out between the groups: a small old green cap. A comma goes only between two opinion words: a nice, friendly clerk.

a or an? And commas?

a or an goes with the first word after it: an old cap, but a small old cap. Don't put commas between the groups: a small old green cap (not: a small, old, green cap). A comma goes only between two opinion words: a nice, friendly clerk.

Common slips

Most mistakes swap two groups: a leather brown wallet should be a brown leather wallet, and a red big umbrella should be a big red umbrella. An adjective never stands alone after its noun: say a brown wallet or The wallet is brown, not a wallet brown.

  • a leather brown wallet

    a brown leather wallet

    color before material

  • a red big umbrella

    a big red umbrella

    size before color

  • an old small phone

    a small old phone

    size before age, and a before small

  • a wallet brown

    a brown wallet / The wallet is brown.

    adjectives go before the noun, or after is

More lessons on this grammar: Adjectives and adverbs lessons and exercises

Try the adjective order exercises

Try them yourself: these are the same exercises your students do in edio.

More exercises

What's in the lesson

  • 15 auto-checked exercises
  • 6 games
  • 1 real-life document
  • 1 grammar scheme
  • 1 set of word cards
  • 2 audio clips
  • 2 pictures
  • 2 transcripts

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

  • put two or three adjectives before a noun in the right order: a big black umbrella, a long red wool scarf
  • choose a or an by the first adjective: an old cap, a small old cap
  • describe a thing after the noun with be: The wallet is brown. It's small and old.
  • report a lost item and answer a clerk's questions: I lost my backpack on a train. It's a big old black backpack.

The third lesson of Everyday heroes (English A2.2 · Curious Minds, unit 3) turns from verbs to adjectives. It builds on lesson 15 of English A1.1 · Hello, World, where one adjective went before a noun or after be (a cozy room, My room is cozy), and now lines up two or three. At the office, a lost item comes back only after a detailed description, so the order of every adjective counts.

Students spin a wheel of questions about lost keys and bags, then meet the ten new words on picture cards with audio, from lose and describe to cymbal and whispering gallery. The reading is the show's post from the Lost and Found Office at Grand Central Terminal, where food goes in the trash right away and coats hang on a very tall rack. A dialogue at the counter (AI-voiced) shows a lost cap described before it comes back, and a viewer's voice message brings a whispering challenge. After the scheme come four self-checking drills, from picking the right string of adjectives to word order. To speak, students report a lost backpack to the clerk in a chat and take turns at open boxes of describing tasks.

Homework is nine self-checking tasks: word games, describing words to sort into size, age, color and material, lost-and-found tags to complete, a clerk's questions to match, board notes to order, words to drag into a lost-item form and a post with options.

Grammar:
adjective order · opinion, size, age, color, material · a / an before adjectives
Topic:
Grand Central Terminal · New York City · lost and found · trains · commuters · whispering gallery · Curious Minds

Teaching tips

  • Empty your bag on the desk: hold up a wallet, a scarf or a pen, and students describe each one with two or three adjectives in order, such as a small black leather wallet.
  • Write the eight groups as column heads before the scheme and let students sort nice, tiny, old, green and wool into them; then read the columns from left to right.
  • Pause the dialogue at the wrong cap: when the clerk offers a big green cotton one, students say what is wrong with it before Nora does: It's small and old. And it's wool!
  • Play the clerk before the chat: ask Can you describe it? about an imaginary lost phone, and accept an answer only when its adjectives come in the right order.

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The whole course: English A2.2 · Curious Minds

32 lessons that pick up where English A2.1 ends, in simple American English, from the present perfect to used to, have to and relative clauses. Eight units cover nature, tech at home, heroes, healthy habits, fashion, school, animals and traditions. Pictures and definitions replace translations, and the practice exercises check themselves.See the course

  1. Unit 1 Wonders of nature

    the present perfect with ever and never, been to, superlatives with I've ever, articles with place names

    1. Lesson 1Have you ever seen the sky dance?The present perfect for experiences
    2. Lesson 2Have you been to the Grand Canyon?Present perfect vs past simple
    3. Lesson 3The longest cave in the worldSuperlatives with the present perfect
    4. Lesson 4The first national parkArticles with place names

  2. Unit 2 Clever tech at home

    the present perfect with just, already and yet, phrasal verbs, subject and object questions

    1. Lesson 5The chocolate bar that meltedThe present perfect with just
    2. Lesson 6Has my lunch arrived yet?Already and yet with the present perfect
    3. Lesson 7Turn it on, turn it offPhrasal verbs with it and them
    4. Lesson 8The girl who tests waterSubject and object questions

  3. Unit 3 Everyday heroes

    the past continuous, when and while, adjective order, story linkers

    1. Lesson 9When the pager beepsThe past continuous with was and were
    2. Lesson 10The man who planted apple treesPast continuous and past simple with when and while
    3. Lesson 11 · you're hereWhat's in the lost and found?The order of adjectives
    4. Lesson 12The dogs who saved NomeStory linkers

  4. Unit 4 Healthy and happy habits

    will for predictions, the zero and first conditionals, so do I and neither do I

    1. Lesson 13Why does school start later in California?Will and won't for predictions, decisions and offers
    2. Lesson 14Brain freeze!The zero conditional for facts
    3. Lesson 15Doctor's orders: go to the park!The first conditional with if and will
    4. Lesson 16Walking in the mall at 7 a.m.Agreeing with So do I and Neither do I

  5. Unit 5 Style through time

    used to, didn't use to, made of and made from, still and not anymore

    1. Lesson 17Why did everyone use to wear a hat?Used to for past habits and states
    2. Lesson 18Jeans used to be work clothesUsed to in negatives and questions
    3. Lesson 19Quilts made from old clothesMade of, made from and made by
    4. Lesson 20Cowboy boots, still made by handStill, not anymore and no longer

  6. Unit 6 School in America

    have to, must and mustn't, be allowed to, had to

    1. Lesson 21Do you have to wear a uniform?Have to and don't have to for rules
    2. Lesson 22Stop for the yellow bus!Must, mustn't and don't have to
    3. Lesson 23A class trip to the SmithsonianBe allowed to and can for permission
    4. Lesson 24One room, one teacher, every gradeHad to and didn't have to for past duties

  7. Unit 7 Amazing animals

    relative clauses with which, that, who and where, look and sound + adjective, adjectives with prepositions

    1. Lesson 25The bird that copies car alarmsRelative clauses with which and that
    2. Lesson 26Alligators and crocodiles togetherWho, which, that and where in relative clauses
    3. Lesson 27Sailors thought it was a mermaidLook, sound and feel as linking verbs
    4. Lesson 28Beagles at the airportAdjectives with prepositions

  8. Unit 8 Traditions we love

    invitations, will vs going to, so and such, one and ones

    1. Lesson 29Come to our cookout!Making, accepting and refusing invitations
    2. Lesson 30Is spring going to come early?Will vs going to for the future
    3. Lesson 31From turnips to pumpkinsSo and such for emphasis
    4. Lesson 32Giant balloons over ManhattanOne and ones in place of a noun

Questions about this lesson

What is the order of adjectives in English?
The usual order of adjectives is opinion, size, age, shape, color, origin, material, purpose, then the noun. So it's a nice small old brown leather wallet and a big round table, never a brown nice old wallet. Most real descriptions use only two or three groups: a big black umbrella, a long red wool scarf. The A2 lesson What's in the lost and found? on edio.ai sets all eight groups out in one table.
How do you remember adjective order?
The easy way is to learn the five common groups in order: opinion, size, age, color, material. A beautiful long new red wool scarf runs through all five. To place a new word, ask what it tells you: what you think, how big, how old, what color, what it's made of. The rarer groups slot in between or at the end: a big round table, running shoes.
What is the royal order of adjectives?
The royal order of adjectives is a name for the standard order before a noun: opinion, size, age, shape, color, origin, material, purpose. It explains why a big old American car sounds natural and an American old big car doesn't. Some lists put shape before age, one more reason to keep everyday descriptions to two or three adjectives: a small black metal camera.
How do you describe objects in English?
Describe an object by size, color and material, in that order: It's a small brown leather wallet. Add age or an opinion when it helps (a big old black backpack, a beautiful new red coat), or put the adjectives after be: The wallet is brown. It's small and old. Then give details only the owner knows: There's a library book inside.
How do you report a lost item in English?
Say what you lost, where and when, then describe it: I lost my backpack on a train this morning. It's a big old black backpack. Add what's inside and where your name is: There's a long gray wool scarf inside. My name is on a small white card. In What's in the lost and found?, an A2 lesson on edio.ai, students report a backpack this way in a chat with a clerk.
Is it "a leather brown wallet" or "a brown leather wallet"?
It's a brown leather wallet, with color before material. The same order gives a black leather purse, a green wool cap and a long white cotton scarf. Material stays next to the noun unless a purpose word comes between them: a big red sleeping bag. The first grammar drill in What's in the lost and found? on edio.ai offers leather black as a wrong option.
Is it "an old small phone" or "a small old phone"?
It's a small old phone: size comes first, then age, and a or an depends on the first word after it. So it's an old cap but a small old cap, and an orange tent but a tiny orange tent. The sound decides: an goes before a vowel sound, a before any other, whatever noun comes at the end.
Do you put commas between adjectives before a noun?
Usually not: no comma between adjectives of different kinds. Write a small old green cap, not a small, old, green cap, and a long red wool scarf. Two opinion words are the exception: a nice, friendly clerk. After be, join two adjectives with and instead: It's small and old.
What does "lost and found" mean?
In American English, a lost and found is a place for forgotten things, kept until their owners come back: I left my umbrella at school. Let's ask at the lost and found. Schools and train stations often have one; British English usually says lost property. The office at Grand Central Terminal in New York City takes in about 20,000 items a year (MTA, 2026), from phones and wallets to a cymbal.
How do I teach adjective order to A2 students?
Start with real objects and two adjectives: a bag, a scarf, a pen. Students name size and color first (a big black bag), then add age or material (a big old black bag, a big black leather bag). Show all eight groups as a row of boxes, but drill the five common ones. In What's in the lost and found? on edio.ai, describing lost things for a clerk gives every adjective a purpose.
What's a good game for practicing the order of adjectives?
Describe and guess is a simple one: a student describes something in the room with two or three adjectives in order (a big round white clock), and the class guesses it. For a harder round, whisper a description such as a small old green cap to a partner, who says it back in the same order. Both ideas are open-box prompts in this lesson's speaking chapter.
Are there interactive exercises for adjective order?
Yes: dropdown drills that mark every pick reveal at once whether an order works. This page plays four parts of What's in the lost and found?, an A2 lesson on edio.ai, with no sign-up: the show's post from Grand Central's lost and found, a dialogue at the counter, a drill where students pick between strings like a small old green and an old small green, and a chat reporting a lost backpack. The rest is locked.
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