形容詞的位置及其在句中的排列次序，都有語法準則可遁，不可隨心所欲，恣意安插。

在每個英語句子中，如果形容詞位置錯了或一句中幾個連續性的形容詞排列不正確的話，便會有錯誤，甚至意思也跟著改變。

一般上說，形容詞的位置是緊貼在被修飾的名詞前面;不然的話，就跟在接系動詞(linking verb)后面充當補足語(complement)。例如：

① Sam is an industrious professional designer.

② What is it that bulky box? May I know?

③ Homeless cats are seen wandering about the field.

④ David looks cheerful everyday.

⑤ Janet is being nasty today.

⑥ The sky suddenly turned dark.

①-③里的形容詞修飾它們后頭的名詞;④-⑥里的形容詞是補足語。

下面要討論的不是形容詞的正常位置，而是在各種特殊情況下所處的特殊位置。這些特殊情況，主要有下列七種：

㈠形容詞被其他詞語修飾時，便要跟在所修飾的名詞后面，如：

⑦ This hole←large←enough for a dog to pass through must be blocked up.

⑧ Don’t throw away that filing cabinet←big←enough to keep all the old documents.

㈡兩個意思相反的形容詞并用時，也是要跟在被修飾的名詞后面，如：

⑨ We should be fair to all people, big and small, young and old.

㈢形容詞修飾“anything, something, nothing, everything” 等代名詞時，也要在后頭出現，如：

⑩ There is nothing funny about it.

11. Something important has been found.

㈣在某些固定的詞語中，形容詞在名詞后頭出現，如：

12. Military offenders will be sued in the court-martial. (軍事法庭)

13. The sum total (總數) of his teaching experience is two years as a relief teacher in a secondary school.

14. Since time immemorial (太古時代), human beings have fought for survival.

㈤在某些口語中，形容詞也跟在被修飾的名詞之后，如：

15. On Sunday last (上星期日);16. On Monday next (下星期一);17. Volume one (第一卷);18. Chaper two (第二章); 19. Page three (第三頁)。

㈥有時，為了加強句子語氣，形容詞可以放在句首，如：

20. Brave he may be, but he is not a good soldier.

21. Old though Jane is, she is healthy and energetic.

㈦另一種強調方法，是把意義相吸的幾個形容詞貫串起來，放在名詞之后，如：

22. Once upon a time, there lived a grey-haired king, hale and hearty.

23. The editor was a scientiest, original, sagacious and inventive.