What's new on IELTS with Fiona

I saw this advert on Facebook today and I had to re-read it.

What changes could you make so that it’s easier for the reader to understand?

'I have a lovely firm next shop soiled sofa...put a throw on it'

Suggested answer:

'I have a lovely, firm sofa from 'Next'. It's shop-soiled but you can cover it with a throw'.

Order of adjectives (a quick tip)

Don't worry too much about memorising the 'rules' about adjective order. The rules are often broken.

One easy thing to remember is that the 'opinion' adjective ('lovely') usually goes first.

You might want to use a comma (,) to separate confusing words.

Confusing words

• firm (adjective) = having a solid surface
• a firm (noun) = a business organisation
• next (adjective/adverb) = coming immediate after
• 'Next' = the name of a well-known furniture shop in the UK. To avoid confusion, use a capital 'N', and inverted commas.
• shop-soiled = 'soiled' (slightly damaged or dirty) after being in a shop for a long time. This Past Participle adjective DEFINITELY needs a hyphen (-) to avoid confusion. (US English = 'shop-worn').

ALSO

'a throw' is a kind of blanket that you can throw on a shop-soiled sofa to hide the stains.

Review the letter to a landlord about furniture.

Review Past Participle adjectives.