一般上说，形容词的位置是紧贴在被修饰的名词前面;不然的话，就跟在接系动词(linking verb)后面充当补足语(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里的形容词修饰它们后头的名词;④-⑥里的形容词是补足语。
下面要讨论的不是形容词的正常位置，而是在各种特殊情况下所处的特殊位置。这些特殊情况，主要有下列七种：
㈠形容词被其他词语修饰时，便要跟在所修饰的名词后面，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两个意思相反的形容词并用时，也是要跟在被修饰的名词后面，如：
⑨ We should be fair to all people, big and small, young and old.
㈢形容词修饰“anything, something, nothing, everything” 等代名词时，也要在后头出现，如：
⑩ There is nothing funny about it.
11. Something important has been found.
㈣在某些固定的词语中，形容词在名词后头出现，如：
12. Military offenders will be sued in the court-martial. (军事法庭)
13. The sum total (总数) of his teaching experience is two years as a relief teacher in a secondary school.
14. Since time immemorial (太古时代), human beings have fought for survival.
㈤在某些口语中，形容词也跟在被修饰的名词之后，如：
15. On Sunday last (上星期日);16. On Monday next (下星期一);17. Volume one (卷);18. Chaper two (第二章); 19. Page three (第三页)。
㈥有时，为了加强句子语气，形容词可以放在句首，如：
20. Brave he may be, but he is not a good soldier.
21. Old though Jane is, she is healthy and energetic.
㈦另一种强调方法，是把意义相吸的几个形容词贯串起来，放在名词之后，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.
