complete the statement from the options lettered A-D The manager met the ______ who came visiting last week

Analyze the question

This tests the order of adjectives before a noun. When several adjectives come before a noun, English follows a set order.

Explain the concept

The usual order is: Opinion → Size → Age → Shape → Colour → Origin → Material → Purpose → Noun

You can remember it as OSASCOMP: Opinion, Size, Age, Shape, Colour, Origin, Material, Purpose.

Solution

Classify each adjective in the question:

• good-looking = Opinion (a judgement or quality)
• tall = Size
• dark = Colour (describing complexion)
• American = Origin (nationality)

Arranged in order: good-looking (opinion) → tall (size) → dark (colour) → American (origin)

This gives: The manager met the good-looking tall dark American who came visiting last week.

Check the options

• A. dark tall good-looking American: colour, size, opinion. Wrong order.
• B. good-looking tall dark American: opinion, size, colour, origin. Correct.
• C. Tall dark American good-looking: origin comes before opinion. Wrong.
• D. American dark tall good-looking: origin comes first. Wrong.

Tip

Nationality or origin always sits right next to the noun (e.g. "American" before the person). Opinion words such as beautiful, lovely, good-looking always come first. Eliminating options by these two rules alone will often lead you to the answer quickly.