To study the effect of side chain and ring substitutions on the solid state geometry of amides of the general formulae C 6 H 5 NH-CO-CX 3 and 2,4,6-X 3 C 6 H 2 NH-CO-CH 3−y X y (X = CH 3 or Cl and y = 0,1,2, 3), crystal structures of N-(phenyl)-2,2,2-trimethyl-acetamide, C 6 - H 5 NH-CO-C(CH 3 ) 3 (PTMA); N-(2,4,6-trimethylphenyl)-2,2,2-trimethyl-acetamide, 2,4,6-(CH 3 ) 3 - C 6 H 2 NH-CO-C(CH 3 ) 3 (TMPTMA) and N-(2,4,6-trimethylphenyl)-2,2,2-trichloro-acetamide, 2,4, 6-(CH 3 ) 3 C 6 H 2 NH-CO-CCl 3 (TMPTCA) have been determined. The data are analyzed along with those of N-(phenyl)-acetamide, C 6 H 5 NH-CO-CH 3 ; N-(phenyl)-2,2,2-trichloro-acetamide, C 6 - H 5 NH-CO-CCl 3 ; N-(2,4,6-trimethylphenyl)-acetamide, 2,4,6-(CH 3 ) 3 C 6 H 2 NH-CO-CH 3 ; N-(2,4,6- trimethylphenyl)-2-chloro-acetamide, 2,4,6-(CH 3 ) 3 C 6 H 2 NH-CO-CH 2 Cl; N-(2,4,6-trimethylphenyl)- 2,2-dichloro-acetamide, 2,4,6-(CH 3 ) 3 C 6 H 2 NH-CO-CHCl 2 ; N-(2,4,6-trimethylphenyl)-2-methyl- acetamide, 2,4,6-(CH 3 ) 3 C 6 H 2 NH-CO-CH 2 CH 3 ; N-(2,4,6-trimethylphenyl)-2,2-dimethyl-acetamide, 2,4,6-(CH 3 ) 3 C 6 H 2 NH-CO-CH(CH 3 ) 2 ; N-(2,4,6-trichlorophenyl)-acetamide, 2,4,6-Cl 3 C 6 H 2 - NH-CO-CH 3 ; N-(2,4,6-trichlorophenyl)-2-chloro-acetamide, 2,4,6-Cl 3 C 6 H 2 NH-CO-CH 2 Cl; N-(2, 4,6-trichlorophenyl)-2,2-dichloro-acetamide, 2,4,6-Cl 3 C 6 H 2 NH-CO-CHCl 2 and N-(2,4,6-trichlorophenyl)- 2,2,2-trichloro-acetamide, 2,4,6-Cl 3 C 6 H 2 NH-CO-CCl 3 . The crystallographic system, space group, formula units and lattice constants in Å are: PTMA: orthorhombic, Pca2 1 , Z = 4, a = 9.969(3), b = 10.642(3), c = 10.172(3); TMPTMA: tetragonal, P4 1 2 1 2, Z = 8, a = 12.708(3), b = 12.708(3), c = 17.354(4); TMPTCA: monoclinic, P2 1 /n, Z = 8, a = 12.255(4), b = 17.904(6), c = 12.619(4), β = 95.23(2)◦. PTMA and TMPTMA have 1 molecule each in their asymmetric units, but TMPTMA shows disorder. TMPTCA has 2 molecules in its asymmetric unit. The comparison of the bond parameters reveals that there are significant changes in the structural parameters with ring and side chain substitutions.