English Grammar
Compound Adjectives
How compound adjectives are formed.
A compound adjective is an adjective that is made up of two or more individual words.
Compound adjectives are formed from a variety of combinations.
When they precede a noun they are usually hyphenated, expecially to avoid any ambiguity.
Examples: It was a badly-lit hall.
→ The hall was badly lit.
We saw a man eating alligator. → We saw a man-eating alligator.
| ADJECTIVE + NOUN | NOUN + ADJECTIVE |
| full-length, blue-collar, last-minute, deep-sea, short-term - A full-length portrait of the King greeted us. - He was popular with blue-collar workers. - Her participation was a last-minute decision. - He's keen on deep-sea diving. - We signed a short-term contract with him.. |
smoke-free, ice-cold, world-famous, user-friendly, water-resistant - They looked for a smoke-free area. - We were served ice-cold drinks. - He became a world-famous actor. - She built a user-friendly website. - He bought himself a water-resistant watch. |
| ADJECTIVE + PRESENT PARTICIPLE | NOUN + PRESENT PARTICIPLE |
| good-looking, far-reaching, quick-thinking, long-lasting, easy-going - The war will have far-reaching effects. - A quick-thinking witness saved the child. - The drug has long-lasting effects. - He's a friendly, easy-going type of person. - A fast-talking journalist interviewed the actor. |
coal-mining, eye-opening, mouth-watering, time-saving, record-breaking - They served mouth-watering food. - I found some time-saving ideas in the book. - He grew up in a coal-mining town. - For me it was an eye-opening experience. - It was a record-breaking performance. |
| ADJECTIVE+ PAST PARTICIPLE | NOUN + PAST PARTICIPLE |
| old-fashioned, narrow-minded, cold-blooded, level-headed,
red-haired - She wore old-fashioned clothes. - My grandfather was a narrow-minded man. - Snakes are cold-blooded animals. - Ask a level-headed person for advice. - My absent-minded father left the door open! - We could hear high-pitched laughter. |
sun-dried, middle-aged, wind-powered, tree-lined, shop-soiled - I love sun-dried tomatoes. - The book attracted middle-aged readers. - They drove down a tree-lined avenue. - We use wind-powered generators. - Shop-soiled goods are reduced in price. - The only witness was a tongue-tied boy. |
| ADVERB + PAST PARTICIPLE | NOUN + NOUN |
| deeply-rooted, well-prepared, highly-respected, badly-behaved;
densely-populated - These people hold deeply-rooted beliefs. - The writer is a highly-respected scholar. - The leader gave a well-prepared speech. - In came a group of badly-behaved children. - Calcutta is a densely-populated city. |
apple-pie, part-time, coffee-table, bullet-proof, counter-top - Pour the mixture into an apple-pie tin. - Bullet-proof vests contain very strong fibers. - Some of us are part-time workers. - Coffee-table books are often expensive. - It was stylish in a low-key type of way. |
| IDIOMATIC PHRASES | NUMBER + NOUN (*singular noun) |
| middle-of-the-road, off-the-rack, over-the-counter, all-too-common
- He's a middle-of-the-road entertainer. - She bought over-the-counter medicine. - Off-the-rack suits come in standard sizes. - It is an all-too-common mistake. - He designed a one-of-a-kind website. - It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. |
ten-minute, five-day, twenty-storey,
two-way, three-week, five-star, ten-foot - We took a ten-minute break. - I work a five-day week. - The bank sent me a ten-page document. - Our office is in a twenty-storey building. - We stayed in a five-star hotel. - They watched a three-hour film/movie. |
MORE EXAMPLES OF COMPOUND ADJECTIVES:
| brightly-lit bullet-proof deep-fried duty-free easy-to-use fast-paced four-wheel green-eyed gut-wrenching high-quality highly-strung ill-equiped ill-mannered interest-free kind-hearted |
long-awaited long-forgotten low-key mass-produced mouth-watering much-needed nerve-racking never-ending old-fashioned open-minded poorly-paid quick-witted record-breaking second-rate short-lived |
short-sighted sky-blue slow-moving soft-spoken so-called strong-willed ten-year-old tightly-wound top-secret two-faced well-balanced well-known well-planned white-collar widely-recognized |
See also: repeated adjectives
and double-comparatives
back to grammar