Compound Adjectives

COMPOUND What are compound
ADJECTIVES adjectives?
Have you ever noticed some English words with
hyphens between them?
For example:
These are called compound

adjectives
An adjective that has two or a well-known author

more words. an English-speaking country
a three-hour movie
a part-time job
a middle-aged woman
COMPOUND ADJECTIVES WITH NUMBERS
three-second
There’s a three-second delay.
ten-minute
Let’s take a ten-minute break.
two-hour
She attended a two-hour seminar. COMMON ERROR: ADDING -S
five-day
He went on a five-day trip. • Don’t use -s at the end of compound
adjectives with numbers:
six-week
We took a six-week course.
one-month Let’s take a ten-minutes break.
The penalty for cheating is a one-month suspension.
Let’s take a ten-minute break.
two-year
I have a two-year contract with my cell phone provider.
four-year-old
I have a four-year-old son.
twelve-storey
We live in a twelve-storey apartment building
twenty-page
He handed me a twenty-page report.
ADJECTIVE / ADVERB + PAST
PARTICIPLE
well-educated
narrow-minded = not open to different ideas/thoughts A lot of well-educated people are still having trouble finding jobs.
I can’t stand narrow-minded people who are intolerant of new ideas.
highly-respected
well-behaved Our speaker tonight is a highly-respected scholar.
They have three well-behaved children.
brightly-lit
old-fashioned We live on a brightly-lit street in the city center.
We had lunch in an old-fashioned restaurant with décor from the
absent-minded = forgetful, not thinking
1950s.
His absent-minded comment hurt his sister’s feelings.
densely-populated strong-willed = strong desires, stubborn, does not desist
This densely-populated area has the highest crime rates in the She’s a strong-willed woman who won’t stop until she gets what she
country. wants.
short-haired quick-witted = intelligent, clever, fast at thinking and discovering things
He was dancing with a short-haired woman. The quick-witted detective solved the crime before anyone else had a clue.
widely-recognized middle-aged = around 40-50 years old
She’s a widely-recognized expert in technology. A lot of middle-aged men are dissatisfied with their lives.
high-spirited = with a lot of energy kind-hearted = friendly
The students gave a high-spirited musical performance. A kind-hearted stranger helped us find the train station.
ADJECTIVE / ADVERB / NOUN +
PRESENT PARTICIPLE (-ING)
good-looking = attractive, beautiful, handsome thought-provoking
Who’s that good-looking guy over there? It was a thought-provoking novel.
long-lasting slow-moving
This long-lasting makeup will keep you looking I was stuck in slow-moving traffic for over an hour.
lovely day and night.
far-reaching
record-breaking The new law will have far-reaching effects in the
The athlete’s record-breaking performance won economy.
him the gold medal.
time-saving
never-ending These time-saving techniques will help you work
Learning a language seems to be a never-ending more efficiently.
process.
forward-thinking
mouth-watering Some forward-thinking politicians are proposing
There was a variety of mouth-watering desserts at reforms to the educational system
the wedding reception.
USING COMPOUND ADJECTIVES THAT
CONTAIN SUPERLATIVES
Additionally, compound adjectives that But when a compound adjective

begin with superlatives always need containing a superlative comes after its
hyphens when they’re used before the noun, it does not need a hyphen:
nouns they’re describing.
•When I filled my tank, the fuel I chose
•It turned out to be a very low-stress job. was high octane.
•Maria was better-suited to the role than •We didn’t want to wait to eat, so we
Ryan. chose a restaurant that was lesser
known than others in the
neighborhood.
OTHER COMPOUND
ADJECTIVES
ice-cold
There’s nothing better than drinking an ice-cold
lemonade on a hot summer day.
last-minute
I hate it when my boss wants to make last-minute
changes to a publication.
full-length
The director produced his first full-length movie in
1998.
world-famous
We had dinner at a world-famous Italian restaurant.
fat-free
These fat-free cookies are delicious!
WHEN A COMPOUND ADJECTIVE
STARTS WITH AN ADVERB
When a compound adjective starts with an adverb, it doesn’t get a hyphen. Here are a few
examples of compound adjectives that start with adverbs and thus aren’t joined by hyphens:
•Neatly pressed
•Overly affectionate
•Warmly received
WHEN TO USE A HYPHEN?
Use a hyphen when the compound adjective comes BEFORE the noun it modifies,
but not when it comes AFTER the noun.
This is a world-famous museum.
This museum is world famous.
We walked into a brightly-lit room.
We walked into a room that was brightly lit.
It was quite a thought-provoking book.
The book was quite thought provoking.
DIFFERENTIATING COMPOUND
ADJECTIVES FROM SINGLE ADJECTIVES
With other compound adjectives, a See the difference?

hyphen is necessary to communicate
that the two (or more) words are In the first sentence, we picture her
working together as a single driving a car adorned with yellow
compound adjective. Let’s go back to stripes. In the second, we see a car that’s
an example we used earlier, yellow- yellow and decorated with stripes of
striped. another color. Also notice how in the
second sentence, yellow and striped are
Compare these two sentences: separated by a comma. That’s because
according to the Royal Order of
•She drove a yellow-striped car. Adjectives, yellow and striped both
•She drove a yellow, striped car. describe the car’s design and thus, need
this distinction.
COMPOUND ADJECTIVES IN ACTION
Although most compound adjectives are made up of two words, they can contain more. Check out these multi-word
compound adjectives in action:=
• I hired a web designer to create a one-of-a-kind website for my brand.
• We won tickets to the new, never-before-seen-in-this-city 3D art exhibit!
You can write a sentence that contains single and compound adjectives to describe the same noun. Building on an
example we used earlier, here’s one sentence that does just that:
• The sauna was steamy and dimly lit.
You can also use multiple compound adjectives to describe a noun. When you do this, separate the compound
adjectives—and any single adjectives you use—with commas. Look at these examples:
• We live in one of the most densely populated, highest-taxed, and most ethnically diverse states in the country.
• She belted out a show-stopping, gut-wrenching solo at the end of the scene.
Compound adjectives can go anywhere in a sentence. There’s no rule that one has to come before the noun it
describes or that it even must appear before or after it consecutively. Look at where the compound adjectives are
positioned in these sentences:
• “Fast-paced” is perhaps the best way to describe their last baseball game.
• I want pizza for lunch: deep-dish, extra cheesy, lightly sauced pizza with lots of fresh garlic.
Types of compound
adjectives

Compound Adjectives

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COMPOUND What are compound

An adjective that has two or a well-known author

Additionally, compound adjectives that But when a compound adjective

With other compound adjectives, a See the difference?

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