Sign inCompound Adjectives for intermediate learners
Compound adjectives are used as one single adjective. They function as the head of the sentence. In this lesson, we will learn all about them.
What Are Compound Adjectives?
Compound adjectives are made up of two or more words that work together to modify a noun or pronoun. Typically, a hyphen is used to join the two words together.
Compound Adjectives: Function
Compound adjectives mainly modify a noun or pronoun and give more information about it. They are commonly used as subject and object complements. Take a look at the example below:
I was a
He has a
Compound Adjectives: Types
Based on their written form, compound adjectives can be categorized into two groups:
- Closed Compound Adjectives
- Hyphenated Compound Adjectives
She has been
As you can see, the words do not need any hyphens.
They moved to a
Compound Adjectives: Structure
Compound adjectives can have different structures. Here, we are going to discuss some of the most commonly-used structures for forming compound adjectives. Let us take a look at the list below:
- Noun + Adjective
- Adverb + Past Participle
- Noun + Past Participle
Noun + Adjective
A common structure for forming compound adjectives is to combine a noun with an adjective. Take a look at the following examples:
Johnny Depp is a
They want to live in a
Adverb + Past Participle
Another structure commonly used to form compound adjectives is created by adding specific adverbs to past participles. Study the following examples:
The
The company's problems were due to
Warning!
Keep in mind that not all adverbs can be used to form compound adjectives. To make sure that a combination of words forms a compound adjective, check to see if it can function as a subject complement or can be modified by an adverb. If it cannot, then it is not a compound adjective. Look at the following example:
It was a
As you can see, this is not a compound adjective.
Noun + Past Participle
Another way to form compound adjectives is to add a noun to a past participle. In this case, the combination is always hyphenated. Study the following examples carefully:
Look at the
The
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Descriptive Adjectives
Comparative and Superlative Adjectives
Attributive and Predicative Adjectives
Proper Adjectives
