LoginCompound Adjectives For Intermediate learners
Understand how to use compound adjectives like 'high-quality' and 'long-term'. Practical examples and exercises are included for easy learning.
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 part-time waitress at that café.
He has a good-natured friend.
Compound Adjectives: Types
Based on their written form, compound adjectives can be categorized into two groups:
Closed Compound Adjectives
She has been homesick ever since her arrival in Greece.
As you can see, the words do not need any hyphens.
They moved to a four-bedroom house.
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
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 world-famous actor.
They want to live in a cruelty-free world.
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 well-written book received critical acclaim.
The company's problems were due to deep-seated issues.
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 remarkably interesting event.
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 mouth-watering view of the jungle!
The Irish-speaking lady hated me.
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