COMPOUND ADJECTIVES Compound adjectives are made of two or more words.

ds. They can be written as two separate words or with a hyphen between them. They are a productive feature of English, which means that their use is not so restricted as in other grammatical categories new combinations are always possible and made up by people. Classification of Compound Adjectives Qualitative (describing a certain quality) e.g. absent-minded, kind-hearted, two-faced Classifying (belonging to a certain class or category) e.g. bullet-proof, tax-free, home-made Colour e.g. ice-blue, snow-white, bottle-green Compound adjectives borrowed from other languages e.g. avant-garde, per capita Compound adjectives can be made up of more than two words e.g. a down-to-earth approach life-and-death decisions a free-and-easy relationship Most frequent patterns ADJECTIVE / ADVERB / NOUN + PRESENT PARTICIPLE e.g. good-looking, never-ending, labour-saving ADJECTIVE/ADVERB/NOUN + PAST PARTICIPLE e.g. low-paid, well-behaved, sun-dried NOUN + ADJECTIVE e.g. trouble-free, world-famous ADJECTIVE+NOUN e.g. full-length, last-minute NUMBER + NOUN e.g. twenty-page, forty-mile HYPHENS The best way to decide whether to use a hyphen with a compound adjective is to look up the term in the latest dictionary, as the usage can change over time. There are also a few rules that can help: Compound adjectives are usually hyphenated when used as modifiers (when they precede a noun).

Using hyphens in these cases often helps avoid ambiguity e.g. a man eating shark vs. a man-eating shark a red wine bottle vs. a red-wine bottle When a compound adjective follows a noun, hyphens are not used e.g. Brown-eyed girl BUT The girl was brown eyed. Exceptions to the first rule (using a hyphen when a comp.adj. precedes a N): Do not use a hyphen after an adverb ending in ly e.g. freshly painted wall Do not use a hyphen in a compound using a comparative or superlative e. g. better sounding speakers, oldest surviving member