COMPOUND ADJECTIVES

We form compound adjectives by using: adjective + noun +ed , or adjective + verb + ing
combination.

More examples:
My mother has a kind heart. = My mother is kind-hearted.
John has got blue eyes. = John is blue-eyed.
This centre forms athletes. = This centre is an athlete-forming centre.

1. Sue is a girl with fair hair = Sue is a girl.

2. I saw a man with one arm = I saw a man

3. He writes with his left hand = He is a man

4. Jim has got blue eyes = Jim is a boy.

5. That table has three legs = It is a table.

6. Loïc is a boy with brown eyes = Loïc is a boy

7. Clara writes with her right hand = Clara is a girl.

8. He is a boy with dark hair = He is a boy

1. Sue is a girl with fair hair = Sue is a fair haired girl.

2. I saw a man with one arm = I saw a one armed man

3. He writes with his left hand = He is a left handed man

4. Jim has got blue eyes = Jim is a blue eyed boy.

5. That table has three legs = It is a three legged table.

6. Loïc is a boy with brown eyes = Loïc is a brown eyed boy

7. Clara writes with her right hand = Clara is a right handed girl.

8. He is a boy with dark hair = He is a dark haired boy

Words like densely-populated are
compound adjectives and they are
made up of two or more words,
normally with hyphens between them.
Something that is dense contains a lot
of things or people in a small area.
Thus a densely-populated town or
city is one with a high population count
within the city boundaries. A densely-
wooded hill would be one that is
difficult to get through because the
trees are so close together.

adj / adv + past participle

Adjective or adverb plus past participle

is one of the most common patterns for
forming compound adjectives. Some
common examples would include:

cold- kind- old- open-

blooded hearted fashioned minded
brightly- deeply- densely- well-
lit rooted populated behaved
• Most animals are warm-
blooded but all reptiles are
cold-blooded.

• He was a cold-blooded
murderer and showed no
emotion of any kind.

• She lived in an old-fashioned

house, but was kind-hearted
and open-minded.

• Nevertheless, she held deeply-

rooted beliefs about the
sanctity of marriage.

• The dimly- / brightly-lit

streets in our town encourage /
discourage burglars.

Note that adverb / past participle

combinations when they are used with
a copular verb like be or seem, and
come after the noun they modify, are
not hyphenated:

• The streets in our town are

dimly / brightly lit and
encourage / discourage
burglars.
There are sometimes many possible
combinations, e.g. Broad-minded

, narrow-minded, absent-minded,
strong-minded, as well as open-
minded. It is partly a matter of
knowing which adjectives or adverbs
collocate or go with which participles
and nouns. We have brightly-lit
streets, but also brightly-coloured
dresses or swimsuits or sweets.

Compound adjectives are

regarded as productive
features of English which
means that use is not so
restricted as it is in many
categories of grammar. New
combinations are always
possible, so if you think
something may work, try it out
with your English-speaking
friends, Tokmokje, and see if it
is meaningful. For example,
brightly-patterned curtains
illustrates the productive nature
of this combination, as would
brightly-shining stars, and
here we come to a new pattern,
which is also very common:

Adj / adv / noun + present

participle

Here are some common

examples:

good- hard- free-

looking wearing standing
far- long- never-
reaching lasting ending
labour- mouth- record-
saving watering breaking
• The good-looking chef
was dressed in hard-
wearing clothing and
sitting in front of a free-
standing cooker.

• The dishes he had

prepared with all the
labour-saving devices
at his disposal were all
mouth-watering.
 • We signed a long-
lasting agreement for
his services which we
hoped would be never-
ending.

Other common patterns for

compound adjectives include:

• noun + past participle:

shop-soiled, tongue-tied,
sun-dried,
• noun + adjective:
trouble-free, lead-free,
world-famous,
• adj + noun: deep-sea,
full-length, last-minute,
• number + noun: two-
door, twenty-page, forty-
mile.

• When they refused to

exchange the shop-
soiled item, I was
tongue-tied and didn't
know what to say.

• If you want trouble-free

motoring, make sure
you use only lead-free
petrol.

• The sun-dried
tomatoes that we sell
are world-famous.

• She was wearing a full-

length dress, quite
unsuitable for deep-sea
diving.

• The forty-mile journey

in the two-door, open-
top convertible was ill-
advised in such
inclement weather.

Try out other combinations of

these patterns for yourselves,
e.g. four-door saloon, five-
page document, well-
advised, etc. Make a note of
compound adjectives that you
come across in your reading and
note the way they are used with
particular nouns.
How are compound adjectives formed?
Compound adjectives can be formed as follows:

• Adverb-past participle / noun + ed

a well-known writer
a brightly-lit room
deeply-rooted traditions
a well-mannered girl
• Adjective-present participle (verb + ing)
a good-looking boy
a free-standing tower
• Noun-past participle
a tongue-tied boy
a sun-dried fruit
• Adjective-past participle / noun + ed
a short-sighted man
a long-haired lady
• Noun- adjective
a world-famous singer
• Adjective- noun
a last minute solution
deep-sea diving
• Noun-noun
a part-time job