I.E.S Ben Arabi______________________________________Dpto Inglés.

COMPOUND ADJECTIVES
A compound adjective is an adjective which is made up of two parts and is usually written with a
hyphen ,e.g. well-dressed,never-ending and shocking-pink.It´s meaning is usually clear from the
two words it combines.The second part of the compound adjective is usually a past participle.

■A large number of compound adjectives describe personal appearance.Here is a rather far-

fetched description of a person starting from the head down.You can vary the compound by
changing one part of the adjective: curly-haired, straight-haired, red-haired, long-haired........

Tom was a curly-haired,sun-tanned,blue-eyed,rosy-cheeked,thin-lipped,broad-

shouldered,left-handed,slim-hipped,long-legged,flat-footed young man,wearing an
open-necked shirt,brand-new,tight-fitting jeans and open-toed sandals.

■Another set of compound adjectives describes a person´s character.Here we have a description of

a girl:
Melisa was an absent-minded (forgetful),easy-going (relaxed),good-
tempered( cheerful),warm-hearted(kind),and quick-witted (intelligent) if perhaps a
little big-headed (proud of herself) ,two-faced (hypocritical),self-centered (egoistical)
at times.

■Another group of compound adjectives are those having a preposition as a second part.Some of
them are:

a broken-down bus, a hard-up student ,worn-out shoes,drive-in movie,built-up area...

■Here are some other useful compound adjectives:

air-conditioned room long-distance runner duty-free store

record-breaking athlete sugar-free chewing-gum bullet-proof vest
hand-made bag remote-controlled TV set second-class wagon
top-secret-agent last-minute changes part-time job
world-famous writter