Saint John’s Catholic School
ENGLISH CORE
Learning English as a Second Language
COMPOUND ADJECTIVES
They are formed when two or more adjectives are joined together to modify the same noun.
These terms should be hyphenated to avoid confusion or ambiguity.
They often appear before a noun and act as a single idea to describe something.
Examples: I saw a man-eating alligator.
The girl lives in an English-speaking country.
He lives with an old-fashioned parents.
FORMS OF COMPOUND ADJECTIVES
1. Number + Period of Time
a. I work an eight-hour day.
b. I had a three-week vacation.
c. There was a five-second delay.
2. Number + Noun
a. I had to print a ten-page
document.
b. You need to go down that one-
way street.
c. We live in a two- storey house.
3. Adjective + Noun
a. I made a last-minute decision to
stay home.
b. Most of their staff are on short-
term contracts.
c. We create high-quality
resources.
4. Adjective + Present Participle
a. It left a long-lasting taste in my
mouth.
b. She wore a pair of tight-fitting
jeans.
c. The quick-thinking staff got
everyone to safety.
5. Noun + Present Participle
a. I bought some mouth-watering
strawberries.
b. That was a record-breaking
jump.
c. I used to live in Spanish-
speaking country.
6. Noun + Adjective
a. We often go to the family-
friendly restaurant near our
house.
b. There is nothing better than an
ice-cold drink on a hot day.
c. Could you buy me some gluten-
free cookies please?
7. Noun + Past Participle “ed”
a. We should start using wind-
powered generators to cut
costs.
b. I added some sun-dried
tomatoes to the platter.
c. My new water-cooled gaming
PC is quieter than my old one.
8. Adverb + Past Participle
a. This classroom is a brightly-lit
room.
b. He is a well-known actor.
c. They live in a densely-populated
city.
9. Adjective + Past Participle
a. I found a long-forgotten
painting in the attic.
b. He doesn’t like to cook so he
buys ready-made meals.
c. They had a short-lived romance.