Headway

Academic Skills/ Level

2
Compound Adjectives

Instructor:
Wasan H. Ibrahim, PhD
 Compound Nouns:

Compound adjectives are adjectives that are

made up of two or more words usually with
hyphens (-) between them.
Noun + Adjective

– ice-cold
I’d love an ice-cold drink.
– smoke-free
This is a smoke-free restaurant.
Adjective + Noun

– full-length
A full-length portrait of the Queen hung on the wall.
– last-minute
It was a last-minute decision.
Adjective + Present Participle

– long-lasting
The impact of divorce on children can be long-lasting.
– slow-moving
He was stuck in a line of slow-moving traffic.
Adjective + Past participle

– high-spirited
Sama is a high-spirited young girl.
– old-fashioned
An old-fashioned bell tinkled as he pushed open the door.
Adverb + Present Participle

– never-ending
Writing a dictionary is a never-ending task.
Adverb + Past Participle

– well-educated
I come from a well-educated family.
– highly-respected
Our speaker tonight is a highly-respected scholar.
 highly-qualified

remote-controlled
voice-powered

small-scale
Well-written poorly-written
high-speed

long-term

hard-working
self-motivated
Thank you