THE COMPOUND ADJECTIVE

THE COMPOUND ADJECTIVE

What is compound adjective?

Compound adjectives are adjectives that are made up of two or more words usually with hyphens (-) between them.

Forming Compound Adjectives

Compound adjectives can be formed as follows:

Adjective + Past participle

narrow-minded

He was too narrow-minded and prejudiced and bigoted.

high-spirited

Sophie’s a high-spirited young girl.

old-fashioned

An old-fashioned bell tinkled as he pushed open the door.

short-haired

He was dancing with a short-haired woman.

absent-minded

The actress was so absent-minded that she fluffed her lines.

strong-willed

She’s very strong-willed and if she’s decided to leave school, nothing will stop her.

quick-witted

He proved himself a quick-witted negotiator.

kind-hearted

Everyone says he is a kind-hearted man.

Adverb + Past Participle

well-behaved

He is an obedient and well-behaved child.

well-educated

I come from a well-educated family.

densely-populated

The Republic of Malta is a small and densely-populated island nation in southern Europe.

widely-recognized

She’s a widely-recognized expert in technology.

highly-respected

Our speaker tonight is a highly-respected scholar.

brightly-lit

He walked into the brightly-lit kitchen, opened the fridge, took out a bottle of water.

Noun + Past Participle

sun-baked

We strolled along the sun-baked streets of Naples.

child-wanted

I wanted to buy my daughter the most child-wanted toy.

middle-aged

I noticed two middle-aged passengers.

Noun + Present Participle

English-speaking

United Kingdom is an English-speaking country.

time-saving

We spend a fortune on the latest time-saving gadgets.

record-breaking

The show had a record-breaking run in the London theatre.

mouth-watering

The waitress came round with a tray of mouth-watering cream cakes.

thought-provoking

The film had a thought-provoking message.

Adjective + Present Participle

good-looking

He was tall and quite good-looking.

long-lasting

The impact of divorce on children can be long-lasting.

slow-moving

He was stuck in a line of slow-moving traffic.

far-reaching

Our findings have far-reaching consequences for researchers.

Adverb + Present Participle

never-ending

Writing a dictionary is a never-ending task.

forward-thinking

Some forward-thinking politicians are proposing reforms to the educational system.

Noun + Adjective

world-famous

His books are world-famous.

ice-cold

I’d love an ice-cold beer.

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.

Noun + Noun

part-time

We have 20 part-time members of staff.

Adjective + Adjective

fat-free

You can put it over frozen yogurt, fat-free ice cream, whatever you like.

Adjectives Ending in -ED and -ING

Adjectives that End in -ING

In general, adjectives that end in -ing are used to describe things and situations. They have an active meaning. They describe someone that is doing something (acting) or something that is causing something to us, making us feel in a certain way.

Adjectives that End in -ED

Adjectives that end in -ed are used to describe how people feel. They have a passive meaning. They describe someone ‘receiving‘ some kind of action, made to feel in a certain.

Examples of Adjectives Ending in -ED and -ING

Space science is very interesting to her.

She is interested in space science.

The -ing adjective tells you about something (space science) . The -ed adjective tells you how somebody feels about something (She is interested in space science because it is very interesting).

Other examples:

I was disappointed with the movie. I expected it to be much better. (I felt disappointed.)

The movie was disappointing. I expected it to be much better. (It was a disappointing movie.)

We were very shocked when we heard the news. (We felt shocked.)

The news was shocking. (It was a shocking news.)

To make it clearer, let’s have a look at the following examples:

A crying baby

A running man

A sleeping cat

They all “do” something: the baby is crying, the man is running, the cat is sleeping. The –ing adjectives have an active meaning: crying, running and sleeping are used to describe an action.

Now look at these examples with adjectives ending in –ed:

A smashed window.

An interested audience

A confused man

An excited child

These adjectives are used with a passive meaning. Something has been done to the object (the window) or something/someone has caused people to be in a certain state (the audience, the man, the child) or feel in a certain way.

The adjectives smashed, interested, confused, excited describe states or feelings as a result of something done: the window has been smashed, the audience has been interested, the man has been confused, the child has been excited.