to modify a noun (a part-time employee, a high-speed chase).
As a general rule, the words in a compound adjective are hyphenated when they come before a noun (a well-known actor) but not when they come after (The actor is well known).
Also, compound adjectives formed with an adverb ending in -ly (such as rapidly changing) are usually not hyphenated.
Examples of compound adjectives
- This is a four-foot table.
- Daniella is a part-time worker.
- This is an all-too-common error.
- Beware of the green-eyed monster.
- He is a cold-blooded man.
- I love this brightly-lit room!
- Danny’s dog is well-behaved.
- You have to be open-minded about things.
__________________________________________________________________________
adj / adv + past participle
- 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.
Adj / adv / noun + present participle
- 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.
sources:
bbc.co.uk
myenglishpages.com
exercises:
Exercises on compound adjectives (1)
Exercises on compound adjectives (2)
elt.oup.com
http://quizlet.com/2558468/scatter
quia.com/game
