A compound adjective is when two or more adjectives are combined to modify a noun. In many instances, such compounds are hyphenated.
Questions tagged [compound-adjectives]
239 questions
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Phrasal adjective before/after noun. US/UK usage split?
Over on ELL I was a bit surprised by a (competent) native speaker of American English saying Books hard to find can be expensive is to my AmE ear no less idiomatic than Hard-to-find books can be expensive (to my BrE ear, the former sounds very…
FumbleFingers
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Which is correct, criterion- or criteria- in a compound adjective?
Which is correct "criterion-based analysis" or "criteria-based analysis?" I have seen "criterion-referenced testing" and also "criteria-based assessment." I understand "criteria" is the plural and I think this is a compound adjective. So, as an…
user260258
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1 answer
Can you put past participle adjectives in plural form?
My teacher said the word 'grownup' can become 'grownups' but if it's written as two separate words 'grown up' with no hyphen it changes into 'growns up'.
It doesn't sound right to me and I tried to google it but couldn't find anything useful.
Donna Ramzy
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3
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1 answer
Why "well-behaved" instead of "well-behaving"
According to the rules of compound adjectives, the Ving/Ved in "Adv-Ving/Ved" form depends on the original verb in a sentence. For example, "well-liked" comes from "somebody [who] is liked well." In this string, because the "liked" is a passive…
Steven
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3
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1 answer
Compound adjective + adjective + noun
I am having difficulty with this, or maybe my brain has just shutdown. Can you follow a compound adjective with another adjective and then the noun? Or does it always have to be adjective + compound adjective + noun (i.e. the compound adjective…
cors85
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3
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2 answers
Is there a name for somebody you’re jealous of?
I'm trying to describe King Saul's suicide out of fear of his rival David, of-whom-he-is-jealous. Is there a better way to describe this?
2
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1 answer
What about adjective "especial" for a person?
I read about the use of especial and special. But I'm not sure if applies the same when describing a person.
For instance, do you say:
I am an especial person.
or
I am a special person.
Mario
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How to construct the -ish form of a compund adjective?
Will it be yellow-greenish, yellowish-greenish or yellowish-green?
user363926
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vote
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noun + the + adjective
We learned in school that in English always "adjective +noun".But in "Cyrus the great" or "Alexander the great" is "noun+the+adjective". What is the name of the phrase? When could we use that phrase?
Jimm
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Using multiple compound adjectives in single sentence
Can one use multiple compound adjectives in a single sentence? Example:
Packed with energy-rich power, these batteries are specially formulated for power-hungry, high-drain devices.
CindyA
- 11
1
vote
1 answer
Regularly or Regular
Which one is correct:
10% off regular-priced items or 10% off regularly-priced items?
I see a number of American advertisements with the sentence.
Mokozi
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0
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When to hyphenate an adjective composed of an adjective followed by a noun
I find that many apps highlight phrases like "high level", insisting an hyphenation. The highlighting is distracting. Based on this page and this page, the hyphenation is needed when referring to "high-level information" but not for "high level of…
user2153235
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Does "easily-going" exist?
I'm studying English compound word patterns and "easily-going" is mentioned as an example of a compound adjective formed by an ADVERB + PRESENT PARTICIPLE. But it sounds too odd to me. I've done a quick search on the Internet and couldn't find any…
Arendar
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Which one is a correct way to write: a) two functions problems, or b) two-function problems?
I am wondering which of the following are grammatically correct?
Example sentence:
a) We evaluate two-function problems in the example.
b) We evaluate two functions problems in the example.
If none of the above, then any other suggestion? Thank…
learning
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0
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Two compound adjectives together
If we want to use compound adjectives like "result-oriented" and "client-oriented" together to describe a person, how do we use the hyphen?
A result and client-oriented person.
A result- and client-oriented person.
Another way.
Thank you very…
JCad
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