More than 30 examples of compound adjectives in English

by Elblogdeidiomas.es · Published 19/01/2022 · Updated 20/01/2022

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The English have great ability such as forming compound words, for them, it is a fairly simple process and it must be recognized that it is more widespread than in other languages. In English, the production of compound words can be of several kinds or types. In this article, we will talk about the creation of compound adjectives in English.

ÍNDICE DE CONTENIDOS

But … what is a compound word?
What are compound adjectives?
Creation guidelines
Unscripted
Examples of compound adjectives used in sentences
Finally, we present here examples with the following composition

But … what is a compound word?

For English, a compound word is a word with a new meaning made up of two or more different words. This new word can take several forms :

Single-word: tooth + brush = toothbrush
Multiple hyphenated words: dry + clean = dry-clean
Several single words: parking + ticket = parking ticket

What are compound adjectives?

A compound adjective is an adjective that contains two or more words. In general, we place a hyphen between two or more words (before a noun) when we want them to act as a single idea (adjective) that describes something: I live in an English-speaking country.

The adjectives that have followed this process are called compound adjectives, or compound adjectives. The final word that makes up the compound word is usually an adjective, a participle, or a gerund, as in these examples, respectively:

Homesick

Nostálgico.

Birght-eyed

Ojos brillantes.

Good-looking

Guapo.

Circumstances are often given for a prefixed noun whose function in the sentence is that of an adjective to appear:

She submitted a six-page document.

Envió un documento de seis páginas.

They bought a two-acre plot of land.

Compraron un terreno de dos acres.

New Call-to-action.

Nueva llamada a la acción

Do not forget that they can also settle for several words.

That is an all-too-common mistake.

Ese es un error muy común.

They have a two-year-old daughter.

Tienen una hija de dos años.

I didn’t like his matter-of-fact tone.

No me gustó su tono.

Creation guidelines

As a rule, when creating compound adjectives in English, the words will be joined by hyphens. This avoids the confusion that can arise when using several words as adjectives. For example:

If we write Jealousy is a green-eyed monster: it could create confusion as to whether we are referring to a green-eyed monster or a green-eyed monster. Naturally, in this case, we can deduce it by context and with some ease; however, we can and should avoid possible ambiguity easily with a hyphen.

In this example there is no possible ambiguity:

Jealousy is a green-eyed monster:

Los celos son un monstruo de ojos verdes

However, in this case, there is the ambiguity of whether we are talking about blue workers or blue-collar workers:

They are blue-collar workers:

They are blue-collar workers: this expression refers to those workers who are engaged in manual work. Historically it was used to refer to workers in factories or workshops.