Compound Adjectives in English

Have you ever noticed some English words with hyphens between them? For example:

a well-known author
an English-speaking country
a three-hour movie
a part-time job
a middle-aged woman

These are called compound adjectives – meaning an adjective that has two or more words.
In this lesson, you’re going to learn some of the most compound adjectives with example sentences.

Compound Adjectives with Numbers

three-second
There’s a three-second delay.
ten-minute
Let’s take a ten-minute break.
two-hour
She attended a two-hour seminar.
five-day
He went on a five-day trip.
six-week
We took a six-week course.
one-month
The penalty for cheating is a one-month suspension.
two-year
I have a two-year contract with my cell phone provider.
four-year-old
I have a four-year-old son.
twelve-storey
We live in a twelve-storey apartment building
twenty-page
He handed me a twenty-page report.

Common Error: adding -S

Don’t use -s at the end of compound adjectives with numbers:

Let’s take a ten-minutes break.
Let’s take a ten-minute break.

Adjective / Adverb + Past Participle

narrow-minded = not open to different ideas/thoughts
I can’t stand narrow-minded people who are intolerant of new ideas.
well-behaved
They have three well-behaved children.
old-fashioned
We had lunch in an old-fashioned restaurant with décor from the 1950s.
densely-populated
This densely-populated area has the highest crime rates in the country.
short-haired
He was dancing with a short-haired woman.
widely-recognized
She’s a widely-recognized expert in technology.
high-spirited = with a lot of energy
The students gave a high-spirited musical performance.
well-educated
A lot of well-educated people are still having trouble finding jobs.
highly-respected
Our speaker tonight is a highly-respected scholar.
brightly-lit
We live on a brightly-lit street in the city center.
absent-minded = forgetful, not thinking
His absent-minded comment hurt his sister’s feelings.
strong-willed = strong desires, stubborn, does not desist
She’s a strong-willed woman who won’t stop until she gets what she wants.
quick-witted = intelligent, clever, fast at thinking and discovering things
The quick-witted detective solved the crime before anyone else had a clue.
middle-aged = around 40-50 years old
A lot of middle-aged men are dissatisfied with their lives.
kind-hearted = friendly
A kind-hearted stranger helped us find the train station.

Adjective / Adverb / Noun + Present Participle (-ING)

good-looking = attractive, beautiful, handsome
Who’s that good-looking guy over there?
long-lasting
This long-lasting makeup will keep you looking lovely day and night.
record-breaking
The athlete’s record-breaking performance won him the gold medal.
never-ending
Learning a language seems to be a never-ending process.
mouth-watering
There was a variety of mouth-watering desserts at the wedding reception.
thought-provoking
It was a thought-provoking novel.
slow-moving
I was stuck in slow-moving traffic for over an hour.
far-reaching
The new law will have far-reaching effects in the economy.
time-saving
These time-saving techniques will help you work more efficiently.
forward-thinking
Some forward-thinking politicians are proposing reforms to the educational system.

Other Compound Adjectives

ice-cold
There’s nothing better than drinking an ice-cold lemonade on a hot summer day.
last-minute
I hate it when my boss wants to make last-minute changes to a publication.
full-length
The director produced his first full-length movie in 1998.
world-famous
We had dinner at a world-famous Italian restaurant.
fat-free
These fat-free cookies are delicious!

When to use a hyphen?

Use a hyphen when the compound adjective comes BEFORE the noun it modifies, but not when it comes AFTER the noun.

This is a world-famous museum.
This museum is world famous.

We walked into a brightly-lit room.
We walked into a room that was brightly lit.

It was quite a thought-provoking book.
The book was quite thought provoking.

THE GERUND

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