Compound adjectives formed with participles, etc

- compounds formed with past participles e g a candle-lit table a horse-drawn cart a self-employed author a tree-lined avenue

- compounds formed with present participles e g a long-playing record a long-suffering parent a time-consuming job

- -ed words that look like participles although they are formed from nouns e g cross eyed flat chested hard-hearted open-minded quick-witted slow footed

Compound adjectives of measurement, etc.

Cardinal numbers combine with nouns (usually singular) to form compound adjectives relating to time measurement etc e g

Age a three-year-old building a twenty-year-old man

Area/volume, a three-acre plot a two-litre car

Duration a four-hour meeting a two-day conference

Length/depth a twelve-inch ruler a six-foot hole

Price a $50 dress a £90,000 house

Time/distance a ten-minute walk a three-hour journey

Weight a ten-stone man a five-kilo bag of flour

Ordinal numbers can be used in compounds e g a first-rate film a second-hand car a third-floor flat a nineteenth-century novel

Compound adjectives formed with prefixes and suffixes

Compounds can be formed from a variety of prefixes and suffixes e g class-conscious tax-free loose-fitting waterproof fire resistant car-sick tight lipped vacuum sealed airtight Many compounds can be formed with well and badly -behaved built -done -paid etc Similarly /// and poorly combine with some past participles -advised -educated informed paid etc

Types of adjectives and their uses

Form and use of adjectives

An adjective never varies in form no matter whether it refers to people or things etc in the singular or plural

singular:

He is tall	He is a tall man
She is tall	She is a tall woman
It is tall	It is a tall horse
It is tall	It is a tall tree

a tall man Bob is tall

a tail woman Maggie is tall

a tall horse That horse is tall

a tall tree That tree is tall

plural: tall men tall women tall people tall horses tall trees

Bob and Jim are tall They are tall They are tall men

Mary and Ann are tall They are tall They are tall women

Bob and Ann are tall They are tall They are tall people

Those horses are tall They are tall They are tall horses

Those trees are tall They are tall They are tall trees

6 Adjectives