Compound adjectives
Using the good ol' hyphen -
Compound adjectives
Using the good ol' hyphen -
Agenda
Review of adjectives
Definition
Examples
Quiz game
Adjectives
Adjectives describe a noun (person, place, thing).
Adjectives can come before the noun they describe, or after TO BE.
My bunny is sweet and fluffy.
My sweet bunny is fluffy.
My sweet, fluffy bunny.
Adjectives
You can use multiple adjectives to describe a noun. You separate them with commas , , , , , , ,
My sweet, fluffy bunny.
My big, dumb, ugly manager won't give me Saturday off.
Adjectives
But sometimes you'll want to describe something, and you'll want to use a noun or description with multiple words...
These facilities are state of the art.
We will stay at the hotel for four nights.
... AND THAT CAN BECOME A COMPOUND ADJECTIVE!
Adjectives
If we want to move our descriptor to before the noun being described, we turn it into a compound adjective.
We use hyphens between the words to show it is 1 description/idea.
These facilities are state of the art. --> These are state-of-the-art facilities.
We will stay at the hotel for four nights. --> We have a four-night stay.
Some Examples
The 81-year-old woman likes to knit.
Lizards are cold-blooded animals.
Non-examples:
He is a young, happy boy. --> separate descriptors
That is a finely tuned watch. --> no - after -ly adverbs or very
*** This is a fine-tuned piano.
COMPOUND WORDS
We also hyphenate some compound words.
Examples:
She works part-time.
This is my mother-in-law.
He bought a twelve-pack of soda.
We drove eighty-three kilometers yesterday.
This is a _______ cafe.
family owned
family-owned
That is a ________ dress.
very elegant
very-elegant
We have a _______ child.
two year old
two-year-old
Our child is _________
two years old
two-years-old
There are _______ students in the class.
twenty two
twenty-two
The ______ dog walked down the street. *Friendly is an adjective, not adverb!
friendly looking
friendly-looking
She lives in an _____ apartment.
off campus
off-campus
The design is ______.
state of the art
state-of-the-art
This is an _________ vacation.
all inclusive
all-inclusive
Lesson Summary
Compound adjectives are two or more words (a phrase) that combine together to modify/describe a noun.
You hyphenate ( - ) a compound adjective to clarify that it's part of 1 descriptor.
You also hyphenate some nouns to make compound words. Hyphenate numbers & noun phrases that create names/titles.