COMPOUND (MULTI-WORD)

ADJECTIVES
 ORDER OF ADJECTIVES

When more than one adjective comes before a

noun, the adjectives are normally in a particular
order. Adjectives which describe opinions or
attitudes (e.g. amazing) usually come first, before
more neutral, factual ones (e.g. red).

She was wearing an 

 THE MOST USUAL SEQUENCE OF ADJECTIVES
ORDER RELATING TO EXAMPLES
1 opinion
2 size
3 physical quality
4 shape
5 age
6 color
7 origin
8 material
unusual, lovely, beautiful
big, small, tall
thin, rough, untidy
round, square, rectangular
young, old, youthful
blue, red, pink
Dutch, Japanese, Turkish
metal, wood, plastic

9 type general-purpose, four-sided, U-shaped

10 purpose cleaning, hammering, cooking

1 2 3 5 6 7
She was a beautiful, tall, thin, young, black-haired, Scottish woman
 COMPOUND (MULTI-WORD) ADJECTIVES

An adjective is a word that describes something.

But sometimes we use more than one adjective
to describe something - Compound adjectives
A compound adjective is an adjective that contains two or more words.
Joined by hyphen.
In general we put 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.

 MANY TYPES OF COMPOUND ADJECTIVE
PERIODS OF TIME
NUMBER + SINGULAR Adjective + Noun
NOUN
last-minute decision
eight-hour day full-length version
three-week vacation
Noun + Present Participle
Adjective + Present
Participle
mouth-
watering strawberries.
good-looking girl.
record-breaking jump.
 long-lasting taste in my
mouth
 MANY TYPES OF COMPOUND ADJECTIVE

Noun + Adjective Noun + Past Participle

world-famous singer. wind-powered generators
smoke-free restaurant. sun-dried raisins.

Adverb + Past Participle Adjective + Past Participle

brightly-lit room. old-fashioned dress
well-known actress. cold-blooded creatures.
densely-populated city.
ADVERBS AND COMPOUND
ADJECTIVES

do not put a hyphen between an

adverb and an adjective

Compound Adjectives with Proper

very hot day.
Nouns (no hyphen)
extremely intelligent girl.
A proper noun is the name of
something or someone (e.g. Diki,
Andy)

Walt disney world

 WHEN TO USE HYPHEN?
If you can use the word “and” between the two adjectives or words, then
a hyphen isn't necessary.

She has a big blue book

She has a big and blue book

I saw a man-eating alligator – COMPOUND ADJECTIVE

I saw a man eating alligator
APPENDIX 2 ON PAGE 224
APPENDIX 2 ON PAGE 227
 OPEN COURSEBOOK ON PAGE 50
C E
I F
B D
A G
J H
L K