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Which one is correct?

I am a new graduate and have been teaching German for a few weeks now.

I am a newly graduate and ...

I can't decide whether to use "new" or "newly".

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New graduate is more formal. >Example -An example format in preparing a resume for a new graduate. If you can decide it why are you asking that question :D – speedyGonzales Jan 9 '12 at 7:48

3 Answers

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"New graduate" is correct. "Graduate" is a noun here.

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As Nishant has already said, the correct usage is new graduate because of the adjective/noun relationship. A sample phrase for newly graduated would be something like:

Our firm has a number of entry-level positions available for newly graduated individuals.
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up vote 3 down vote

"new graduate" is correct.

'New' is an adjective which describes the noun, 'graduate'.

'Newly' is an adverb which would describe a verb, but in this case, you need the noun.

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I'm a new graduate. I have newly graduated. Just two examples to complete this answer. – user16825 Jan 9 '12 at 8:03
Newly graduated is used a lot but it is slang. Type newly graduated in google and the first result will be The BEST And WORST Cities For The Newly Graduated – speedyGonzales Jan 9 '12 at 8:12
@speedy what is slang about "newly graduated"? It's perfectly valid English. – simchona♦ Jan 9 '12 at 8:24
@simchona Perfectly valid doesn't mean correct. Show me a grammar rule that makes newly graduated correct. Something that can be valid for India or States not always is correct in UK. Phrase that is not correct but is used a lot is slang for me, because it is informal and some sort of dialect. – speedyGonzales Jan 9 '12 at 9:27
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@speedyGonzales: The grammar rule that permits newly graduated is the one that also allows newly hatched, newly published and newly discovered. It definitely isn’t slang. Slang describes a type of vocabulary, not a type of grammar. Informal language doesn’t mean the same as dialect. Standard English is one of the many varieties of the language and it embraces both formal and informal styles. – Barrie England Jan 9 '12 at 10:05
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