Questions tagged [compound-adjectives]
A compound adjective is when two or more adjectives are combined to modify a noun. In many instances, such compounds are hyphenated.
32 questions with no upvoted or accepted answers
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Why does the sequence of some types of adjectives differ?
I was reading a book, and a character calls another character "a gangly, little human". Now, if I were to use another adjective instead of little, say, tiny, I would have to say "a tiny,...
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Seem small clause
It is said that the omission of "to be" is allowed only when the adjective (phrases), noun (phrases), or prepositional phrase comes after the to be like this:
a He seemed (to be) angry about the ...
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Relative reduced adjective phrase rephrased as Compound Adjective
Balloon filled with gas = gas-filled balloon
Infested with mosquito = mosquito-infested
Covered in/with snow = snow-covered
Necklace studded with diamonds = diamond studded
Deprived of sleep = sleep-...
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Is there a technique used when someone splits a compound noun into two parts?
My student has asked whether the splitting of the compound word keyhole into key hole is a particular literary technique. I didn't know!
It's relevant to the text, as it is about disconnection and ...
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Correct hyphenation in compound adjective
I want to rephrase
The costs they compute are weighted by time intervals.
by
They compute time interval-weighted costs.
The question is, what is the correct hyphenation?
time interval weighted
...
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How does the noun cause the suffix of compound adjectives to change?
I'm comparing the names of bird species with similar compound adjectives. In some cases, the first word of the compound adjective changes with different nouns.
Some examples:
Silver-throated Tanager
...
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"Back to school" as an adjective or noun
What would be a good noun to call a person who deliberately, willfully makes a "back to school" trip to get a refresher on a subject (like geometry, calculus, biology)? Humorous nouns and ...
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When to use hyphen before “themed”
I understand cases where the concept modifying “themed” is a noun:
“A Star Wars–themed party”
But when the theme is an adjective, which of the following would be correct?
“A spooky-themed party”
“A ...
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How to hyphenate a whole number and fraction as an adjectival modifier
When a fraction is used as part of a compound adjective it is conventionally hyphenated: e.g. a quarter-million pounds.
And when a whole number and a fraction are used together, it is conventional to ...
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Compound adjective hyphenation
In the following sentence:
Directly substituting all continuous-time components of X by their previously described discrete-time counterparts results in Y because/as [...]
I'm unsure if "...
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Using multiple compound adjectives in single sentence
Can one use multiple compound adjectives in a single sentence? Example:
Packed with energy-rich power, these batteries are specially formulated for power-hungry, high-drain devices.
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Multiple nouns compounding with the same adjective
What is the correct way of writing resource-intensive and knowledge-intensive in contracted form?
Would it be:
Resource- and knowledge-intensive?
Or:
Resource and knowledge-intensive?
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Off-ball/on-ball vs off-the-ball/on-the-ball. Which versions are correct as adjectives?
In football (soccer), the expression "on the ball" or "off the ball" is often used to indicate whether a player is possessing or not possessing the ball. It is also often used as ...
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Hyphenating attributive adjectives and the 'is' of identity vs. the 'is' of predication
I have a good grasp on the rule about hyphenating compound adjectives when they're in the attributive position – 'off-white car', 'climate-controlled shoes', etc. But there are some cases where this ...
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Hyphenation of compound adjective or quantifier when referring back to antecedent
Example: She ate one or more apples, and each apple of the one-or-more apples was either red or green.
In the example, if "one or more apples" is the antecedent, should the reference back (i....
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How should I punctuate a phrasal adjective with additional adjective before the noun?
I am trying to discover the correct hyphenation and/or comma placement for the following sentence relating to honey bees:
When she hatches out of her egg, she is placed into a royal jelly filled ...
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A four- or five-time(s)-a-year indulgence
Page 693 of Garner's Modern English reads
When two phrasal adjectives have a common element at the end, and this
ending portion appears only with the second phrase, insert a
suspensive hyphen after ...
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Repetition of "one" as number and pronoun
I am wondering about repetitions related to the use of the word one as a pronoun and as a number inside an adjectival compound.
Here are two examples:
My friend ordered a two-scoop cone, while a got ...
user410947
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'Extra-high-voltage grid' or 'extra-high voltage grid'?
I've seen both used interchangeably, and can't decide which is best. Given that both adjectives modify the noun, should two hyphens not be used? Thanks!
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How to hyphenate “small-gap short-period long devices”?
I would like to use a compound adjective for the word "devices", but I don't know how to place the hyphen. Does small-gap short-period long devices sound correct?
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what's the difference between "correctly-sized packet" vs. "correct-size packet."
The sentence is the following:
[...] It allows you to request transfers of any size. Internally, the
request will be divided up into correctly-sized packets. [...]
Sometimes I read adjectives ...
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Why is "more complicated" typically not hyphenated as a compound modifier when before a noun?
In the phrase "employees for more complicated work," shouldn't "more complicated" be hyphenated as it comes before the noun it describes?
After much searching online, I am yet to ...
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Noun + Past Participle Usage
DCR(Dark Current Rate) represents the base noise level of a SPAD caused by parasitic avalanches happening in the dark due to thermal noise and band-to-band tunnelling effects.
I don't understand why ...
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"Faster than" using with Future Simple
I'm just wondering if it is right to say that
I'll learn English faster than they will translate this book
=or
I'll learn English earlier than they will translate this book
I'm confused about ...
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How to use quality control as an adjective?
I'm looking for some synonym expression to convey the fact that a method, or a tool, provides quality controlled output. Or, in other words, that the output produced with such tool is quality ...
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Hyphenated adjective vs non-hyphenated adjective (when saying the entity has the thing)
I am still a bit confused about what the senses of these two nouns are: 1. White-tiled counter 2. White tiled counter. Does the one with no hyphen actually exist?
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What is a compound adjective for "chemical + colloidal"?
I am trying to figure out what would be the correct compound adjective which I can use instead of "chemical and colloidal". I would expect it to be similar to "physicochemical". ...
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Adjectives describing quantity
What is the difference between indefinite adjectives and adjectives of quantity.
Are indefinite adjectives and adjectives of quantity are same.
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Is "top-of-the-line" or specific forms of compound adjective colloquial? Any general rule?
I am asking this question in the context of writing an academic paper. I am thinking if there exists a general rule regards to judging whether a compound adjective is colloquial, and, in this instance,...
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Does "easily-going" exist?
I'm studying English compound word patterns and "easily-going" is mentioned as an example of a compound adjective formed by an ADVERB + PRESENT PARTICIPLE. But it sounds too odd to me. I've ...
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Time indiscrete or Temporally indiscrete
Is the word combination temporally indiscrete or time indiscrete correct adjectives, when describing for instance a system which works on the basis of continuous time (and not discrete time)? I am ...
user364166
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nominal compound/compound adjective
"The Duchess is a free(-)natured woman."
In the above sentence is there a nominal compound? Can we write "a free-natured woman" using a hyphen?
Are nominal compound and compound adjectives the same ...
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