Compound adjectives

Exercise 1. Fill in each space in the following sentences with an appropriate compound adjective formed from a word in the list.

distance up built made going up off

conditioned class badly sighted headed

Example: I bought this CD duty-free as I was coming back from London.

1. I made a long-………. call to England and it cost me a fortune.

2. They seem to be very well-………. at least they have a great big house and two expensive cars.

3. I’m fed-………. with this exercise – can’t we do something else?

4. On the train I travel second-……….because it’s cheaper.

5. You can see this vase is hand-……….and wasn’t produced in a factory.

6. He’s a really relaxed guy, so easy-……….

7. I live in a built-………. area of the city which is very noisy and full of traffic.

8. The office is air-………., so it’s very cool, even in the summer.

9. He’s so proud – I’ve rarely met anyone so big-………. . He has a really high opinion of himself.

10. I want to get my eyes tested – I’ve become really short-………. lately.

11. A-………. maintained car won’t have a reliable engine.

12. There isn’t much grass in the-………. up areas of the city.

Exercise 2. Complete each unfinished sentence using compound adjectives formed with participles.

Example: They make all this pottery by hand. They’re all hand-made.

1. They pick these strawberries by hand.

They’re all………..

2. They build these cars by hand.

They’re all ………..

3. He’s a boy who looks nice.

He’s a ………. boy.

4. It’s a record which plays for a long time.

It’s a ………. record.

5. It’s a job which consumes a lot of time.

It’s a ………. job.

6. They’re parents who suffer a lot.

They’re ………. parents.

7. They’re rules which have stood for a long time.

They’re ………. rules.

8. It’s a house which looks funny.

It’s a ………. house.

9. He’s a salesman who talks fast.

He’s a ………. salesman.

11. The town in which I grew up made cars.

I grew up in a ………. town.

12. We hired a design team based in Singapore.

We hired a ………. design team.

13. Her performance at the Olympic Games broke a number of records.

It was a ………. performance.

14. The public square was lined with trees.

The public square was ………..

15. Tom’s builder who works for himself.

Tom’s is ………. builder.

Order of adjectives

Adjectives go before nouns in English, but there are a few adjectives which go before or after nouns and they change in meaning according to their position:

This elect body meets once a year (= specially chosen).

The president elect takes over in May (= who has been elected).

Exercise 6. Which words or phrases in B best explain the words or phrases in A?

A	B
1. The concerned doctor phoned for an ambulance.	a) correct
2. The doctor concerned in a holiday at the moment.	b) worried
3. It was a very involved question.	c) who was blamed
4. The person involved has left the company.	d) complicated
5. Present employees number 3000.	e) with a sense of duty
6. The employees present should vote on this.	f) now employed
7. It was a proper question.	g) here now
8. The question proper has not been answered.	h) connected with this (twice)
9. Janet is a responsible girl.	j) itself
10. The girl responsible has been expelled.

Some adjectives can be immediately after a noun. These include: some –ible and –able adjectives such as available, imaginable, possible, suitable. However we use these adjectives immediately after a noun only when the noun follows words such as first, lost, next, only and superlative adjectives, or when a prepositional phrase follows the adjective:

It’s the only treatment suitable (or…the only suitable treatment).

It is an offer available to club members only.

Exercise 1. Write the word given in brackets in one of the spaces in each sentence, either before or after the noun, as appropriate.

1. Kevin always seemed such a ………. boy (responsible).

2. Most of the ………. people ………. in the battle are now dead (involved).

3. New regulators have come into force on the storage of dangerous chemicals. All the ………. companies ………. have been notified of these (concerned).

4. There were over three hundred ………. people ………. at the meeting.

5. This ………. process ………. takes three days. It’s very complex (involved).

1. The ………. situation ………. cannot be allowed to continue (present).

2. Clara and Adam were the ………. children ………. for the damage (responsible).

Some adjectives (often these concerning health) can have a different meaning when used before a noun or on their own.

For example, we can say:

He is ill. (But: He’s a sick man (though he’s an ill man is also sometimes heard).

The boy is well. (But not He’s a well boy).

He’s healthy. He’s a healthy boy.

A. He was sick on an off for a hour (= he vomited);

B. He’s a sick boy (= he’s ill)

Exercise 2. Supply suitable adjectives (most of which relate to health).

1. He’s been in hospital for a month. He’s ………. man.

2. Jane’s in hospital and we’re not allowed to visit her. She’s still very ………..

3. As soon as I stopped the car, my son jumped out and was very ………..

4. John has been ill for a long time, but he’s very ………. now.

5. Quick! Bring me some smelling salts. I feel quite ………..

6. There was a ………. square mark on the wall where the picture hung.

7. I’m fed up with these clouds. I just want to be ………..

When we use more than one adjective before a noun, there is often a preffered order for the adjectives. To help you to learn this order, it can be useful to remember that gradable adjectives (describing opinion, size, quality, shape and age) usually precede ungradable adjectives (participle adjectives and adjectives describing origin, material, type and purpose): opinion + size /physical quality/shape/age + colour + participle adjectives + material + type + purpose + noun.

Exercise 3. You’re looking for items you want to buy. Begin each sentence with “I’m looking for…”

1. sports car – well-maintained – second-hand – with a low mileage

2. polished – beautiful – antique – dining-table – mahogany – English

3. canvas – American – a pair of trainers – grey and red – which I can use for jogging

4. cottage – dress – summer – pink and white – for my holiday

Exercise 4. Put in the right word order or choose the right forms.