EXERCISES IN MAKING COMPOUND ADJECTIVES

Review of the five main types:

1) The description involves a verb taking a direct object, e.g.

I have a plant that eats meat = I have a meat-eating plant

2) The description involves a verb, usually about something that is happening or a situation which is going on, that is modified by some sort of adverb of time or manner; the –ly is generally dropped, e.g.,

This glue dries quickly = This is quick-drying glue

This war has lasted a long time = This has been a long-lasting war

3) The description involves an anatomical or psychological feature, and the words are very short (one or two syllables), e.g.,

She pitches and catches with her left hand = She is a left-handed pitcher and catcher

Her Father has a very narrow mind = She has a very narrow-minded Father.

4) The description involves a verb, usually about something that has happened to something or someone, and some sort of adverb saying how it happened or what the situation is like e.g.,

He prizes this possession very highly = This is a highly-prized possession of his

The price of the car was high = It was a high-priced car

The price of the car was too high = It was an overly/excessively high-priced car

The meal was cooked well = It was a well-cooked meal

5) The description involves measures:

Her daughter is twenty-five years old and stands six feet, three inches tall = She has a six-foot-three, twenty-five-year-old daughter.

Now have a look at the exercises.

A. Insert the appropriate compound adjectives.

I have just discovered an insect with many legs that eats fungus in my carrot patch.

I have just discovered a _______________________ insect in my carrot patch.

It has red knees and flat feet.

It is _________________________.

My professors refuse to believe in my discovery because they have narrow minds; besides, these old fools drink carrot juice!

My professors refuse to believe in my discovery because they are ______________________; besides, they are _________________________ fools!

The surgeon pulled out a worm that was thirty-five centimeters long.

The surgeon pulled out a _______________________ worm.

B. Convert the descriptions of the underlined noun phrases into attributive adjectives.

1. Her daughter is a ping-pong player who slams hard. She has a ...

2. It looked like a trophy that had been hard to win. It looked like a ...

3. Our sumo champion weighs 200 kilograms. We have a ...

4. After that T.V. program, our baby’s hair turned green. We now have a ...

5. The tail of the lizard I caught was three feet long. I caught a lizard with ...

C. Rewrite the sentences, converting the descriptions into attributive adjectives.

1. He weighs 200 kilograms and has won the sumo championship three times.

2. I bought a chain-saw for three-hundred dollars and sliced up my neighbour’s new fence, which was nearly thirty meters long.

3. She writes poems with her right hand and gives compliments with her left.

D. Make a compound adjective out of the underlined phrase, and write it with the word(s) in bold-face.

e.g.: "Her daughter‘s eyes are crossed." >>> "cross-eyed daughter"

1. The farmer's pony finally died when it was ten years old.

 2. His wife, like himself, had a peculiarly sinister mind.

 3. She pointed out to her husband that his position did not pay

very well,and that sanitation costs were very high.

 4. She suggested a clever plan to save money.

 5. They dug a huge hole six feet deep in the ground.

 6. This project took them six hours and twenty-five minutes.

 7. Then they dropped the pony in the hole. The "thump" sound would have made your blood curdle. 

8. Their horrified neighbours came running, some carrying First Aid kits, others camcorders. This is not surprising at all! These people were all educated by television, and all their lives, they had watched programs that numb the mind and erode the I.Q.

SUGGESTED CORRECTIONS

A. Insert the appropriate compound adjectives.

I have just discovered an insect with many legs that eats fungus in my carrot patch.

I have just discovered a MANY-LEGGED, FUNGUS-EATING insect in my carrot patch.

It has red knees and flat feet.

It is RED-KNEED AND FLAT-FOOTED.

My professors refuse to believe in my discovery because they have narrow minds; besides, these old fools drink carrot juice!

My professors refuse to believe in my discovery because they are NARROW-MINDED; besides, they are CARROT-JUICE-DRINKING OLD fools!

The surgeon pulled out a worm that was thirty-five centimeters long.

The surgeon pulled out a THIRTY-FIVE-CENTIMETER worm.

B. Convert the descriptions of the underlined noun phrases into attributive adjectives.

1. Her daughter is a ping-pong player who slams hard. She has a DAUGHTER WHO IS A HARD-SLAMMING PING-PONG PLAYER

2. It looked like a trophy that had been hard to win. It looked like a HARD-WON TROPHY

3. Our sumo champion weighs 200 kilograms. We have a 200-KG SUMO CHAMPION

4. After that T.V. program, our baby’s hair turned green. We now have a GREEN-HAIRED BABY

5. The tail of the lizard I caught was three feet long. I caught a lizard with A THREE-FOOT TAIL

C. Rewrite the sentences, converting the descriptions into attributive adjectives.

1. He weighs 200 kilograms and has won the sumo championship three times.

HE IS A 200-KG, THREE-TIME SUMO CHAMPIONSHIP WINNER

2. I bought a chain-saw for three-hundred dollars and sliced up my neighbour’s new fence, which was nearly thirty meters long.

I BOUGHT A THREE-HUNDRED-DOLLAR CHAIN-SAW AND SLICED UP MY NEIGHBOUR’S NEW THIRTY-METER FENCE.

3. She writes poems with her right hand and gives compliments with her left.

SHE IS A RIGHT-HANDED POET WHO GIVES LEFT-HANDED COMPLIMENTS

D. 

1. The farmer's ten-year-old pony.

2. His peculiarly sinister-minded wife.

3. A not very well-paid position.

4. A clever money-saving plan.

5. A huge six-foot-deep hole.

6. A six-hour-(and)twenty-five-minute project.

7. A blood-curdling "thump".

8. Television-educated people, mind-numbing, I.Q.-eroding programs.