Hyphens
Compound adjectives and their -
Adjectives are words that describe nouns, e.g. people or things. When an adjective comes before the noun it describes, we call it an attributive adjective. An attributive adjective often consists of two or more words, which we refer to as compound adjectives. In Danish, we usually write compounds in one word, while in English, we put a hyphen between two or more words when we want them to act as a single idea (one adjective) that describes the noun.
Below is a list of the different types of compound adjectives used in English grammar.
Type | Example |
|---|---|
Number + noun | A two-year Master’s degree programme. |
Adjective + noun | At BTECH, we conduct high-quality research. |
Noun + Adjective | He is a world-famous researcher. |
Adjective + -ing-form | She is a hard-working woman. |
Adverb + -ing-form | Learning is a never-ending task. |
Noun + -ing-form | It is a time-saving method. |
Noun + past participle | We solve problems relevant to technology-based business development. |
Adverb + past participle | It is a well-known fact that COVID-19 is spread primarily through droplet transmission. |
Adjective + past participle | IoT is a new-fashioned technology. |
Noun + noun | She has a part-time job. |
Adjective + adjective | I don’t like fat-free cakes. |