Compound Adjectives in English

Have you ever noticed some English words with hyphens between them? For example:
a well-known author
an English-speaking country
a three-hour movie
a part-time job
a middle-aged woman
These are called compound adjectives meaning an adjective that has two or more words.
In this lesson, youre going to learn some of the most compound adjectives with example
sentences.
Compound Adjectives with Numbers
three-second
Theres a three-second delay.
ten-minute
Lets take a ten-minute break.
two-hour
She attended a two-hour seminar.
five-day
He went on a five-day trip.
six-week
We took a six-week course.
one-month
The penalty for cheating is a one-month suspension.
two-year
I have a two-year contract with my cell phone provider.
four-year-old
I have a four-year-old son.
twelve-story
We live in a twelve-story apartment building
twenty-page
He handed me a twenty-page report.
Common Error: adding -S
Dont use -s at the end of compound adjectives with numbers:
Lets take a ten-minutes break.
Lets take a ten-minute break.
Adjective / Adverb + Past Participle
narrow-minded = not open to different ideas/thoughts
I cant stand narrow-minded people who are intolerant of new ideas.
well-behaved
They have three well-behaved children.
old-fashioned
We had lunch in an old-fashioned restaurant with dcor from the 1950s.
densely-populated
This densely-populated area has the highest crime rates in the country.
short-haired
He was dancing with a short-haired woman.
widely-recognized
Shes a widely-recognized expert in technology.
high-spirited = with a lot of energy
The students gave a high-spirited musical performance.
well-educated
A lot of well-educated people are still having trouble finding jobs.
highly-respected
Our speaker tonight is a highly-respected scholar.
brightly-lit
We live on a brightly-lit street in the city center.
absent-minded = forgetful, not thinking
His absent-minded comment hurt his sisters feelings.
strong-willed = strong desires, stubborn, does not desist
Shes a strong-willed woman who wont stop until she gets what she wants.
quick-witted = intelligent, clever, fast at thinking and discovering things
The quick-witted detective solved the crime before anyone else had a clue.
middle-aged = around 40-50 years old
A lot of middle-aged men are dissatisfied with their lives.
kind-hearted = friendly
A kind-hearted stranger helped us find the train station.
Adjective / Adverb / Noun + Present Participle (-ING)
good-looking = attractive, beautiful, handsome
Whos that good-looking guy over there?
long-lasting
This long-lasting makeup will keep you looking lovely day and night.
record-breaking
The athletes record-breaking performance won him the gold medal.
never-ending
Learning a language seems to be a never-ending process.
mouth-watering
There was a variety of mouth-watering desserts at the wedding reception.
thought-provoking
It was a thought-provoking novel.
slow-moving
I was stuck in slow-moving traffic for over an hour.
far-reaching
The new law will have far-reaching effects in the economy.
time-saving
These time-saving techniques will help you work more efficiently.
forward-thinking
Some forward-thinking politicians are proposing reforms to the educational system.
Other Compound Adjectives
ice-cold
Theres nothing better than drinking an ice-cold lemonade on a hot summer day.
last-minute
I hate it when my boss wants to make last-minute changes to a publication.
full-length
The director produced his first full-length movie in 1998.
world-famous
We had dinner at a world-famous Italian restaurant.
fat-free
These fat-free cookies are delicious!
When to use a hyphen?
Use a hyphen when the compound adjective comes BEFORE the noun it modifies, but not
when it comes AFTER the noun.
This is a world-famous museum.
This museum is world famous.
We walked into a brightly-lit room.
We walked into a room that was brightly lit.
It was quite a thought-provoking book.
The book was quite thought provoking.











Vocabulary: English Expressions for Global Problems

One critical issue is preserving and protecting the environment. The burning of fossil fuels
(oil, coal, and natural gas) produces greenhouse gases (gases that heat up the atmosphere)
that deplete the ozone layer and result in global warming and climate change (changes in
the earths temperature and weather patterns).
Some scientists believe that we have already done irreparable damage to the planet, and
now we are suffering the consequences of rising sea levels and increasingly frequent natural
disasters such as earthquakes, hurricanes, and tornados. A number of animal species have
gone extinct, and many more are endangered.
To reverse this trend, we must invest in clean energy (energy sources that do not pollute the
environment) with renewable resources (elements like water and air, which can be re-used)
and utilize manufacturing methods that are not harmful to the environment.
There are still many regions of the world where children die of hunger/starvation (die from
not having enough food). Unfortunately, extreme poverty is common in the rural areas of
developing countries, where the population often suffers from food shortages (not enough
food) and lack of access to clean water.
In the cities, homeless people sleep on the streets if there is not enough room in local
homeless shelters. There are also many families on the margins of society (outside the
dominant society and culture) who are living below the poverty line and struggle to make
ends meet every month.
Although many governments create welfare programs (programs that give money to poor
people) to alleviate poverty, the widening gap between rich and poor suggests that poverty
may never be completely eradicated.
Poverty and underdevelopment contribute to a host of additional problems as well. For
example, many people die of preventable diseases because they have no access the safe and
effective vaccines that exist. A number of large corporations use child labor in the
manufacturing of their products, as poor families may feel they have no other option for
survival.
In addition, young women from disadvantaged backgrounds (poor families and situations)
are prime targets for human trafficking and sexual exploitation.






32 English Collocations for Talking About Your Family
Your parents and siblings (brothers and sisters) are your immediate family and your
extended family includes all your relatives uncles, cousins, great-aunts, etc.
You can use a family tree to diagram the relationships among your family members. A
person who is related to you by a long series of connections can be called a distant relative.
If youre lucky, you have a loving family or a close-knit family these expressions refer to a
family that has good relationships, where everyone loves each other and helps each other. If
you were raised in a loving family, then you probably had a carefree childhood that means
you had nothing to worry about when you were young.
On the other hand, a family in which the relationships are bad or unhealthy can be called a
dysfunctional family. If the children experience abuse, poverty, or problems with the law, we
can say they had a troubled childhood.
Perhaps the parents went through a bitter divorce that means a separation in which there
were bad/angry feelings between the husband and wife. Its also possible to have a messy
divorce, with a prolonged legal battle involving lots of conflicts about the separation of the
former couples assets (money and possessions). The decisions about the separation of assets
are made in the divorce settlement. A family in which there are divorces or separations is
sometimes called a broken home.
Sometimes the mother and father fight over custody of the children that refers to who has
the primary responsibility of caring for the kids. A judge can grant joint custody that
means the ex-husband and ex-wife share the responsibility or sole custody to only one
parent. For example, a judge might award sole custody to the mother, and the father has to
pay child support regular payments to help with expenses for the kids.
If it was a mutual divorce/separation that means the ex-husband and ex-wife agreed to
separate without fighting then they will probably stay on good terms with each other
(meaning to have a polite relationship without conflicts).
If a woman gets pregnant without being married or in a relationship, then she will become a
single mother. Some women in this situation choose to have an abortion, and others prefer
to give the baby up for adoption. The time when the baby is planned to arrive is called the
due date you can also say the baby is due in mid-October, for example.
After the woman has the baby (or gives birth to the baby), the baby is given to the adoptive
parents, who will raise the child or bring up the child as if it was their own. Sometimes,
when the adopted child is older, he or she tries to find their birth mother (biological mother)





English students phrases:
Which page?
What does ________ mean?
How do you pronounce this word?
How do you spell __________?
Could you repeat that, please?
I dont understand.
I have a question.
English teachers phrases:
Read the text.
Choose the best answer.
Fill in the missing words.
Work in pairs. / Work in partners.
Talk with your partner.
Circle/underline the right answer.
Cross out the wrong answer.
Look at the board.
English Phrases for Bad Travel Experiences
My flight was overbooked, and I got bumped to a later one.
A flight is a trip by airplane. If the flight is overbooked, it means that the airline sold too
many tickets, and there is not enough space on the plane for all the people who have
purchased tickets. This means that some people will get bumped to a later flight they
cant go on the flight at the original time, and have to wait for a different flight later.
It took me four days to recover from the jet lag.
Jet lag is when you travel to a different time zone, and your bodys clock is different
from the local time. This makes you wake up too early or feel tired in the middle of the day,
for example. Depending on the time difference, it can take several days for your body to
adjust to the new time zone. We can also use the word as an adjective: Im jet-lagged.
My hotel was in a really seedy area.
A seedy area is a place that looks dirty, disorganized, and possibly dangerous. Another
word that can be used to describe this type of neighborhood is sketchy.
I was mugged while walking in the city center in broad daylight!
If you were mugged, it means that a robber (or thief) stole valuable things from you, such as
your wallet, cell phone, purse or bag, or jewelry while you were on the street or in another
public place. In broad daylight means that the event happened during the daytime and was
clearly visible.
Mugging may be with or without violence. If a weapon was used, we often say mugged at
knifepoint or mugged at gunpoint. (Alternatively, you can say robbed at knifepoint or
robbed at gunpoint.)
The weather was miserable the rain didnt let up for a minute.
When we describe the weather as miserable, it means the weather was terrible (very bad)
usually with lots of rain and/or it was cold. When we say the rain didnt let up, it means the
rain didnt stop. It rained continuously during the trip.
We forgot to bring bug spray and got completely bitten up.
Bug spray (also called bug repellent or insect repellent) is a chemical product you can
apply to your skin to keep insects away. If you got bitten up, it means you got lots of bites
by mosquitoes or other insects.
I ended up with huge blisters after our walking tour of the city.
Blisters are pockets under your skin filled with fluid (see picture). People often get blisters
on their feet after walking, running, or hiking for a long time. You can also get blisters if your
shoes dont fit well. The phrasal verb ended up is used to describe the final result of
something.
Something I ate didnt agree with me, and I got the runs.
If you say that a food didnt agree with you, it means that it made you a little bit sick.
Your stomach felt agitated and maybe you threw up (vomited) or got the runs (diarrhea).
I bought a T-shirt, but it was a total rip-off.
A rip-off is something that is extremely overpriced (it costs much more than it should). For
example, if a bottle of water costs $2 in the pharmacy, but costs $6 inside the baseball
stadium, then we can say its a rip-off.
The place was nothing but a tourist trap.
A tourist trap is a place that is designed to attract tourists and make them spend lots of
money. It is usually a place that has lots of positive publicity, but isnt very interesting in
reality because the main goal is to get the tourists money.
I was hungover on the last day of my trip.
If you are hungover, it means that you feel sick (you have a headache, you are tired, and
perhaps a stomachache) because you drank too much alcohol the night before. The adjective
is hungover and the noun is hangover, so we can also say I had a hangover on the lat day
of my trip.
I had to catch the redeye in order to get back in time for work on Monday
morning.
A redeye is a flight that leaves very late at night and arrives early the next morning. It is
called a redeye because you cant sleep very well on the plane, so you usually arrive tired,
with your eyes red and irritated from lack of sleep!
8 things to do at the bank
1. Open an account
There are three main types of bank accounts:
Checking - This is an account where you can keep your money and write checks to make
payments. Checking accounts are usually used for day-to-day spending.
Savings - This is an account for keeping money for a long time. You can save money for a car
or a house. Savings accounts usually earn interest (a small percentage of extra money that
the bank gives you).
Investment - This type of account puts your money into the stock market. There is some risk,
because you might get more money, or you might lose some money.
Every month, you receive a statement (a piece of paper in the mail with a list of all the
activity in your account) in the mail or online.
2. Make a deposit or withdrawal
Make a deposit = put money into the bank
Make a withdrawal = take money out of the bank
You can make a deposit or withdrawal inside the bank or at the ATM (cash machine).
3. Take out a loan
When you take out a loan, the bank gives you a large amount of money usually to buy a
house or open a business and you have to pay the money back to the bank over time with
interest (a small percentage of extra money). The bank lends you the money; you borrow the
money from the bank. Click here to learn more about the difference between lend and borrow.
4. Deposit or cash a check
Here are four things you can do with a check:
Deposit a check = put the money from the check into your bank account
Cash a check = you give the check to the bank, and the bank gives you the money in cash
Write a check = when you write a check to pay someone else
The check bounced = when a check bounces, it means that the person who wrote the check
doesnt have enough money in their account to pay the value written on the check. For
example, if I write a check to you for $1000 but I only have $200 in my bank account, that
check will bounce.
5. Talk with the teller
The person who helps customers at the bank is called a bank teller or teller. Heres an
example dialogue with the bank teller:
TELLER: Good afternoon. How can I help you today?
CUSTOMER: Id like to deposit this check into my account.
TELLER: Can I have your card, please?
CUSTOMER: Here you go.
TELLER: And Ill need a photo ID as well.
CUSTOMER: OK, heres my passport.
TELLER: Thanks. Heres your receipt. Is there anything else I can do for you today?
CUSTOMER: No, thats it. Thank you!
TELLER: Have a nice day!
CUSTOMER: You too.
Other people who work at the bank are the manager (the person responsible for the other
workers) and the security guards (the people who keep the bank safe).
6. Apply for a credit card
When you begin the process of getting a credit card, that is called applying for a credit card.
A few important things on the credit card are the number (in the picture its 40000 0039 0306
0001), the expiration date (the red arrow in the picture. You cannot use the card after this
date), and the security code or CCV (the green arrow in the picture).
7. Pay bills
Bills are the pieces of paper with the amount of money you need to pay for services like
electricity, phone, water, heat, and internet. You can pay your bills online, by mail, or at the
bank. After you pay, you will receive a receipt - a small piece of paper that confirms your
payment.
8. Go through the drive-thru
The drive-through or drive-thru is a service that lets you use the bank without leaving your
car. You drive up to the window, talk with the teller through a microphone, give her any
checks or documents, receive your receipt, and drive away. Drive-thrus are also common in
fast food restaurants.
English Collocations: Metaphors
A number of words in English are used metaphorically with a meaning that is not exactly
the same as their literal meaning. Usually they apply a quality of one word to another word.
For example, when we say that something is lightning fast, we are using the quality of
lightning (which is almost instantaneous) to describe something that is extremely fast.
Another example is the root of the problem the literal meaning of the word root is the
part of a plant or tree that is under the soil. The roots are what support and sustain the entire
tree. Therefore, the root of the problem is the deepest, most basic or fundamental reason for
the problem.
Many metaphors are related to elements in the natural world, such as light and dark, water,
fire, and plants in this lesson, youll learn 5 collocations in each category.
LIGHT AND DARK
If someones face or eyes light up, it means that they suddenly get very happy or excited.
You can also say someones eyes are shining with delight.
The expression lighten the mood means to make a depressing atmosphere/situation more
relaxed and happy.
On the other hand, if someones face/eyes/expression darkens, it means that they suddenly
appear sad or angry.
Dark days or dark times refer to periods of time that are bad or unpleasant, full of problems
WATER
You can say that ideas are flowing or conversation is flowing to describe when it is
proceeding easily and naturally.
Water metaphors are often used to describe the movement of groups of people you can
say that people poured/streamed into the stadium (to describe continuous movement of
large groups of people) or that people trickled into the church (when only a few people
come, occasionally).
The expressions waves of disappointment or waves of sadness refer to strong feelings.
FIRE
A heated discussion or heated debate is one that is very intense, often with negative
emotions like anger.
If someone has a fiery temper, it means that when they get angry, they get VERY angry, and
could possibly explode. Theres also the expression tempers flared to describe a situation
when people began to get angry.
The verbs kindle and spark describe the act of starting fires. Kindle is usually used for
starting positive things something can kindle interest/enthusiasm/hope and spark is
usually used for starting negative things something can spark outrage/controversy.
PLANTS
Its difficult for a plant to grow in soil that has a lot of rocks. So if something gets off to a
rocky start, it means that it encountered many problems in the beginning.
Thorns are the small, sharp growths that appear on some plants (such as roses). The
expression a thorny issue describes a matter that is difficult, complicated, and possibly
dangerous.
The word blossom is used to describe when a flower appears and opens, revealing all its
beauty. So if a romance/friendship is blossoming, then it is developing in a beautiful way.
If your efforts begin to produce the desired results, we can say your efforts are bearing fruit.
A seed represents something very small that can grow into something big. So if some event
plants seeds of hope / seeds of jealousy, it means it produces a small feeling that can grow
into a stronger emotion over time.