Kinds of Adjectives Part 3
hyphenated compound adjectives of specified ages
These adjectives are formed from the combination of numerals and words like day/week/month/year and the word old. They are hyphenated only before nouns. When they come after nouns, they are not hyphenated.
Example sentences:
All the two-day-old babies are in Nursery A. (correct) (before "babies")
All the babies in Nursery A are two days old. (correct) (after "babies")
All the two days old babies are in Nursery A. (X)
The three-week-old lion cubs are fed three times a day. (correct)
The lion cubs that are fed three times a day are three weeks old. (correct)
The three weeks old lion cubs are fed three times a day. (X)
Henry has sold his three-year-old Toyota to his colleague. (correct)
The Toyota that Henry sold to his colleague is three years old. (correct)
Henry has sold his three years old Toyota to his colleague. (X)
The ten-year-old building was demolished last week. (correct)
The building that was demolished last week was ten years old. (correct)
The ten years old building was demolished last week. (X)
Note that when you talk about how old a person/an animal/a building is, you say:
My five-year-old brother is cute. (correct) (before "brother")
My cute brother is five years old. (correct) (after "brother")
My cute brother is five-year-old. (X)
The three-week-old kittens have been taken to the SPCA. (correct)
The kittens that have been taken to the SPCA are only three weeks old. (correct)
The kittens that have been taken to the SPCA are only three-week-old. (X)
The 20-year-old building is very dilapidated. (correct)
The dilapidated building is already 20 years old. (correct)
The dilapidated building is already 20-year-old. (X)
hyphenated adjectives of specified measurements
of weights
He is a 150-kg (correct) 150 kgs (X) wrestler.
A 600-pound (correct) 600 pounds (X) tiger escaped from the zoo and is still at large.
Many shoppers prefer to buy the 2-kg (correct) 2 kgs (X) pack powder detergent.
of heights
He is a 6-foot (correct) 6 feet (X) wrestler.
Can you jump over the 5-foot wall (correct) 5 feet wall (X)?
The new condominium is a ten-storey (correct) ten storeys (X) building.
of distances
We were all dead tired after the 22-mile (correct) 22 miles (X) journey by car.
It's a 6-km (correct) 6 kms (X) journey from the village to the main town.
of volumes
It's more economical to buy the 3-liter (correct) 3 liters (X) pack liquid detergent.
Many shoppers go for the 750-ml (correct) 750 mls (X) "Dettol" shower cream.
of lengths of time
It's just a 10-minute (correct) 10 minutes (X) drive from the housing estate to the town.
There is a 24-hour (correct) 24 hours (X) supermarket in this neighborhood.
The management has decided to hold a 2-week (correct) 2 weeks (X) seminar for the new students.
Peter will be coming home after his 4-year (correct) 4 years (X) engineering course in England.
of sizes/lengths/areas
They bought a 32-inch (correct) 32 inches (X) plasma TV last Saturday.
The 5-acre (correct) 5 acres (X) forest was on fire for almost one week.
Include the hyphen (-) and drop the "s".
a 4-door car not a 4 doors car
a 24-hour petrol station not a 24 hours petrol station
Note:
You can say: The new shopping complex is 15 storeys high. OR
It's a 15-storey shopping complex. OR It's a 15-storey-high shopping complex.
You don't say It's a 15 storeys shopping complex.
two common hyphenated compound adjectives are:
out-of-date
Margaret has given away all her out-of-date dresses. (correct)
Margaret's dresses are all out of date. (not hyphenated) (after "dresses")
up-to-date
The office clerk keeps all the up-to-date files in cabinet Z. (correct)
All the files in cabinet Z are up to date.(not hyphenated) (after "cabinet Z")
Note: This is "Kinds of Adjectives Part 3".
Click on "Adjectives Articles" for "Kinds of Adjectives Parts 1 and 2".
These adjectives are formed from the combination of numerals and words like day/week/month/year and the word old. They are hyphenated only before nouns. When they come after nouns, they are not hyphenated.
Example sentences:
All the two-day-old babies are in Nursery A. (correct) (before "babies")
All the babies in Nursery A are two days old. (correct) (after "babies")
All the two days old babies are in Nursery A. (X)
The three-week-old lion cubs are fed three times a day. (correct)
The lion cubs that are fed three times a day are three weeks old. (correct)
The three weeks old lion cubs are fed three times a day. (X)
Henry has sold his three-year-old Toyota to his colleague. (correct)
The Toyota that Henry sold to his colleague is three years old. (correct)
Henry has sold his three years old Toyota to his colleague. (X)
The ten-year-old building was demolished last week. (correct)
The building that was demolished last week was ten years old. (correct)
The ten years old building was demolished last week. (X)
Note that when you talk about how old a person/an animal/a building is, you say:
My five-year-old brother is cute. (correct) (before "brother")
My cute brother is five years old. (correct) (after "brother")
My cute brother is five-year-old. (X)
The three-week-old kittens have been taken to the SPCA. (correct)
The kittens that have been taken to the SPCA are only three weeks old. (correct)
The kittens that have been taken to the SPCA are only three-week-old. (X)
The 20-year-old building is very dilapidated. (correct)
The dilapidated building is already 20 years old. (correct)
The dilapidated building is already 20-year-old. (X)
hyphenated adjectives of specified measurements
of weights
He is a 150-kg (correct) 150 kgs (X) wrestler.
A 600-pound (correct) 600 pounds (X) tiger escaped from the zoo and is still at large.
Many shoppers prefer to buy the 2-kg (correct) 2 kgs (X) pack powder detergent.
of heights
He is a 6-foot (correct) 6 feet (X) wrestler.
Can you jump over the 5-foot wall (correct) 5 feet wall (X)?
The new condominium is a ten-storey (correct) ten storeys (X) building.
of distances
We were all dead tired after the 22-mile (correct) 22 miles (X) journey by car.
It's a 6-km (correct) 6 kms (X) journey from the village to the main town.
of volumes
It's more economical to buy the 3-liter (correct) 3 liters (X) pack liquid detergent.
Many shoppers go for the 750-ml (correct) 750 mls (X) "Dettol" shower cream.
of lengths of time
It's just a 10-minute (correct) 10 minutes (X) drive from the housing estate to the town.
There is a 24-hour (correct) 24 hours (X) supermarket in this neighborhood.
The management has decided to hold a 2-week (correct) 2 weeks (X) seminar for the new students.
Peter will be coming home after his 4-year (correct) 4 years (X) engineering course in England.
of sizes/lengths/areas
They bought a 32-inch (correct) 32 inches (X) plasma TV last Saturday.
The 5-acre (correct) 5 acres (X) forest was on fire for almost one week.
Include the hyphen (-) and drop the "s".
a 4-door car not a 4 doors car
a 24-hour petrol station not a 24 hours petrol station
Note:
You can say: The new shopping complex is 15 storeys high. OR
It's a 15-storey shopping complex. OR It's a 15-storey-high shopping complex.
You don't say It's a 15 storeys shopping complex.
two common hyphenated compound adjectives are:
out-of-date
Margaret has given away all her out-of-date dresses. (correct)
Margaret's dresses are all out of date. (not hyphenated) (after "dresses")
up-to-date
The office clerk keeps all the up-to-date files in cabinet Z. (correct)
All the files in cabinet Z are up to date.(not hyphenated) (after "cabinet Z")
Note: This is "Kinds of Adjectives Part 3".
Click on "Adjectives Articles" for "Kinds of Adjectives Parts 1 and 2".
By Susan L
On 1/23/2010 05:47:00 PM
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