{"id":267,"date":"2016-03-04T15:41:54","date_gmt":"2016-03-04T15:41:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/unccwrc\/?p=267"},"modified":"2016-03-21T15:40:03","modified_gmt":"2016-03-21T15:40:03","slug":"compound-adjectives-and-the-multiple-adjective-test","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/unccwrc\/blog\/2016\/03\/04\/compound-adjectives-and-the-multiple-adjective-test\/","title":{"rendered":"Compound Adjectives and the Multiple Adjective Test"},"content":{"rendered":"

Have you ever had a list of adjectives in a sentence and wondered if you\u2019re supposed to combine some of them with a hyphen? Or are you just supposed to put commas between them? I mean, are there rules for this? Or is it supposed to be like finding the right wedding dress and you just <\/span>know<\/span><\/i>? HOW CAN YOU JUST KNOW?!<\/span>
\n\"\"<\/p>\n

I understand the frustration, but I\u2019m here to help. When two or more adjectives are conjoined with a hyphen to modify a noun, they become <\/span>compound adjectives<\/span>. The easiest way to figure out if you should hyphenate your adjectives is with what I call the \u201cMultiple Adjective Test.\u201d If you have two (or more) adjectives modifying your noun, test them out one at a time to see if only using one changes your meaning by following these steps:<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Find the noun.<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Find the adjectives modifying the noun.<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. Test the adjectives with your noun one at a time to see if it changes the meaning.<\/span><\/li>\n
  4. Hyphenate the compound adjectives.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Here, let\u2019s give it a go:<\/span><\/p>\n

    My roommate adopted a seven year old chinchilla.<\/b><\/p>\n

    Now, follow the steps:<\/span><\/p>\n

    1. Find the noun: <\/span>chinchilla<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

    2. Find the adjectives modifying the noun: <\/span>seven<\/span><\/i>,<\/span> year<\/span><\/i>,<\/span> and <\/span>old<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

    3. Test the adjectives with your noun one at a time to see if it changes the meaning:<\/span><\/p>\n