和其他合成詞一樣，合成形容詞(compound adjectives)也是由兩個(gè)或兩個(gè)以上的字合組而成的。由于現(xiàn)代英語(yǔ)結(jié)構(gòu)盡量從繁入簡(jiǎn)，合成詞，特別是合成形容詞的運(yùn)用，就越來(lái)越普遍，報(bào)章雜志更是如此。

　　合成形容詞的構(gòu)成方法，主要有下列 6 種：

　�、倜�詞+形容詞，如：

　　oil-rich, duty-free, praiseworthy, life-long, carefree, worldwide, skin-deep, sea-sick, cock-sure, word-perfect 等。

　�、谛稳菰~+形容詞，如：

　　bitter-sweet, red-hot, Afro-Asian, socio-political, dead-alive, blue-black 等。

　�、勖�詞+現(xiàn)在分詞，如：

　　peace-loving, labour-saving, law-abiding, time-consuming, painstaking, trouble-shooting 等。

　�、苊�詞+過(guò)去分詞，如：

　　examination-oriented, man-made, poverty-stricken, bed-ridden, wind-blown, weather-beaten, heart-broken 等。

　　⑤形容詞+現(xiàn)在分詞，如：

　　good-looking, easy-going, eager-seeming, direct-acting 等。

　�、扌稳菰~+過(guò)去分詞，如：

　　kind-hearted, narrow-minded, single-handed, new-born, soft-spoken, strong-headed, many-sided 等。

　　在這六類(lèi)合成形容詞中，①、③和④的生產(chǎn)率最高。

　　此外，合成形容詞還可以從其他詞類(lèi)或結(jié)構(gòu)轉(zhuǎn)化而來(lái)，氣象萬(wàn)千，韻味十足：

　　⑴從副詞短語(yǔ)轉(zhuǎn)化而來(lái)，如：

　　all-round protection, off-the-cuff opinion, round-the-clock investigation, the ahead-of-schedule general election, a once-a-week discussion 等。

　�、茝钠�語(yǔ)動(dòng)詞轉(zhuǎn)化而成，如：

　　a back-up generator, the break-in time, a catch-up programme, a see-through shirt, a stand-up collar 等。

　　⑶從不帶“to”的不定式動(dòng)詞轉(zhuǎn)化而成，如：

　　take-home pay, a keep-fit class, a get-acquainted party, a cross-border raid, a grow-slow policy 等。

　�、扔山樵~短語(yǔ)轉(zhuǎn)化后移至名詞前，如： discussions on foreign policy→foreign-policy discussions; the relationship between teachers and students →the teacher-student relationship; a proposal for the withdrawal of troops→a troop-withdrawal proposal 等。

　�、捎尚稳菰~分句轉(zhuǎn)化后移至名詞前，如：

　　a machine that is difficult to operate→a difficult-to-operate machine; magazines which are hard to get at→hard-to-get-at magazines; a politician who is not so strong→a not-so-strong politician 等。

　�、视沙烧Z(yǔ)或慣用語(yǔ)轉(zhuǎn)化后移至名詞前，如：

　　a step-by-step procedure, an on-the-job training, a dog-in-the-manger attitude, a live-and-let-live policy 等。

　　前面6種構(gòu)成法約定俗成，一切中規(guī)中矩，后面6種涵蓋面大，極為靈活。光是通過(guò)成語(yǔ)轉(zhuǎn)化的形容詞合成詞，數(shù)目都在不斷擴(kuò)大中，非常受歡迎。如 an out-of-the-way village(遙遠(yuǎn)的)，a get-rich-quick mentality(快速致富的)。