Question

Identify the compound adjective:
My husband is very open-minded.
a. husband
b. open-minded
c. a & b both
d. none of the above

Answer 1

Hint: Read the given sentence and understand what it wants to convey. Point out the subject and then single out the word which describes a trait/feature of the subject. This word is a type of adjective. Choose the option accordingly.

Complete answer: Two words that are joined together to create a combined meaning and is then used as one word is called a compound word. These words become grammatically correct after enough usage.
The same is the case for adjectives. Any word that is a describing word, that is hyphenated or made up of two separate words is considered a compound adjective.

Now, we know what we are looking for. Let’s look at the given options:
a. husband - The word ‘husband’ refers to a ‘male spouse’. This word is not an adjective, it is a common noun. This is also not a compound word as it is not made up of two separate words. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.
b. open-minded - The word ‘open-minded’ is used to describe the noun ‘husband’. This means that this is an adjective as well as a compound word. This is the required answer. So, this is the correct option.
c. a & b both - The second option is a compound adjective, however, the first option is neither a compound word nor an adjective. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.
d. none of the above - We already know that this is an incorrect option as we have found the correct option from the above-given options. So, this is not the required answer.

Note: Note that combining an adverb and an adjective does not create a compound adjective. No hyphen is required because it is already clear that the adverb modifies the adjective rather than the subsequent noun.