Learn English Vocabulary: Compound Adjectives to describe people

Hi, there. My name is Emma, and in today's video, I am going to teach you some new words.

These words are all compound adjectives. So what is a compound adjective? Well, a compound

adjective is when you have two different words together with a hyphen. English is full of

compound adjectives. I'm going to teach you maybe eight compound adjectives that all have

to do with people's personalities. So if you're describing a friend, a roommate, your family,

these are the types of words you can use. So let's get started

The first word I want to teach you is "open-minded", okay? "Open-minded". Students have a lot of

trouble with the pronunciation of this word. Many students say, "I have" or "I am open-mind";

"I am open-mind." No. You need "open-minded", -ED. Students always forget the "-ED" at the

end. So be aware. Be careful. What does it mean to be "open-minded"? If you are open-minded,

it means you like to try new things. When something happens, when you have an opportunity

to try something new, you will do it. You're a "yes person". If somebody says, "Do you

want to eat a spider?" Well, this might be extreme. But in some cultures, they eat spiders.

They might ask you, "Do you want to eat a spider?" If you're open-minded, you'll say,

"Sure. Yeah. Let's try it." You know, that's a little extreme. There are other cases of

being open-minded. Here's another example. "I try to eat the local food because I'm open-minded."

Okay? So you like to try new things. You are open-minded. Maybe you have never been outside

of your country. If you go to a new country, maybe you'll notice there are differences

in the culture. If these differences aren't upsetting to you, if you're willing to meet

new people, try new things, learn new ways of living, you are "open-minded".

The opposite of "open-minded" -- just like you open a door -- "closed", "closed-minded".

So be careful with the pronunciation of this. "Closed-minded." So it's not close-ed-minded".

"Closed-minded." If you are "closed-minded", you don't like to try new things. Trying new

things is very uncomfortable for you. So for example -- or thinking in new ways. You don't

want to change the way you live. You don't want to think in new ways. You're very traditional,

and you don't like change. You are "closed-minded". "My mother won't try anything new. She is

closed-minded." Okay? So if somebody doesn't want to change, is very uncomfortable with

other cultures, other ideas, they are "closed-minded".

Another "minded" compound adjective, "absent-minded". "Absent" -- you might have heard this word

before. If you are not in class, you are "absent"; the teacher will mark you absent. Okay? So

when you're absent, you're not there. "Absent-minded" is when your brain is not there. What does

this mean? Well, it means you are thinking about something different, so you don't see

what's happening. Here's an example to help you understand. I have a friend. My friend,

her name is Lara. She is very absent-minded. She's always thinking about boys. Always thinking

about her boyfriend, boy troubles. So because of that, sometimes, she forgets to do her

homework. She's too busy thinking about one thing. She doesn't realize what's happening

around her. She is "absent-minded". So, "Lara is absent-minded. She forgot to do her homework."

So you're not thinking about something. You're absent-minded. Your mind is elsewhere.

Another expression, very common expression, "laid-back". "Laid-back." What does it mean

to be "laid-back"? Well, this is a very positive expression. It's a good expression. And it

means you're a very relaxed person; you don't get angry; you don't get annoyed; you're very

calm, relaxed, you go with the flow. You're a very happy, laid-back person. For example,

I told you my friend Lara, she's very absent-minded. She's always forgetting to do her homework

because she thinks too much about boys. Well, her teacher is a very laid-back teacher. When

she doesn't do her homework, her teacher does not get angry. He does not yell at her and

say, "Lara, why didn't you do your homework?" No. He's laid-back. He says, "Oh, it's okay.

That's fine. It's okay that you didn't do your homework." He doesn't the get angry.

He is laid-back. So let's look at some more compound adjectives.

So the next word on our list is "hard-working". Okay? What does it mean to be "hard-working"?

If you are "hard-working", it means when you go to work, you work hard; you keep working;

you try your best; you don't give up, you just keep working, working, working. "Hard-working"

-- the opposite is "lazy". You are not lazy if you are hard-working. Okay. So here is

my example. "My boss likes me because I'm hard-working." So it's a very positive thing

if you are hard-working. It's a good thing. Many times, people will say this in a job

interview. "Why should I hire you?" "Well, because I'm hard-working." Okay? So it's good

for a resume, too.

"Self-conscious." What does it mean to be "self-conscious"? Well, I'll show you. If

I wear this hat -- I don't think it's a pretty hat. I think it's a silly, funny hat. If I

wore this outside on the street, maybe everyone would look at me. Okay? Everybody would look

at me. They would think, "Why is she wearing that hat? It's not even a hat; it's a shower

cap for when you take a shower." I would -- my cheeks would turn red; I would feel really

shy. I would be "self-conscious". "When I wore my pink flower hat, I felt self-conscious."

It's similar to being embarrassed, okay? It means you feel a little bit embarrassed and

uncomfortable, and you feel that everyone is noticing what you are doing, everyone is

watching you. I feel self-conscious now, so I will take off my hat. Okay.

"Cool-headed." All right. So what's your head? This is your head. Remember, "cool-headed"

-- "-ED". Don't forget this part. If you're cool-headed, it means you are a relaxed person;

you're a calm person; you think well during emergency situations. Okay? So for example,

"In an emergency, I'm cool-headed." It means, "I can think. I can think clearly. I don't

panic. I think clearly." If you think about police officers, firemen, paramedics, you

probably want them to be cool-headed because you want them to be calm during an emergency.

The opposite -- well, not the opposite, but another word similar to "cool-headed": "hot-headed".

So we said "cool"; now we're saying "hot". What does it mean to be "hot- headed"? If

you are hot-headed, it means -- when you get angry very quickly, you are hot-headed. So

a person who is hot-headed gets angry so quickly. Okay? You say something to them; they get

angry. Their face turns red. It looks like they're hot, but they're really angry. "I

get angry quickly because I'm hot-headed. I'm hot-headed. I get angry very quick." Maybe

you know someone who is hot-headed. Do you think it would be nice to have a boss who

is hot-headed? No. You don't want your boss to be hot-headed. That's a terrible situation.

You also don't want your boss to be "two-faced". Can you guess what the word "two-faced" means?

If this is your face and you have two, what do you think that means that expression? If

you are two-faced, it means some of the time you seem nice to people, but then when those

people aren't around, you will be very mean. So for example, if I have a friend and I'm

two-faced, maybe I will say to my friend, "oh, you have a beautiful dress. I love the

way you dress. I love what you wear. You look so pretty." If I'm two-faced, when she's not

here, I'll turn to my other friends and say, "Oh, yeah. Did you see what she was wearing?

Ugh! What an ugly dress. It's the worst dress I've ever seen. She looks terrible in that

dress." So it's where you act very nice when the person you're talking to is there, but

when they're not there, you talk to other people and say bad things about this person.

"She's two-faced. You can't trust her." Okay? Sometimes, people we work with -- unfortunately,

sometimes they're very, very nice to us when we talk to them in conversation -- as soon

as you leave, maybe they will say something to another coworker. "Oh, she's lazy. She's

not hard-working. He's stupid. He's hot-headed." So if someone talks badly about you behind

your back, they are "two-faced".

Okay. So I've taught you many compound adjectives. What I want you to do is practice these by

visiting our website at www.engvid.com. There, you can do a quiz, and you can see how many

of these you remember. You can practice the definitions, see how we use them. So come

visit our website. Hopefully you will be hard-working when you come visit our website; you will

work hard and you will do our quiz. So until next time, take care.