In the last post, I looked at words in the form ‘self-…..’ – for example, ‘self-centered. That little line ‘-’ in the middle of the word is called a ‘hyphen’, and joins two words into one bigger one – that is, the words are ‘hyphenated’. In the case of ‘self-centred’, you could also call it a ‘compound adjective’.

These ‘self’ words are, in fact, most often used as adjectives. Below is a list of 10 of the more common ‘self’ words. Are they good (G) or bad (B) in meaning?

Adjectives

1 Self-pitying

2 Self-loathing

3 Self-serving

4 Self-destructive

5 Self-aware

6 Self-disciplined

7 Self-taught

8 Self-controlled

9 Self-reliant

10 Self-indulgent

Match the above words with the descriptions below. Put a number beside each sentence.

This person does things that only help him/her-self.

This person does stupid things which hurt him/her-self.

This person knows about their inner person.

This person taught themselves all their skills.

This person feels sorry for him/her-self.

This person hates him/her-self.

This person can just do things by themselves.

This person is not distracted, and can work hard.

This person can’t control themselves, and gives in to pleasure and excess.

This person is able to hold back their emotion.

The answers are: 3(B), 4(B), 5(G), 7(G), 1(B), 2(B), 9(G), 6(G), 10(B), & 8(G).

Speaking

Can you describe yourself, your family, or any of your friends with the adjectives? Give examples to prove it.

By the way. See the picture at the top. That’s a young man taking a drug, heroin. Which of the adjectives, 1–10, best describes him?