A three room house but a three headED dog












7















Why doesn't




A three room house




have the "ed" ending while




A three-headED dog




has?










share|improve this question


















  • 1





    Related Why do we say “a one-legged man”, with a final -ed, but also say “a one-person job” without? Why is it that a noun can be added with -ed?

    – ColleenV
    9 hours ago













  • Sometimes, it can be either; there are four-engine jets in some newspapers and four-engined jets on others.

    – choster
    9 hours ago











  • @ColleenV: Your second link is not really germane to this question, and the first is somewhat suspect as well. What's at issue here is not the verbing of nouns but why we use a past participle of a verb as a noun in combination with other modifiers without actually verbing a noun. Where do "long-bearded man" and "whiskey-voiced singer" fit in? My comment, which you appear to have deleted, was a more frank and realistic assessment of the situation.

    – Robusto
    8 hours ago








  • 2





    @Robusto I linked the questions as “related” because I thought it was likely that learners who found this question in a search might also be interested in those questions. If I had thought they were more than just “related”, I would have indicated that.

    – ColleenV
    8 hours ago











  • The main point regardless of engined, voiced, bedroomed, etc. is that one would not say: three-leg dog. One always has to say: three-legged dog. If body parts describe the person or animal, the ed is used when adjectivizing.

    – Lambie
    5 hours ago


















7















Why doesn't




A three room house




have the "ed" ending while




A three-headED dog




has?










share|improve this question


















  • 1





    Related Why do we say “a one-legged man”, with a final -ed, but also say “a one-person job” without? Why is it that a noun can be added with -ed?

    – ColleenV
    9 hours ago













  • Sometimes, it can be either; there are four-engine jets in some newspapers and four-engined jets on others.

    – choster
    9 hours ago











  • @ColleenV: Your second link is not really germane to this question, and the first is somewhat suspect as well. What's at issue here is not the verbing of nouns but why we use a past participle of a verb as a noun in combination with other modifiers without actually verbing a noun. Where do "long-bearded man" and "whiskey-voiced singer" fit in? My comment, which you appear to have deleted, was a more frank and realistic assessment of the situation.

    – Robusto
    8 hours ago








  • 2





    @Robusto I linked the questions as “related” because I thought it was likely that learners who found this question in a search might also be interested in those questions. If I had thought they were more than just “related”, I would have indicated that.

    – ColleenV
    8 hours ago











  • The main point regardless of engined, voiced, bedroomed, etc. is that one would not say: three-leg dog. One always has to say: three-legged dog. If body parts describe the person or animal, the ed is used when adjectivizing.

    – Lambie
    5 hours ago
















7












7








7


1






Why doesn't




A three room house




have the "ed" ending while




A three-headED dog




has?










share|improve this question














Why doesn't




A three room house




have the "ed" ending while




A three-headED dog




has?







word-formation






share|improve this question













share|improve this question











share|improve this question




share|improve this question










asked 10 hours ago









Michael AzarenkoMichael Azarenko

1256




1256








  • 1





    Related Why do we say “a one-legged man”, with a final -ed, but also say “a one-person job” without? Why is it that a noun can be added with -ed?

    – ColleenV
    9 hours ago













  • Sometimes, it can be either; there are four-engine jets in some newspapers and four-engined jets on others.

    – choster
    9 hours ago











  • @ColleenV: Your second link is not really germane to this question, and the first is somewhat suspect as well. What's at issue here is not the verbing of nouns but why we use a past participle of a verb as a noun in combination with other modifiers without actually verbing a noun. Where do "long-bearded man" and "whiskey-voiced singer" fit in? My comment, which you appear to have deleted, was a more frank and realistic assessment of the situation.

    – Robusto
    8 hours ago








  • 2





    @Robusto I linked the questions as “related” because I thought it was likely that learners who found this question in a search might also be interested in those questions. If I had thought they were more than just “related”, I would have indicated that.

    – ColleenV
    8 hours ago











  • The main point regardless of engined, voiced, bedroomed, etc. is that one would not say: three-leg dog. One always has to say: three-legged dog. If body parts describe the person or animal, the ed is used when adjectivizing.

    – Lambie
    5 hours ago
















  • 1





    Related Why do we say “a one-legged man”, with a final -ed, but also say “a one-person job” without? Why is it that a noun can be added with -ed?

    – ColleenV
    9 hours ago













  • Sometimes, it can be either; there are four-engine jets in some newspapers and four-engined jets on others.

    – choster
    9 hours ago











  • @ColleenV: Your second link is not really germane to this question, and the first is somewhat suspect as well. What's at issue here is not the verbing of nouns but why we use a past participle of a verb as a noun in combination with other modifiers without actually verbing a noun. Where do "long-bearded man" and "whiskey-voiced singer" fit in? My comment, which you appear to have deleted, was a more frank and realistic assessment of the situation.

    – Robusto
    8 hours ago








  • 2





    @Robusto I linked the questions as “related” because I thought it was likely that learners who found this question in a search might also be interested in those questions. If I had thought they were more than just “related”, I would have indicated that.

    – ColleenV
    8 hours ago











  • The main point regardless of engined, voiced, bedroomed, etc. is that one would not say: three-leg dog. One always has to say: three-legged dog. If body parts describe the person or animal, the ed is used when adjectivizing.

    – Lambie
    5 hours ago










1




1





Related Why do we say “a one-legged man”, with a final -ed, but also say “a one-person job” without? Why is it that a noun can be added with -ed?

– ColleenV
9 hours ago







Related Why do we say “a one-legged man”, with a final -ed, but also say “a one-person job” without? Why is it that a noun can be added with -ed?

– ColleenV
9 hours ago















Sometimes, it can be either; there are four-engine jets in some newspapers and four-engined jets on others.

– choster
9 hours ago





Sometimes, it can be either; there are four-engine jets in some newspapers and four-engined jets on others.

– choster
9 hours ago













@ColleenV: Your second link is not really germane to this question, and the first is somewhat suspect as well. What's at issue here is not the verbing of nouns but why we use a past participle of a verb as a noun in combination with other modifiers without actually verbing a noun. Where do "long-bearded man" and "whiskey-voiced singer" fit in? My comment, which you appear to have deleted, was a more frank and realistic assessment of the situation.

– Robusto
8 hours ago







@ColleenV: Your second link is not really germane to this question, and the first is somewhat suspect as well. What's at issue here is not the verbing of nouns but why we use a past participle of a verb as a noun in combination with other modifiers without actually verbing a noun. Where do "long-bearded man" and "whiskey-voiced singer" fit in? My comment, which you appear to have deleted, was a more frank and realistic assessment of the situation.

– Robusto
8 hours ago






2




2





@Robusto I linked the questions as “related” because I thought it was likely that learners who found this question in a search might also be interested in those questions. If I had thought they were more than just “related”, I would have indicated that.

– ColleenV
8 hours ago





@Robusto I linked the questions as “related” because I thought it was likely that learners who found this question in a search might also be interested in those questions. If I had thought they were more than just “related”, I would have indicated that.

– ColleenV
8 hours ago













The main point regardless of engined, voiced, bedroomed, etc. is that one would not say: three-leg dog. One always has to say: three-legged dog. If body parts describe the person or animal, the ed is used when adjectivizing.

– Lambie
5 hours ago







The main point regardless of engined, voiced, bedroomed, etc. is that one would not say: three-leg dog. One always has to say: three-legged dog. If body parts describe the person or animal, the ed is used when adjectivizing.

– Lambie
5 hours ago












4 Answers
4






active

oldest

votes


















7














It is perfectly normal to say a three-roomed house, a four-engined plane, a three-wheeled car, a five-sided coin. Many such constructions are also valid without the -ed form. So your question "Why doesn't 'a three room house' have the "ed" ending?' is based on a false premise.



In Britain, houses are commonly classified by the number of bedrooms, and you can see sale announcements using either 'X-bedroomed house' and 'X-bedroom house'.



'Eight Roomed House' (2009) was the debut novel of Fiona Margaret Watson.






share|improve this answer


























  • I have seen people correct posts of “x room house” to be “x-roomed house”, so it may be that the “ed” version is perceived to be more correct.

    – ColleenV
    7 hours ago








  • 1





    three-roomed house at site:.uk = 777 hits; three room house at site:.uk =12,000 hits. In the US, houses are also classified by the number of bedrooms. Anything can happen at Clapham Junction. Anyway, one wouldn't usually see it in the US even though it's perfectly acceptable I guess.

    – Lambie
    5 hours ago






  • 1





    In the UK it is quite unusual to describe a house merely by the number of rooms. The number of bedrooms is usual in estate agent (realtor) descriptions. Of course, the term 'bedroom' is flexible. I have a house described as 'three bedroomed', but I and my wife only sleep in one of those additional rooms. "three-bedroom" house site:uk about 14,500,000 results, "three-bedroomed" house site:uk about 1,060,000 results.

    – Michael Harvey
    5 hours ago











  • Ah, right, I forget the beds. The problem with your answer is that it doesn't deal with noun adjuncts, which, regardless of the bedroomed, is still a major issue for ELLers. One could use a completely different idea: a four-piston engine and a three-legged dog. [Please don't tell me you would say four-pistoned engine. :)]

    – Lambie
    5 hours ago






  • 1





    For engines, I go by the cylinders, not the pistons. And yes, my car has a four-cylinder engine.

    – Michael Harvey
    4 hours ago



















4














Often, a phrase like: a house with three rooms, can be made to function like an adjective by writing:




  • a three-room house [many sites with leave out the hyphen, but in formal writing, it should be there]. This is standard in the AmE.


Here is a full explanation of this, which is called a noun adjunct, attributive noun or noun pre-modifier: noun adjunct. This can get complicated but the Wikipedia entry is rather thorough.



The second point in the question concerns parts of the body used as adjectives in English. This point is more straightforward. It so happens that traditionally English adds ed to body parts to form adjectives with numbers:




  • a two-headed monster [with two heads]

  • a three-legged dog [a dog that has lost a leg]

  • a one-eyed man [in literature, often a pirate with a black patch over one eye. :)]

  • a three-toed sloth [a very cute animal, by the way]

  • a six-toed cat [polydactyl, can also have seven, by the way].

  • a one-armed man [a man with one arm]

  • a fleet-footed animal [a deer, it can run fast, for example]

  • Three-eared Rabbit [a restaurant in Trussville, Alabama]

  • a dog-eared book [worn or in bad condition at the corners]

  • a knock-kneed child [the legs curve inward]

  • a scatter-brained person [one who gets confused easily]

  • harebrained or hare-brained [similar to scatter brain]


So, generally, heads, eyes, arms, legs, feet, toes and fingers, and the brain (less often ears and knees) can have ed added to them to form adjectives. There is also lily-livered meaning cowardly. livered comes from liver. And various items with brain.



[I am sure I probably missed some. But that's the general idea.]






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  • 1





    @Lambie "No, three-roomed house is wrong" - Not in British English. If it's OK in national (serious) newspapers, it's good enough for me. And I don't see any reference for your assertion about "traditionally" adding -ed to body parts. Ever heard of a "two-finger salute," or "two finger scroll" and "two finger zoom" on computer touch screens? That's what Microsoft calls them - not "two fingered".

    – alephzero
    6 hours ago













  • @alephzero Of course, you can say what you like. As for the British English thing, I dunno. It's definitely English. But not standard. Standard is the noun adjunct version: three-room house. Some people still wear three-cornered hats. My answer deals "with the use of body parts as adjectives with ed" and not noun adjunct usage as in two finger scroll. That is not the same case. I thought I made that clear? Two finger scroll is like three room house: scrolling using two fingers. It doesn't mean the scrolling has some number of body parts as in every one of my examples.

    – Lambie
    6 hours ago








  • 1





    A two-fingered salute is very rude in the UK and Australia, where it is also called "the forks".

    – Michael Harvey
    4 hours ago













  • @MichaelHarvey I guess you don't agree with two-finger salute, no ed above. Anyway, it's a pity my point is being obscured.

    – Lambie
    4 hours ago






  • 2





    Please give a source for your assertion that the noun adjunct version is "standard".

    – Michael Harvey
    3 hours ago



















1














Regarding the alternative between 'three-room' and 'three-roomed', Google Ngram Viewer shows strong differences between American and British usage. 'one-room' to 'five-room' has been far more common in AmEng since about 1900, while 'one-roomed' etc is occasionally used. 'one-roomed' etc remained more common in BrEng until about 1950, the two forms were equally used until about 1970, 'one-room' is now more common but 'one-roomed' is still used about 25-50% as often as 'one-room' (compared with about 5% as often in AmEng).



"three-roomed house is wrong" - Not in British English, and not even in American English. Very rare, but not wrong.






share|improve this answer
























  • I have never heard three-roomed house in my entire life, which so far, has been pretty long. It is indeed non-standard in the US. That does not make it wrong. It is unusual. Everyone thinks non-standard means slang or bad or some other oddity. It's doesn't. As you yourself state: room is more common in AmE since 1900. So, I am right: it is not standard in AmE today. No one,except some quirky cultural historians, would be expected to know this factoid.

    – Lambie
    2 hours ago





















0














As in the other answers, you can indeed say a three roomed house. Either three roomed or three room sound perfectly natural to me (a native English, Australian dialect speaker).



I'd like to offer a few words on what the two different forms tend to imply to me. I emphasize these connotations are extremely subtle, and, as in other answers, any real connotations are probably dying out, with the "right" form increasingly simply defined by customary usage or preference.



Let's take two phrases:



three bedroomed house as against three bedroom house



and



one eyed man as againts one eye man.



The last, "one eye man" is not incorrect, but it would be extremely seldom usage. I don't even believe I've ever heard it.



For me, one would tend to say, "she's building a three bedroomed house" instead of "three bedroom house", but "three bedroom house" is likely more common in real estate advertisements. I believe the former emphasizes the house as a "growing" or "built" entity: it evokes something evolving towards the described form or state. Hence it is used with parts of living animals: they grew in a womb or an egg and came out like that. On the other hand, "three bedroom house" simply, barely denotes a subclass of object with a certain attribute: you don't care that the house was at one stage built into its present form if you're renting it, you simply want to know whether it will fit your needs.



On the other hand, the connotations of "one eye man" are very subtle to describe for me. The best I can do is that I can imagine it might describe a member of an alien race in a scifi movie - a humanoid being whose species' phenotypes only ever have one eye as opposed to a human being. Likewise, I feel it would be more correct to say a "one eye cyclops" as opposed to "one eyed cyclops": cyclopses by definition only ever have one eye, so you would only say the first to poetically emphasize the one eyedness thay they are known for. "One eyed cyclops" would imply that there might be other, many eyed cyclopses walking around.



If you know a bit of German, the effect is, for me, not unlike the distinction between past participles paired with sein as opposed to werden to make a passive, although it is subtler and less "living language" than the German usage.






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    4 Answers
    4






    active

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    4 Answers
    4






    active

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    active

    oldest

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    active

    oldest

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    7














    It is perfectly normal to say a three-roomed house, a four-engined plane, a three-wheeled car, a five-sided coin. Many such constructions are also valid without the -ed form. So your question "Why doesn't 'a three room house' have the "ed" ending?' is based on a false premise.



    In Britain, houses are commonly classified by the number of bedrooms, and you can see sale announcements using either 'X-bedroomed house' and 'X-bedroom house'.



    'Eight Roomed House' (2009) was the debut novel of Fiona Margaret Watson.






    share|improve this answer


























    • I have seen people correct posts of “x room house” to be “x-roomed house”, so it may be that the “ed” version is perceived to be more correct.

      – ColleenV
      7 hours ago








    • 1





      three-roomed house at site:.uk = 777 hits; three room house at site:.uk =12,000 hits. In the US, houses are also classified by the number of bedrooms. Anything can happen at Clapham Junction. Anyway, one wouldn't usually see it in the US even though it's perfectly acceptable I guess.

      – Lambie
      5 hours ago






    • 1





      In the UK it is quite unusual to describe a house merely by the number of rooms. The number of bedrooms is usual in estate agent (realtor) descriptions. Of course, the term 'bedroom' is flexible. I have a house described as 'three bedroomed', but I and my wife only sleep in one of those additional rooms. "three-bedroom" house site:uk about 14,500,000 results, "three-bedroomed" house site:uk about 1,060,000 results.

      – Michael Harvey
      5 hours ago











    • Ah, right, I forget the beds. The problem with your answer is that it doesn't deal with noun adjuncts, which, regardless of the bedroomed, is still a major issue for ELLers. One could use a completely different idea: a four-piston engine and a three-legged dog. [Please don't tell me you would say four-pistoned engine. :)]

      – Lambie
      5 hours ago






    • 1





      For engines, I go by the cylinders, not the pistons. And yes, my car has a four-cylinder engine.

      – Michael Harvey
      4 hours ago
















    7














    It is perfectly normal to say a three-roomed house, a four-engined plane, a three-wheeled car, a five-sided coin. Many such constructions are also valid without the -ed form. So your question "Why doesn't 'a three room house' have the "ed" ending?' is based on a false premise.



    In Britain, houses are commonly classified by the number of bedrooms, and you can see sale announcements using either 'X-bedroomed house' and 'X-bedroom house'.



    'Eight Roomed House' (2009) was the debut novel of Fiona Margaret Watson.






    share|improve this answer


























    • I have seen people correct posts of “x room house” to be “x-roomed house”, so it may be that the “ed” version is perceived to be more correct.

      – ColleenV
      7 hours ago








    • 1





      three-roomed house at site:.uk = 777 hits; three room house at site:.uk =12,000 hits. In the US, houses are also classified by the number of bedrooms. Anything can happen at Clapham Junction. Anyway, one wouldn't usually see it in the US even though it's perfectly acceptable I guess.

      – Lambie
      5 hours ago






    • 1





      In the UK it is quite unusual to describe a house merely by the number of rooms. The number of bedrooms is usual in estate agent (realtor) descriptions. Of course, the term 'bedroom' is flexible. I have a house described as 'three bedroomed', but I and my wife only sleep in one of those additional rooms. "three-bedroom" house site:uk about 14,500,000 results, "three-bedroomed" house site:uk about 1,060,000 results.

      – Michael Harvey
      5 hours ago











    • Ah, right, I forget the beds. The problem with your answer is that it doesn't deal with noun adjuncts, which, regardless of the bedroomed, is still a major issue for ELLers. One could use a completely different idea: a four-piston engine and a three-legged dog. [Please don't tell me you would say four-pistoned engine. :)]

      – Lambie
      5 hours ago






    • 1





      For engines, I go by the cylinders, not the pistons. And yes, my car has a four-cylinder engine.

      – Michael Harvey
      4 hours ago














    7












    7








    7







    It is perfectly normal to say a three-roomed house, a four-engined plane, a three-wheeled car, a five-sided coin. Many such constructions are also valid without the -ed form. So your question "Why doesn't 'a three room house' have the "ed" ending?' is based on a false premise.



    In Britain, houses are commonly classified by the number of bedrooms, and you can see sale announcements using either 'X-bedroomed house' and 'X-bedroom house'.



    'Eight Roomed House' (2009) was the debut novel of Fiona Margaret Watson.






    share|improve this answer















    It is perfectly normal to say a three-roomed house, a four-engined plane, a three-wheeled car, a five-sided coin. Many such constructions are also valid without the -ed form. So your question "Why doesn't 'a three room house' have the "ed" ending?' is based on a false premise.



    In Britain, houses are commonly classified by the number of bedrooms, and you can see sale announcements using either 'X-bedroomed house' and 'X-bedroom house'.



    'Eight Roomed House' (2009) was the debut novel of Fiona Margaret Watson.







    share|improve this answer














    share|improve this answer



    share|improve this answer








    edited 6 hours ago

























    answered 7 hours ago









    Michael HarveyMichael Harvey

    16.5k11835




    16.5k11835













    • I have seen people correct posts of “x room house” to be “x-roomed house”, so it may be that the “ed” version is perceived to be more correct.

      – ColleenV
      7 hours ago








    • 1





      three-roomed house at site:.uk = 777 hits; three room house at site:.uk =12,000 hits. In the US, houses are also classified by the number of bedrooms. Anything can happen at Clapham Junction. Anyway, one wouldn't usually see it in the US even though it's perfectly acceptable I guess.

      – Lambie
      5 hours ago






    • 1





      In the UK it is quite unusual to describe a house merely by the number of rooms. The number of bedrooms is usual in estate agent (realtor) descriptions. Of course, the term 'bedroom' is flexible. I have a house described as 'three bedroomed', but I and my wife only sleep in one of those additional rooms. "three-bedroom" house site:uk about 14,500,000 results, "three-bedroomed" house site:uk about 1,060,000 results.

      – Michael Harvey
      5 hours ago











    • Ah, right, I forget the beds. The problem with your answer is that it doesn't deal with noun adjuncts, which, regardless of the bedroomed, is still a major issue for ELLers. One could use a completely different idea: a four-piston engine and a three-legged dog. [Please don't tell me you would say four-pistoned engine. :)]

      – Lambie
      5 hours ago






    • 1





      For engines, I go by the cylinders, not the pistons. And yes, my car has a four-cylinder engine.

      – Michael Harvey
      4 hours ago



















    • I have seen people correct posts of “x room house” to be “x-roomed house”, so it may be that the “ed” version is perceived to be more correct.

      – ColleenV
      7 hours ago








    • 1





      three-roomed house at site:.uk = 777 hits; three room house at site:.uk =12,000 hits. In the US, houses are also classified by the number of bedrooms. Anything can happen at Clapham Junction. Anyway, one wouldn't usually see it in the US even though it's perfectly acceptable I guess.

      – Lambie
      5 hours ago






    • 1





      In the UK it is quite unusual to describe a house merely by the number of rooms. The number of bedrooms is usual in estate agent (realtor) descriptions. Of course, the term 'bedroom' is flexible. I have a house described as 'three bedroomed', but I and my wife only sleep in one of those additional rooms. "three-bedroom" house site:uk about 14,500,000 results, "three-bedroomed" house site:uk about 1,060,000 results.

      – Michael Harvey
      5 hours ago











    • Ah, right, I forget the beds. The problem with your answer is that it doesn't deal with noun adjuncts, which, regardless of the bedroomed, is still a major issue for ELLers. One could use a completely different idea: a four-piston engine and a three-legged dog. [Please don't tell me you would say four-pistoned engine. :)]

      – Lambie
      5 hours ago






    • 1





      For engines, I go by the cylinders, not the pistons. And yes, my car has a four-cylinder engine.

      – Michael Harvey
      4 hours ago

















    I have seen people correct posts of “x room house” to be “x-roomed house”, so it may be that the “ed” version is perceived to be more correct.

    – ColleenV
    7 hours ago







    I have seen people correct posts of “x room house” to be “x-roomed house”, so it may be that the “ed” version is perceived to be more correct.

    – ColleenV
    7 hours ago






    1




    1





    three-roomed house at site:.uk = 777 hits; three room house at site:.uk =12,000 hits. In the US, houses are also classified by the number of bedrooms. Anything can happen at Clapham Junction. Anyway, one wouldn't usually see it in the US even though it's perfectly acceptable I guess.

    – Lambie
    5 hours ago





    three-roomed house at site:.uk = 777 hits; three room house at site:.uk =12,000 hits. In the US, houses are also classified by the number of bedrooms. Anything can happen at Clapham Junction. Anyway, one wouldn't usually see it in the US even though it's perfectly acceptable I guess.

    – Lambie
    5 hours ago




    1




    1





    In the UK it is quite unusual to describe a house merely by the number of rooms. The number of bedrooms is usual in estate agent (realtor) descriptions. Of course, the term 'bedroom' is flexible. I have a house described as 'three bedroomed', but I and my wife only sleep in one of those additional rooms. "three-bedroom" house site:uk about 14,500,000 results, "three-bedroomed" house site:uk about 1,060,000 results.

    – Michael Harvey
    5 hours ago





    In the UK it is quite unusual to describe a house merely by the number of rooms. The number of bedrooms is usual in estate agent (realtor) descriptions. Of course, the term 'bedroom' is flexible. I have a house described as 'three bedroomed', but I and my wife only sleep in one of those additional rooms. "three-bedroom" house site:uk about 14,500,000 results, "three-bedroomed" house site:uk about 1,060,000 results.

    – Michael Harvey
    5 hours ago













    Ah, right, I forget the beds. The problem with your answer is that it doesn't deal with noun adjuncts, which, regardless of the bedroomed, is still a major issue for ELLers. One could use a completely different idea: a four-piston engine and a three-legged dog. [Please don't tell me you would say four-pistoned engine. :)]

    – Lambie
    5 hours ago





    Ah, right, I forget the beds. The problem with your answer is that it doesn't deal with noun adjuncts, which, regardless of the bedroomed, is still a major issue for ELLers. One could use a completely different idea: a four-piston engine and a three-legged dog. [Please don't tell me you would say four-pistoned engine. :)]

    – Lambie
    5 hours ago




    1




    1





    For engines, I go by the cylinders, not the pistons. And yes, my car has a four-cylinder engine.

    – Michael Harvey
    4 hours ago





    For engines, I go by the cylinders, not the pistons. And yes, my car has a four-cylinder engine.

    – Michael Harvey
    4 hours ago













    4














    Often, a phrase like: a house with three rooms, can be made to function like an adjective by writing:




    • a three-room house [many sites with leave out the hyphen, but in formal writing, it should be there]. This is standard in the AmE.


    Here is a full explanation of this, which is called a noun adjunct, attributive noun or noun pre-modifier: noun adjunct. This can get complicated but the Wikipedia entry is rather thorough.



    The second point in the question concerns parts of the body used as adjectives in English. This point is more straightforward. It so happens that traditionally English adds ed to body parts to form adjectives with numbers:




    • a two-headed monster [with two heads]

    • a three-legged dog [a dog that has lost a leg]

    • a one-eyed man [in literature, often a pirate with a black patch over one eye. :)]

    • a three-toed sloth [a very cute animal, by the way]

    • a six-toed cat [polydactyl, can also have seven, by the way].

    • a one-armed man [a man with one arm]

    • a fleet-footed animal [a deer, it can run fast, for example]

    • Three-eared Rabbit [a restaurant in Trussville, Alabama]

    • a dog-eared book [worn or in bad condition at the corners]

    • a knock-kneed child [the legs curve inward]

    • a scatter-brained person [one who gets confused easily]

    • harebrained or hare-brained [similar to scatter brain]


    So, generally, heads, eyes, arms, legs, feet, toes and fingers, and the brain (less often ears and knees) can have ed added to them to form adjectives. There is also lily-livered meaning cowardly. livered comes from liver. And various items with brain.



    [I am sure I probably missed some. But that's the general idea.]






    share|improve this answer





















    • 1





      @Lambie "No, three-roomed house is wrong" - Not in British English. If it's OK in national (serious) newspapers, it's good enough for me. And I don't see any reference for your assertion about "traditionally" adding -ed to body parts. Ever heard of a "two-finger salute," or "two finger scroll" and "two finger zoom" on computer touch screens? That's what Microsoft calls them - not "two fingered".

      – alephzero
      6 hours ago













    • @alephzero Of course, you can say what you like. As for the British English thing, I dunno. It's definitely English. But not standard. Standard is the noun adjunct version: three-room house. Some people still wear three-cornered hats. My answer deals "with the use of body parts as adjectives with ed" and not noun adjunct usage as in two finger scroll. That is not the same case. I thought I made that clear? Two finger scroll is like three room house: scrolling using two fingers. It doesn't mean the scrolling has some number of body parts as in every one of my examples.

      – Lambie
      6 hours ago








    • 1





      A two-fingered salute is very rude in the UK and Australia, where it is also called "the forks".

      – Michael Harvey
      4 hours ago













    • @MichaelHarvey I guess you don't agree with two-finger salute, no ed above. Anyway, it's a pity my point is being obscured.

      – Lambie
      4 hours ago






    • 2





      Please give a source for your assertion that the noun adjunct version is "standard".

      – Michael Harvey
      3 hours ago
















    4














    Often, a phrase like: a house with three rooms, can be made to function like an adjective by writing:




    • a three-room house [many sites with leave out the hyphen, but in formal writing, it should be there]. This is standard in the AmE.


    Here is a full explanation of this, which is called a noun adjunct, attributive noun or noun pre-modifier: noun adjunct. This can get complicated but the Wikipedia entry is rather thorough.



    The second point in the question concerns parts of the body used as adjectives in English. This point is more straightforward. It so happens that traditionally English adds ed to body parts to form adjectives with numbers:




    • a two-headed monster [with two heads]

    • a three-legged dog [a dog that has lost a leg]

    • a one-eyed man [in literature, often a pirate with a black patch over one eye. :)]

    • a three-toed sloth [a very cute animal, by the way]

    • a six-toed cat [polydactyl, can also have seven, by the way].

    • a one-armed man [a man with one arm]

    • a fleet-footed animal [a deer, it can run fast, for example]

    • Three-eared Rabbit [a restaurant in Trussville, Alabama]

    • a dog-eared book [worn or in bad condition at the corners]

    • a knock-kneed child [the legs curve inward]

    • a scatter-brained person [one who gets confused easily]

    • harebrained or hare-brained [similar to scatter brain]


    So, generally, heads, eyes, arms, legs, feet, toes and fingers, and the brain (less often ears and knees) can have ed added to them to form adjectives. There is also lily-livered meaning cowardly. livered comes from liver. And various items with brain.



    [I am sure I probably missed some. But that's the general idea.]






    share|improve this answer





















    • 1





      @Lambie "No, three-roomed house is wrong" - Not in British English. If it's OK in national (serious) newspapers, it's good enough for me. And I don't see any reference for your assertion about "traditionally" adding -ed to body parts. Ever heard of a "two-finger salute," or "two finger scroll" and "two finger zoom" on computer touch screens? That's what Microsoft calls them - not "two fingered".

      – alephzero
      6 hours ago













    • @alephzero Of course, you can say what you like. As for the British English thing, I dunno. It's definitely English. But not standard. Standard is the noun adjunct version: three-room house. Some people still wear three-cornered hats. My answer deals "with the use of body parts as adjectives with ed" and not noun adjunct usage as in two finger scroll. That is not the same case. I thought I made that clear? Two finger scroll is like three room house: scrolling using two fingers. It doesn't mean the scrolling has some number of body parts as in every one of my examples.

      – Lambie
      6 hours ago








    • 1





      A two-fingered salute is very rude in the UK and Australia, where it is also called "the forks".

      – Michael Harvey
      4 hours ago













    • @MichaelHarvey I guess you don't agree with two-finger salute, no ed above. Anyway, it's a pity my point is being obscured.

      – Lambie
      4 hours ago






    • 2





      Please give a source for your assertion that the noun adjunct version is "standard".

      – Michael Harvey
      3 hours ago














    4












    4








    4







    Often, a phrase like: a house with three rooms, can be made to function like an adjective by writing:




    • a three-room house [many sites with leave out the hyphen, but in formal writing, it should be there]. This is standard in the AmE.


    Here is a full explanation of this, which is called a noun adjunct, attributive noun or noun pre-modifier: noun adjunct. This can get complicated but the Wikipedia entry is rather thorough.



    The second point in the question concerns parts of the body used as adjectives in English. This point is more straightforward. It so happens that traditionally English adds ed to body parts to form adjectives with numbers:




    • a two-headed monster [with two heads]

    • a three-legged dog [a dog that has lost a leg]

    • a one-eyed man [in literature, often a pirate with a black patch over one eye. :)]

    • a three-toed sloth [a very cute animal, by the way]

    • a six-toed cat [polydactyl, can also have seven, by the way].

    • a one-armed man [a man with one arm]

    • a fleet-footed animal [a deer, it can run fast, for example]

    • Three-eared Rabbit [a restaurant in Trussville, Alabama]

    • a dog-eared book [worn or in bad condition at the corners]

    • a knock-kneed child [the legs curve inward]

    • a scatter-brained person [one who gets confused easily]

    • harebrained or hare-brained [similar to scatter brain]


    So, generally, heads, eyes, arms, legs, feet, toes and fingers, and the brain (less often ears and knees) can have ed added to them to form adjectives. There is also lily-livered meaning cowardly. livered comes from liver. And various items with brain.



    [I am sure I probably missed some. But that's the general idea.]






    share|improve this answer















    Often, a phrase like: a house with three rooms, can be made to function like an adjective by writing:




    • a three-room house [many sites with leave out the hyphen, but in formal writing, it should be there]. This is standard in the AmE.


    Here is a full explanation of this, which is called a noun adjunct, attributive noun or noun pre-modifier: noun adjunct. This can get complicated but the Wikipedia entry is rather thorough.



    The second point in the question concerns parts of the body used as adjectives in English. This point is more straightforward. It so happens that traditionally English adds ed to body parts to form adjectives with numbers:




    • a two-headed monster [with two heads]

    • a three-legged dog [a dog that has lost a leg]

    • a one-eyed man [in literature, often a pirate with a black patch over one eye. :)]

    • a three-toed sloth [a very cute animal, by the way]

    • a six-toed cat [polydactyl, can also have seven, by the way].

    • a one-armed man [a man with one arm]

    • a fleet-footed animal [a deer, it can run fast, for example]

    • Three-eared Rabbit [a restaurant in Trussville, Alabama]

    • a dog-eared book [worn or in bad condition at the corners]

    • a knock-kneed child [the legs curve inward]

    • a scatter-brained person [one who gets confused easily]

    • harebrained or hare-brained [similar to scatter brain]


    So, generally, heads, eyes, arms, legs, feet, toes and fingers, and the brain (less often ears and knees) can have ed added to them to form adjectives. There is also lily-livered meaning cowardly. livered comes from liver. And various items with brain.



    [I am sure I probably missed some. But that's the general idea.]







    share|improve this answer














    share|improve this answer



    share|improve this answer








    edited 2 hours ago

























    answered 10 hours ago









    LambieLambie

    16k1435




    16k1435








    • 1





      @Lambie "No, three-roomed house is wrong" - Not in British English. If it's OK in national (serious) newspapers, it's good enough for me. And I don't see any reference for your assertion about "traditionally" adding -ed to body parts. Ever heard of a "two-finger salute," or "two finger scroll" and "two finger zoom" on computer touch screens? That's what Microsoft calls them - not "two fingered".

      – alephzero
      6 hours ago













    • @alephzero Of course, you can say what you like. As for the British English thing, I dunno. It's definitely English. But not standard. Standard is the noun adjunct version: three-room house. Some people still wear three-cornered hats. My answer deals "with the use of body parts as adjectives with ed" and not noun adjunct usage as in two finger scroll. That is not the same case. I thought I made that clear? Two finger scroll is like three room house: scrolling using two fingers. It doesn't mean the scrolling has some number of body parts as in every one of my examples.

      – Lambie
      6 hours ago








    • 1





      A two-fingered salute is very rude in the UK and Australia, where it is also called "the forks".

      – Michael Harvey
      4 hours ago













    • @MichaelHarvey I guess you don't agree with two-finger salute, no ed above. Anyway, it's a pity my point is being obscured.

      – Lambie
      4 hours ago






    • 2





      Please give a source for your assertion that the noun adjunct version is "standard".

      – Michael Harvey
      3 hours ago














    • 1





      @Lambie "No, three-roomed house is wrong" - Not in British English. If it's OK in national (serious) newspapers, it's good enough for me. And I don't see any reference for your assertion about "traditionally" adding -ed to body parts. Ever heard of a "two-finger salute," or "two finger scroll" and "two finger zoom" on computer touch screens? That's what Microsoft calls them - not "two fingered".

      – alephzero
      6 hours ago













    • @alephzero Of course, you can say what you like. As for the British English thing, I dunno. It's definitely English. But not standard. Standard is the noun adjunct version: three-room house. Some people still wear three-cornered hats. My answer deals "with the use of body parts as adjectives with ed" and not noun adjunct usage as in two finger scroll. That is not the same case. I thought I made that clear? Two finger scroll is like three room house: scrolling using two fingers. It doesn't mean the scrolling has some number of body parts as in every one of my examples.

      – Lambie
      6 hours ago








    • 1





      A two-fingered salute is very rude in the UK and Australia, where it is also called "the forks".

      – Michael Harvey
      4 hours ago













    • @MichaelHarvey I guess you don't agree with two-finger salute, no ed above. Anyway, it's a pity my point is being obscured.

      – Lambie
      4 hours ago






    • 2





      Please give a source for your assertion that the noun adjunct version is "standard".

      – Michael Harvey
      3 hours ago








    1




    1





    @Lambie "No, three-roomed house is wrong" - Not in British English. If it's OK in national (serious) newspapers, it's good enough for me. And I don't see any reference for your assertion about "traditionally" adding -ed to body parts. Ever heard of a "two-finger salute," or "two finger scroll" and "two finger zoom" on computer touch screens? That's what Microsoft calls them - not "two fingered".

    – alephzero
    6 hours ago







    @Lambie "No, three-roomed house is wrong" - Not in British English. If it's OK in national (serious) newspapers, it's good enough for me. And I don't see any reference for your assertion about "traditionally" adding -ed to body parts. Ever heard of a "two-finger salute," or "two finger scroll" and "two finger zoom" on computer touch screens? That's what Microsoft calls them - not "two fingered".

    – alephzero
    6 hours ago















    @alephzero Of course, you can say what you like. As for the British English thing, I dunno. It's definitely English. But not standard. Standard is the noun adjunct version: three-room house. Some people still wear three-cornered hats. My answer deals "with the use of body parts as adjectives with ed" and not noun adjunct usage as in two finger scroll. That is not the same case. I thought I made that clear? Two finger scroll is like three room house: scrolling using two fingers. It doesn't mean the scrolling has some number of body parts as in every one of my examples.

    – Lambie
    6 hours ago







    @alephzero Of course, you can say what you like. As for the British English thing, I dunno. It's definitely English. But not standard. Standard is the noun adjunct version: three-room house. Some people still wear three-cornered hats. My answer deals "with the use of body parts as adjectives with ed" and not noun adjunct usage as in two finger scroll. That is not the same case. I thought I made that clear? Two finger scroll is like three room house: scrolling using two fingers. It doesn't mean the scrolling has some number of body parts as in every one of my examples.

    – Lambie
    6 hours ago






    1




    1





    A two-fingered salute is very rude in the UK and Australia, where it is also called "the forks".

    – Michael Harvey
    4 hours ago







    A two-fingered salute is very rude in the UK and Australia, where it is also called "the forks".

    – Michael Harvey
    4 hours ago















    @MichaelHarvey I guess you don't agree with two-finger salute, no ed above. Anyway, it's a pity my point is being obscured.

    – Lambie
    4 hours ago





    @MichaelHarvey I guess you don't agree with two-finger salute, no ed above. Anyway, it's a pity my point is being obscured.

    – Lambie
    4 hours ago




    2




    2





    Please give a source for your assertion that the noun adjunct version is "standard".

    – Michael Harvey
    3 hours ago





    Please give a source for your assertion that the noun adjunct version is "standard".

    – Michael Harvey
    3 hours ago











    1














    Regarding the alternative between 'three-room' and 'three-roomed', Google Ngram Viewer shows strong differences between American and British usage. 'one-room' to 'five-room' has been far more common in AmEng since about 1900, while 'one-roomed' etc is occasionally used. 'one-roomed' etc remained more common in BrEng until about 1950, the two forms were equally used until about 1970, 'one-room' is now more common but 'one-roomed' is still used about 25-50% as often as 'one-room' (compared with about 5% as often in AmEng).



    "three-roomed house is wrong" - Not in British English, and not even in American English. Very rare, but not wrong.






    share|improve this answer
























    • I have never heard three-roomed house in my entire life, which so far, has been pretty long. It is indeed non-standard in the US. That does not make it wrong. It is unusual. Everyone thinks non-standard means slang or bad or some other oddity. It's doesn't. As you yourself state: room is more common in AmE since 1900. So, I am right: it is not standard in AmE today. No one,except some quirky cultural historians, would be expected to know this factoid.

      – Lambie
      2 hours ago


















    1














    Regarding the alternative between 'three-room' and 'three-roomed', Google Ngram Viewer shows strong differences between American and British usage. 'one-room' to 'five-room' has been far more common in AmEng since about 1900, while 'one-roomed' etc is occasionally used. 'one-roomed' etc remained more common in BrEng until about 1950, the two forms were equally used until about 1970, 'one-room' is now more common but 'one-roomed' is still used about 25-50% as often as 'one-room' (compared with about 5% as often in AmEng).



    "three-roomed house is wrong" - Not in British English, and not even in American English. Very rare, but not wrong.






    share|improve this answer
























    • I have never heard three-roomed house in my entire life, which so far, has been pretty long. It is indeed non-standard in the US. That does not make it wrong. It is unusual. Everyone thinks non-standard means slang or bad or some other oddity. It's doesn't. As you yourself state: room is more common in AmE since 1900. So, I am right: it is not standard in AmE today. No one,except some quirky cultural historians, would be expected to know this factoid.

      – Lambie
      2 hours ago
















    1












    1








    1







    Regarding the alternative between 'three-room' and 'three-roomed', Google Ngram Viewer shows strong differences between American and British usage. 'one-room' to 'five-room' has been far more common in AmEng since about 1900, while 'one-roomed' etc is occasionally used. 'one-roomed' etc remained more common in BrEng until about 1950, the two forms were equally used until about 1970, 'one-room' is now more common but 'one-roomed' is still used about 25-50% as often as 'one-room' (compared with about 5% as often in AmEng).



    "three-roomed house is wrong" - Not in British English, and not even in American English. Very rare, but not wrong.






    share|improve this answer













    Regarding the alternative between 'three-room' and 'three-roomed', Google Ngram Viewer shows strong differences between American and British usage. 'one-room' to 'five-room' has been far more common in AmEng since about 1900, while 'one-roomed' etc is occasionally used. 'one-roomed' etc remained more common in BrEng until about 1950, the two forms were equally used until about 1970, 'one-room' is now more common but 'one-roomed' is still used about 25-50% as often as 'one-room' (compared with about 5% as often in AmEng).



    "three-roomed house is wrong" - Not in British English, and not even in American English. Very rare, but not wrong.







    share|improve this answer












    share|improve this answer



    share|improve this answer










    answered 4 hours ago









    SydneySydney

    4,7122714




    4,7122714













    • I have never heard three-roomed house in my entire life, which so far, has been pretty long. It is indeed non-standard in the US. That does not make it wrong. It is unusual. Everyone thinks non-standard means slang or bad or some other oddity. It's doesn't. As you yourself state: room is more common in AmE since 1900. So, I am right: it is not standard in AmE today. No one,except some quirky cultural historians, would be expected to know this factoid.

      – Lambie
      2 hours ago





















    • I have never heard three-roomed house in my entire life, which so far, has been pretty long. It is indeed non-standard in the US. That does not make it wrong. It is unusual. Everyone thinks non-standard means slang or bad or some other oddity. It's doesn't. As you yourself state: room is more common in AmE since 1900. So, I am right: it is not standard in AmE today. No one,except some quirky cultural historians, would be expected to know this factoid.

      – Lambie
      2 hours ago



















    I have never heard three-roomed house in my entire life, which so far, has been pretty long. It is indeed non-standard in the US. That does not make it wrong. It is unusual. Everyone thinks non-standard means slang or bad or some other oddity. It's doesn't. As you yourself state: room is more common in AmE since 1900. So, I am right: it is not standard in AmE today. No one,except some quirky cultural historians, would be expected to know this factoid.

    – Lambie
    2 hours ago







    I have never heard three-roomed house in my entire life, which so far, has been pretty long. It is indeed non-standard in the US. That does not make it wrong. It is unusual. Everyone thinks non-standard means slang or bad or some other oddity. It's doesn't. As you yourself state: room is more common in AmE since 1900. So, I am right: it is not standard in AmE today. No one,except some quirky cultural historians, would be expected to know this factoid.

    – Lambie
    2 hours ago













    0














    As in the other answers, you can indeed say a three roomed house. Either three roomed or three room sound perfectly natural to me (a native English, Australian dialect speaker).



    I'd like to offer a few words on what the two different forms tend to imply to me. I emphasize these connotations are extremely subtle, and, as in other answers, any real connotations are probably dying out, with the "right" form increasingly simply defined by customary usage or preference.



    Let's take two phrases:



    three bedroomed house as against three bedroom house



    and



    one eyed man as againts one eye man.



    The last, "one eye man" is not incorrect, but it would be extremely seldom usage. I don't even believe I've ever heard it.



    For me, one would tend to say, "she's building a three bedroomed house" instead of "three bedroom house", but "three bedroom house" is likely more common in real estate advertisements. I believe the former emphasizes the house as a "growing" or "built" entity: it evokes something evolving towards the described form or state. Hence it is used with parts of living animals: they grew in a womb or an egg and came out like that. On the other hand, "three bedroom house" simply, barely denotes a subclass of object with a certain attribute: you don't care that the house was at one stage built into its present form if you're renting it, you simply want to know whether it will fit your needs.



    On the other hand, the connotations of "one eye man" are very subtle to describe for me. The best I can do is that I can imagine it might describe a member of an alien race in a scifi movie - a humanoid being whose species' phenotypes only ever have one eye as opposed to a human being. Likewise, I feel it would be more correct to say a "one eye cyclops" as opposed to "one eyed cyclops": cyclopses by definition only ever have one eye, so you would only say the first to poetically emphasize the one eyedness thay they are known for. "One eyed cyclops" would imply that there might be other, many eyed cyclopses walking around.



    If you know a bit of German, the effect is, for me, not unlike the distinction between past participles paired with sein as opposed to werden to make a passive, although it is subtler and less "living language" than the German usage.






    share|improve this answer




























      0














      As in the other answers, you can indeed say a three roomed house. Either three roomed or three room sound perfectly natural to me (a native English, Australian dialect speaker).



      I'd like to offer a few words on what the two different forms tend to imply to me. I emphasize these connotations are extremely subtle, and, as in other answers, any real connotations are probably dying out, with the "right" form increasingly simply defined by customary usage or preference.



      Let's take two phrases:



      three bedroomed house as against three bedroom house



      and



      one eyed man as againts one eye man.



      The last, "one eye man" is not incorrect, but it would be extremely seldom usage. I don't even believe I've ever heard it.



      For me, one would tend to say, "she's building a three bedroomed house" instead of "three bedroom house", but "three bedroom house" is likely more common in real estate advertisements. I believe the former emphasizes the house as a "growing" or "built" entity: it evokes something evolving towards the described form or state. Hence it is used with parts of living animals: they grew in a womb or an egg and came out like that. On the other hand, "three bedroom house" simply, barely denotes a subclass of object with a certain attribute: you don't care that the house was at one stage built into its present form if you're renting it, you simply want to know whether it will fit your needs.



      On the other hand, the connotations of "one eye man" are very subtle to describe for me. The best I can do is that I can imagine it might describe a member of an alien race in a scifi movie - a humanoid being whose species' phenotypes only ever have one eye as opposed to a human being. Likewise, I feel it would be more correct to say a "one eye cyclops" as opposed to "one eyed cyclops": cyclopses by definition only ever have one eye, so you would only say the first to poetically emphasize the one eyedness thay they are known for. "One eyed cyclops" would imply that there might be other, many eyed cyclopses walking around.



      If you know a bit of German, the effect is, for me, not unlike the distinction between past participles paired with sein as opposed to werden to make a passive, although it is subtler and less "living language" than the German usage.






      share|improve this answer


























        0












        0








        0







        As in the other answers, you can indeed say a three roomed house. Either three roomed or three room sound perfectly natural to me (a native English, Australian dialect speaker).



        I'd like to offer a few words on what the two different forms tend to imply to me. I emphasize these connotations are extremely subtle, and, as in other answers, any real connotations are probably dying out, with the "right" form increasingly simply defined by customary usage or preference.



        Let's take two phrases:



        three bedroomed house as against three bedroom house



        and



        one eyed man as againts one eye man.



        The last, "one eye man" is not incorrect, but it would be extremely seldom usage. I don't even believe I've ever heard it.



        For me, one would tend to say, "she's building a three bedroomed house" instead of "three bedroom house", but "three bedroom house" is likely more common in real estate advertisements. I believe the former emphasizes the house as a "growing" or "built" entity: it evokes something evolving towards the described form or state. Hence it is used with parts of living animals: they grew in a womb or an egg and came out like that. On the other hand, "three bedroom house" simply, barely denotes a subclass of object with a certain attribute: you don't care that the house was at one stage built into its present form if you're renting it, you simply want to know whether it will fit your needs.



        On the other hand, the connotations of "one eye man" are very subtle to describe for me. The best I can do is that I can imagine it might describe a member of an alien race in a scifi movie - a humanoid being whose species' phenotypes only ever have one eye as opposed to a human being. Likewise, I feel it would be more correct to say a "one eye cyclops" as opposed to "one eyed cyclops": cyclopses by definition only ever have one eye, so you would only say the first to poetically emphasize the one eyedness thay they are known for. "One eyed cyclops" would imply that there might be other, many eyed cyclopses walking around.



        If you know a bit of German, the effect is, for me, not unlike the distinction between past participles paired with sein as opposed to werden to make a passive, although it is subtler and less "living language" than the German usage.






        share|improve this answer













        As in the other answers, you can indeed say a three roomed house. Either three roomed or three room sound perfectly natural to me (a native English, Australian dialect speaker).



        I'd like to offer a few words on what the two different forms tend to imply to me. I emphasize these connotations are extremely subtle, and, as in other answers, any real connotations are probably dying out, with the "right" form increasingly simply defined by customary usage or preference.



        Let's take two phrases:



        three bedroomed house as against three bedroom house



        and



        one eyed man as againts one eye man.



        The last, "one eye man" is not incorrect, but it would be extremely seldom usage. I don't even believe I've ever heard it.



        For me, one would tend to say, "she's building a three bedroomed house" instead of "three bedroom house", but "three bedroom house" is likely more common in real estate advertisements. I believe the former emphasizes the house as a "growing" or "built" entity: it evokes something evolving towards the described form or state. Hence it is used with parts of living animals: they grew in a womb or an egg and came out like that. On the other hand, "three bedroom house" simply, barely denotes a subclass of object with a certain attribute: you don't care that the house was at one stage built into its present form if you're renting it, you simply want to know whether it will fit your needs.



        On the other hand, the connotations of "one eye man" are very subtle to describe for me. The best I can do is that I can imagine it might describe a member of an alien race in a scifi movie - a humanoid being whose species' phenotypes only ever have one eye as opposed to a human being. Likewise, I feel it would be more correct to say a "one eye cyclops" as opposed to "one eyed cyclops": cyclopses by definition only ever have one eye, so you would only say the first to poetically emphasize the one eyedness thay they are known for. "One eyed cyclops" would imply that there might be other, many eyed cyclopses walking around.



        If you know a bit of German, the effect is, for me, not unlike the distinction between past participles paired with sein as opposed to werden to make a passive, although it is subtler and less "living language" than the German usage.







        share|improve this answer












        share|improve this answer



        share|improve this answer










        answered 2 hours ago









        WetSavannaAnimal aka Rod VanceWetSavannaAnimal aka Rod Vance

        1493




        1493






























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