student asking question

Isn't it more correct to say "houses like palace", not "palace like houses"? Why is this word order "palace like houses" used here?

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

"Palace-like houses" is used here to refer to the houses being like palaces. "Palace-like" should be hyphenated here. When a word is hyphenated next to "like", it is used to refer to that word being like the noun that follows. So in this case, the houses were "palace-like" or were like palaces. This format is relatively common, however, it is also correct to say "houses like palaces" instead.

Popular Q&As

04/19

Complete the expression with a quiz!