Compound Nouns

Compound Nouns :



Words of different category (nouns, verb, adjective or adverbs) can be united to form nouns of this type. They usually have two parts. The first part of this type of noun tells you what kind of object or person it is or what the purpose of the noun is. The second part of this type of noun speaks about the object or person in question. These types of nouns often have a more specific meaning.

adjective + adjective

1. blue + green = blue-green

Noun + noun

1. Bed = room = bedroom
2. Water + tank = water-tank
3. motor + cycle = motorcycle
4. printer + cartridge = printer-cartridge
5. Traffic + jam = traffic-jam
6. Key + board = keyboard
7. Tooth + paste = Toothpaste
8. Foot + ball = Football
9. Fish + tank = fish tank
10. Birth + day = birthday

noun + verb

1. rain + fall = rainfall
2. hair + cut = hair-cut
3. train + spotting = train-spotting
4. brow + beat = browbeat

noun + adverb

1. looking + out = looking-out

noun + adjective

snow + white = snow white

verb + adverb = look-out

verb + noun = driving-license

verb + adverb = drawback

Plural and Possessive of this type of noun

To make a Plural form of this compound word, you usually have to add a S at the end of the word.

usually the “s” goes at the end of the main word
daughter-in-law = daughters-in-law
mayor-elect = mayors-elect

In few nouns of this type, we have to add the S at the end of the nouns.

go-betweens = go-betweens
higher-ups = higher-ups

When the noun is in the open form, the S is added to the main word in the noun.

bill of fare = bills of fare
assistant secretary of state = assistant secretaries of state
notary public = notaries public

To make a possessive form of this compound word, you usually have to add an apostrophe “s” at the end of the word.

mother-in-law = mother-in-law’s
hair-cut = hair-cut’s

To make a possessive form of the plural form compound word, you usually have to add an apostrophe “s” at the end of the noun. You will get a little strange with two “s” sounds close together.

mothers-in-law = mothers-in-law’s
fathers-in-law = fathers-in-law’s

The compound noun can be written either as a single word or as a word with a hyphen or as two words. There are no clear written rules for this formation of this type of nouns. A good rule of thumb is to write the most common one as one word and the others as two words.

RELATED PAGES :

1. The Noun
   
2. Kinds of Nouns
   
3. Kinds of Nouns in English
   
4. Types of Nouns in English
   
5. Correct Usage of Nouns
   
6. Classification of Nouns
   
7. Proper Nouns
   
8. Common Nouns
   
9. Abstract Nouns
   
10. Collective Nouns
    
11. Nouns of Multitude
    
12. Material Nouns
    
13. Compound Nouns
    
14. Concrete Nouns
    
15. Countable Nouns
    
16. Uncountable Nouns
    
17. Count Nouns
    
18. Mass Nouns
    
19. Pronouns
20. Abstract Nouns formed from Adjectives
    
21. Abstract Nouns formed from Common Nouns
    
22. Abstract Nouns formed from Verbs
    
23. Abstract Nouns of the same form as Verbs
    
24. Absolute Phrases
    
25. Noun and Gender
    
26. Nouns and Gender
    
27. Masculine Nouns and Feminine Nouns
    
28. Masculine Nouns
    
29. Feminine Nouns
    
30. Ways of forming the feminine of nouns
    
31. Exceptional Masculine Nouns and Feminine Nouns
    
32. Exceptional Feminine Nouns
    
33. Foreign Feminine Nouns
    
34. Nouns in Common Gender
    
35. Common Gender Nouns
    
36. Neuter Pronouns
    
37. Neuter Gender Nouns
    
38. Gender of Personified Things
    
39. Noun and Case
    
40. Kinds of Cases in English
    
41. Noun and Number
    
42. Singular and Plural
    
43. Singular Nouns and Plural Nouns
    
44. Ways of forming plurals
    
45. Formation of Plurals
    
46. Compound Nouns and Plurals
    
47. Noun Infinitive
    
48. Noun to Verb
    
49. The Noun
    

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