Do compound nouns have to be one word - Word и Excel - помощь в работе с программами

How do you decide whether a compound should be written as one word, separate words, or hyphenated words?

Compounds

A compound is a word or word group that consists of two or more parts that work together as a unit to express a
specific concept. Compounds can be formed by combining two or more words (as in double–check,
cost–effective, farmhouse, graphic equalizers, park bench, around–the–clock, or son of a gun), by combining prefixes or suffixes with words (as in ex–president, shoeless, presorted, or uninterruptedly), or by combining two or more word elements (as in macrophage or photochromism). Compounds are written in one of three ways: solid (as in cottonmouth), hyphenated (screenwriter–director), or open (health care). Because of the variety of standard practice, the choice among the styles for a given compound represents one of the most common and vexing of all style issues writers encounter.

Compounds in the Dictionary

A good dictionary will list many permanent compounds, compounds so commonly used that they have become
permanent parts of the language. However, a dictionary generally will not list temporary compounds, those
created to meet a writer’s need at a particular moment. Most compounds whose meanings are self–evident from the
meanings of their component words also will not be listed in the dictionary, even if they are permanent and
widely used.

The Compound–styling Conundrum

When compounds begin to be used widely, there may be significant variation in how writers style them, and it can
take years to achieve a high degree of consistency in their format. For many terms, it is often completely acceptable
to choose freely among open, hyphenated, and closed alternatives, even though the term has been used in English for
an extended period (for instance, lifestyle, life–style, or life style). Although the
styling that ultimately takes hold for a compound may be determined by nothing more than editorial preference, there
is one pattern that often holds true as new compounds become entrenched in English. Compound nouns are usually written
as one word, compound verbs are generally written as two, and compound adjectives are very often written with a
hyphen.

Styling Internet– and Computer–Related Terms (e.g., on–line, website, e–mail)

Internet–related compounds are still so new that their preferred styling remains in flux, with the same compound
styled different ways in different publications. Over time, they will likely become more consistent, but what should
writers do now? The following list provides the Internet–term stylings that are currently most widely used in
professionally edited, published writing.

E–mail (with a capital E when used as a noun)
e–mail (with a lowercase e when used as a verb)
online
Web site
Web page
e–book
e–tail
webcam
webcast/webcaster
webmaster (often cap)
dot–com

Text for this article was adapted from Merriam-Webster’s Manual for Writers and Editors.

Источник

Definition

Compound noun can be defined as “Compound nouns can be words written together, words that are hyphenated, or separate words that go together by meaning.”

Explanation

Two or more nouns combined together to form a single word which is called as compound noun. Some of the compound nouns are written with space between two words (such as grapefruit juice), words separated by the hyphen (such as sister-in-law, brother-in-law), or as single word (such as schoolteacher).

There are some compounded nouns whose origins are unclear (such as bonfire, marshall, etc) so they called as amalgamated compound. Generally, one word of the compound nouns contain noun whereas other word may be an adverb, verb, adjective, preposition, or gerund. First word becomes modifying word or add meaning to second one (main word).

Examples of compound nouns are like washing machine, boyfriend, dining-table, public speaking, greenhouse, bus stop, fire-fly, football, full moon, bystander, blackboard, software, breakfast, lookout, swimming pool, sunrise, upturn, haircut, train-spotting, check-out, mother-in-law, underworld, truckful, bedroom, motorcycle, printer cartridge, water tank, rainfall, train-spotting, hanger-on, passer-by, driving license, take-off, drawback, onlooker, dry-cleaning, redhead, output, overthrow, input, policeman, etc.

How to Use in the Sentence

Compound nouns are written in the capital letter when they start the sentence otherwise written in small letter when occur anywhere in the sentence. Following are the examples of compound noun:

For Example:

Bluebird is a type of bird.
Greenhouse is a place where we grow plants.
I have to wait for bus number 12 at the bus stop.
Lots of fire-flies come at night in the summer season.
We played football today for two hours.
Full moon has its own importance.
Teachers make us understand by writing properly on blackboard.
Windows is an operating system software on everyone PC.
My mom gives us breakfast daily at 8am.
I know how to wash clothes in washing machine.
We join swimming pool in every summer vacation.
I wake up daily before the sunrise.
I need a haircut at every 2 week.
Train-spotting is my hobby.
My mother-in-law is very kind person.
Good policemen never accept money from underworld.

Forms of Compound Noun

There are three forms of compound noun based on the arrangements of the two or three words into one word. All three forms are described below with proper example:

Solid or Closed Compound Noun

Solid or closed compound nouns are those words that have no space in between and used as a single word with proper meaning such as rollback, restroom, classroom, whatever, whoever, breakfast, needlepoint, slingshot, etc.

Open or Spaced Compound Noun

Open or spaced compound nouns are those words that have space in between and separated by the space. They are used as a single unit of meaning in-spite of written separately as two words such as wet nurse, full moon, roller coaster, bus stop, sleeping bag, swimming pool, first aid, mug shot, christmas, tree, christmas father, christmas card,

Hyphenated Compound Noun

Hyphenated compound nouns are those words that are connected by one or more hyphens such as sister-in-law, mother-in-law, jack-in-the-box, state-of-the-art, brother-in-law, shout-out, mind-set, five-year-old, etc.

Categorized Examples

Compound nouns are formed by the combination of two words. Two words unite to form new combinations which we use in various ways daily. Compound nouns have two parts in which first part indicate the type of object or person or purpose whereas second part indicates an object or person in question.

Compound nouns have a different and more specific meaning than its two combining words separately means. Compound nouns are written as single words, as a word separated with hyphen, or its two words having space in between. Various parts of speech are used to make compound nouns. Following are the category wise examples of compound nouns:

Compound Nouns using Noun+Verb: snow drop, air dash, tongue slip, book mark, headline, bus stop, time line, earmark, monthly pay, typewriter, telephone call, headache, moonlight, sunset, waylay, tieknot, browbeat, laybreak, toothache, blood shed, earth quake, rootcause, backbite, cloud burst, bee sting, hand shake, house arrest, etc.

Compound Nouns using Noun+Noun: taxpayer, cellphone, headteacher, railroad, money market, bluewhale, timetable, postcard, picture book, field glasses, engine driver, air ticket, crime novel, garden flowers, blackboard, servant maid, police officer, ice-cream, firefighter, cricket ball, family business, handbag, sunlight, toothpaste, football, fish tank, etc.

Compound Nouns using Noun+Gerund: cat walking, slow cycling, air blowing, cross heading, ear piercing, white washing, time consuming, account checking, time serving, heart rending, English training, day dreaming, bread baking, heart bleeding, test driving, mind reading, snow skidding, book-binding, account checking, mountain trekking, bird watching, eve teasing, freedom loving, house cleaning, thought provoking, etc.

Compound Nouns using Gerund+Noun: sleeping room, working day, resting room, waiting hall, learning material, driving school, fishingnet, starring hero, sitting bench, glittering jewels, visiting card, cooking gas, waiting list, helping hand, blotting paper, drawing room, living room, cleaning lady, spinning wheel, steering wheel, swimming pool, washing machine, drinking water, peeping Tom, sleeping pill, writing desk, looking glass, steppingstone, passing cloud, spelling book, blotting paper, etc.

Compound Nouns using Preposition+Noun: over-bridge, inbox, off-day, by line, underclass, bypath, outlaw, forethought, offspring, overcoat, afternoon, inside, middleman, downfall, downhill, upland, top-hat, inmate, foresight, underground, underworld, bystander, onlooker, etc.

Compound Nouns using Noun and Adjective: forceful, ageless, homesick, bad tempered, snow white, beauty full, downward, grateful, harmless, accident prone, black gold, silk soft, deadslow, careful, mercy less, picture perfect, honey sweet, roundabout, milk white, red-hot, etc.

Compound Nouns using adverb+noun: downtime, overtime, etc.

Compound Nouns using adverb+verb: input, output, upswing, etc.

Compound Nouns using verb+adjective: tumbledown

Compound Nouns using preposition+adjective: over-ripe

Compound Nouns using preposition+preposition: without

Compound Nouns using preposition+verb: output, undercut, outlook, overthrow, etc.

Compound Nouns using verb+noun: swimming pool, cross-road, breakwater, cookbook, washing machine, jump rope, etc.

Compound Nouns using adjective+adjective: blue-green

Compound Nouns using adjective+noun: blackboard, full moon, black eye, blue jeans, hot-dog, etc.

Compound Nouns using adjective+preposition: forthwith

Compound Nouns using adjective+verb: dry-cleaning, highlight, etc.

Compound Nouns using noun+preposition: love-in, hanger on, passer-by, etc.

Compound Nouns using noun+verb: haircut, browbeat, milkshake, rainfall, car-wash, etc.

Compound Nouns using verb+preposition: takeout, check-in, drawback, lookout, etc.

Compound Nouns using verb+verb: freeze-dry

Rules to be Followed

Some of the rules concerning compound noun are mentioned below:

Compound nouns can be converted to their plural forms by adding ‘s’ in the last of main word or at the very end word.
‘s’ is added at the end of main word in hyphenated words (such as daughters-in-law, brothers-in-law, etc) however in some compound words like go-betweens, higher-ups, etc ‘s’ is added at the end of last word.
In the open form compound words ‘s’ is added to the main word (whether comes at the start, middle or end) such as notaries public, bills of fare, assistant secretaries of state, etc.
Compound words can be made possessive by adding an apostrophe ‘s’ at the end of word such as mother-in-law’s house, daughter-in-law’s birthday, etc.
Plural compound words can also be made possessive with two ‘s’ sounds close together such as mothers-in-law’s attire, brothers-in-law’s books, etc. In order to avoid the use of two ‘s’ together, we can reword them as attire of the mothers-in-law and book of the brothers-in-law.

Exercises for You

We have provided below some compound noun exercises in order to help you to improve your knowledge about compound noun. You need to get detail information about compound noun provided above and check your skill by doing following exercises.

Next bus stop is 5 mins away from this one.
I hate fire flies in the hot summer nights.
I do tooth brush daily using a nice toothpaste.
My elder brother has six-pack abs.
Watching full moon is a traditional ritual in many religions.
My father bought a blackboard for me to practice maths.
I wash my clothes every Sunday using washing machine.
I enjoy a lot while swimming in the swimming pool.
I and my sister always gets up before sunrise.
I like to make my hairstyle according to the Bollywood trends.
I always remember the general half annual check-up of my grandparents.
My mother-in-law is very honest and kind person.
This city has been the kingdom of criminal underworld.
Final examination time table has been announced in the last week
We should overcome all the challenges in life to get huge success.
I always fears of earth quake as it is dangerous.
There are many classrooms in my school.
Playing foot ball daily keeps us healthy and active.
I bought the car yet I have no driving license.
Frogs get underground in the winter season.
I cannot live without my parents.
I am doing MBA through distance learning.
Red traffic light indicates to stop.
I have to reach at airport at 9 am.
Keyboard is an input device.
Printer is an output device.
I have receive my parents from railway station.
Travel India provides best travel agents in the city.
I can drive very easily on the freeway as there is less traffic.
I bought a platform ticket at the ticket office as I was there to see off my relatives.
My school library is a good bookstore.

Answers: 1 – bus stop, 2 – fire flies, 3 – toothpaste, 4 – six-pack, 5 – full moon, 6 – blackboard, 7 – washing machine, 8 – swimming pool, 9 – sunrise, 10 – hairstyle, 11 – check-up, 12 – mother-in-law, 13 – underworld, 14 – time table, 15 – overcome, 16 – earth quake, 17 – classrooms, 18 – foot ball, 19 – driving license, 20 – underground, 21 – without, 22 – distance learning, 23 – traffic light, 24 – airport, 25 – keyboard, input, 26 – output, 27 – railway station, 28 – travel agents, 29 – freeway, 30 – ticket office, 31 – bookstore.

Compound Noun Examples

The more you read and write, the more compound noun examples you’ll encounter. The following sentences are just a few examples of compound nouns. Compound noun examples have been italicized for easy identification.

Compound nouns can be made with two nouns:

Let’s just wait at this bus stop.

I love watching fireflies on warm summer nights.

While you’re at the store, please pick up some toothpaste, a six-pack of ginger ale, and some egg rolls.

Compound nouns can be made with an adjective and a noun:

Let’s watch the full moon come up over the mountain.

Please erase the blackboard for me.

Compound nouns can be made with a verb and a noun:

Be sure to add bleach to the washing machine.

Let’s be sure to stay somewhere with a swimming pool.

Compound nouns can be made with a noun and a verb:

He always gets up before sunrise.

I really could use an updated hairstyle.

Compound nouns can be made with a verb and a preposition:

Checkout is at noon.

Please remember to schedule your dog’s annual check-up.

Compound nouns can be made with a noun and a prepositional phrase:

My mother-in-law is the kindest person I know.

Compound nouns can be made with a preposition and a noun:

Do you believe in past lives?

This city is vibrant, so it’s hard to believe it has a thriving criminal underworld.

Compound nouns can be made with a noun and an adjective:

We need a truckful of mulch for the garden.

Compound Nouns Exercises

Choose the word that makes each of these nouns into a compound noun.

Fund __________ (A – driver, B – seat, C – raiser)
News __________ (A– paper, B – story, C – travels)
Sun ____________ (A– day, B – glasses, C – heat)
Child ___________ (A – hood, B – ren, C – play)
Door ___________ (A– frame, B – handle, C – way)

Answer Key: 1 – C, 2 – A, 3 – B, 4 – A, 5 – C

Fill in the blanks to complete each compound noun, or with the one-word compound noun that fits best.

Prevent a heart _________ by eating properly and getting enough exercise. (A – stroke, B –attack, C – murmur)
Do you prefer peppermint or cinnamon flavored _____________? (A– cookies, B – toothpaste, C – applesauce)
The full ___________ looked enormous as it rose over the horizon. (A – moon, B – sun, C –sunset)
I’m going to the barber for a _____________. (A – trim, B – new style, C – haircut)
They’re digging a new swimming ____________ in the park. (A – suit, B – pool, C – game)
I’d love to learn to pilot an ____________(A–boat, B – airplane, C – submarine)
One reason donuts are fattening is that they’re fried in cooking _____. (A – oil, B – sugar, C –pans)
Sherrie is upset because she lost an ______________. (A – input, B – earring, C – friendship)
We put a ____________ in the garden to chase birds away.(A – runway, B – sunshade, C –scarecrow)
15.I’ve got to pick up a package at the post ___________. (A – man, B – office, C – book)

Answer Key: 6 – B, 7 – B, 8 – A, 9 – C, 10 – B, 11 – B, 12 – A, 13 – B, 14 – C, 15 – B

Источник

A compound noun is a noun that includes two or more than two words by mixing them in a single noun. It is named as a compound noun because it comprises more than one-word to determine

In simple words, compound nouns are made up of two, three, or more words. It is used to denote a person, place, things, animals, or ideas, usually made up of two words.

The compound nouns may be created by adding two words of different meanings or other parts of speech.

Single worded compound nouns.
With adjectives and nouns.
With gerunds and nouns or nouns and gerunds both.
With adverb participles.
With the reference of place, streets, and roads, etc.

Suddenly, an aircraft fell on the highway in front of my car.
He slipped into a bathroom.
Pass me that chopstick.
Have you done your homework by yourself?
We met in an AutoCAD workshop.
She saw a tapeworm under the microscope during the practice.
I found a seashell near the coastline.
There is a rainbow that looks awesome in the sky.
Will you please tell me the password of your laptop?
The teacher asked for a notebook to check homework.
Can you meet me today in the marketplace?
He looks like a cowboy from his outfit.
She hides in the darkroom while playing hide n seek game.
He bought an earphone for listening to music.
He shifted in his flashback while telling stories.
Earth is also called the greenhouse.
The doctor is checking the heartbeats of the patient.
An iceberg is following our ship.
People from mountain areas experienced more landslides.
The drunk person failed to insert a key into the keyhole.

Compound Noun List of words

Aircraft
Bathroom
Chopstick
Yourself
Bedroom
Workshop
Tapeworm
Seashell
Rainbow
Password
Notebook
Marketplace
Cowboy
Darkroom
Earphone
Flashback
Greenhouse
Heartbeats
Iceberg
Landslides
Keyhole
Airport
Birthday
Baseball
Bookstore
Classroom
Doorbell
Everyone
Eardrum
Grassland
Anyone
Background
Basketball
Backyard
Caretaker
Daylight
Night mode
Worksheet
Earbud
Firewood
Footprint
Fingerprint
Grasscutter
Inside
Handwriting
Handgun
Homework
Lifetime
Playback
Takeoff
Grandmother
Guideline
Highway
Keypad
Keyboard
Loophole
Starfish
Takeout
Foreground
Good morning

More Types of Noun

Collective noun
Singular noun
Plural noun

Источник

A compound noun is a noun that is made with two or more words. A compound noun is usually [noun + noun] or [adjective + noun], but there are other combinations (see below). It is important to understand and recognize compound nouns. Each compound noun acts as a single unit and can be modified by adjectives and other nouns.

There are three forms for compound nouns:

open or spaced — space between words (tennis shoe)
hyphenated — hyphen between words (six-pack)
closed or solid — no space or hyphen between words (bedroom)

Here are some examples of compound nouns:

noun	+	noun	bus stop	Is this the bus stop for the number 12 bus?
fire-fly	In the tropics you can see fire-flies at night.
football	Shall we play football today?
adjective	+	noun	full moon	I always feel crazy at full moon.
blackboard	Clean the blackboard please.
software	I can’t install this software on my PC.
verb(-ing)	+	noun	breakfast	We always eat breakfast at 8am.
washing machine	Put the clothes in the red washing machine.
swimming pool	What a beautiful swimming pool!
noun	+	verb(-ing)	sunrise	I like to get up at sunrise.
haircut	You need a haircut.
train-spotting	His hobby is train-spotting.
verb	+	preposition	check-out	Please remember that check-out is at 12 noon.
noun	+	prepositional phrase	mother-in-law	My mother-in-law lives with us.
preposition	+	noun	underworld	Do you think the police accept money from the underworld?
noun	+	adjective	truckful	We need 10 truckfuls of bricks.

Pronunciation

Compound nouns tend to have more stress on the first word. In the phrase «pink ball», both words are equally stressed (as you know, adjectives and nouns are always stressed). In the compound noun «golf ball», the first word is stressed more (even though both words are nouns, and nouns are always stressed). Since «golf ball» is a compound noun we consider it as a single noun and so it has a single main stress — on the first word. Stress is important in compound nouns. For example, it helps us know if somebody said «a GREEN HOUSE» (a house which is painted green) or «a GREENhouse» (a building made of glass for growing plants inside).

British/American differences

Different varieties of English, and even different writers, may use the open, hyphenated or closed form for the same compound noun. It is partly a matter of style. There are no definite rules. For example we can find:

container ship
container-ship
containership

If you are not sure which form to use, please check in a good dictionary.

Plural Forms of Compound Nouns

In general we make the plural of a compound noun by adding -s to the «base word» (the most «significant» word). Look at these examples:

singular	plural
a tennis shoe	three tennis shoes
one assistant headmaster	five assistant headmasters
the sergeant major	some sergeants major
a mother-in-law	two mothers-in-law
an assistant secretary of state	three assistant secretaries of state
my toothbrush	our toothbrushes
a woman-doctor	four women-doctors
a doctor of philosophy	two doctors of philosophy
a passerby, a passer-by	two passersby, two passers-by

Note that there is some variation with words like spoonful or truckful. The old style was to say spoonsful or trucksful for the plural. Today it is more usual to say spoonfuls or truckfuls. Both the old style (spoonsful) and the new style (spoonfuls) are normally acceptable, but you should be consistent in your choice. Here are some examples:

	old style plural (very formal)	new style plural
teaspoonful	3 teaspoonsful of sugar	3 teaspoonfuls of sugar
truckful	5 trucksful of sand	5 truckfuls of sand
bucketful	2 bucketsful of water	2 bucketfuls of water
cupful	4 cupsful of rice	4 cupfuls of rice

Some compound nouns have no obvious base word and you may need to consult a dictionary to find the plural:

higher-ups
also-rans
go-betweens
has-beens
good-for-nothings
grown-ups

Note that with compound nouns made of [noun + noun] the first noun is like an adjective and therefore does not usually take an -s. A tree that has apples has many apples, but we say an apple tree, not ~~apples tree~~; matchbox not ~~matchesbox~~; toothbrush not ~~teethbrush~~.

With compound nouns made of [noun + noun] the second noun takes an -s for plural. The first noun acts like an adjective and as you know, adjectives in English are invariable. Look at these examples:

long plural form becomes →	plural compound noun [noun + noun]
100 trees with apples	100 apple trees
1,000 cables for telephones	1,000 telephone cables
20 boxes for tools	20 tool boxes
10 stops for buses	10 bus stops
4,000 wheels for cars	4,000 car wheels

Источник

Nouns can be combined with many different words to form compound nouns, the core noun is modified as though with an adjective. Compound nouns are treated like a single unit, so the entire group of words take the position of a regular noun, and any modifiers come before or after the whole compound noun.

I danced with the Prime Minister’s daughter.
The Prime Minister’s daughter is not a good dancer.

However, more consideration must be given to how compound nouns are formed, and the word order within these structures.

Single word or simple compound nouns

Compound nouns formed with adjectives at the end are often combined into a simple noun, for example words using suffixes such as ‘ful’ (a form of ‘full’). Similarly this happens when combining with a noun that represent quantities, such as ‘load’.

bagful (a quantity that fills a bag)
truckload (a quantity that fills a truck)

This also happens with nouns that are combined with a verb, often to describe an activity or event or an object used for a particular activity:

haircut
sunset
skateboard

And with prepositions and prepositional phrases, which usually describe a noun with an inherent relationship:

sister-in-law
downtown

With all these examples, the word order is very simple as they are usually compound nouns in the form of a single word, or are collocations that should not be separated.

Compound nouns with two or more words

Compound nouns are also formed with nouns, adjectives, prepositions and verbs placed before a noun. Again, these are treated as one idea, taking the place in the sentence of a noun, but it is important to pay attention to the order of words within a compound noun.

The first word, whether a noun, adjective, verb or preposition, normally describes the final noun.

cat food (a kind of food, for cats)
car door (a type of door, belonging to a car)
swimming pool (a type of pool, for swimming)
full moon (a type of moon, when it is full)

Compound nouns must follow this word order or it will not make sense – a door car, for example, would mean a car made of doors. In some cases, the words can be reversed for a logical, but different, meaning:

horse race (a type of race, with horses)
race horse (a type of horse, for races)

As the second word in these compound nouns represents the main idea, it can be useful to think of the preceding word as an object; additional, describing information.

football shirt – a shirt worn for football
finance book – a book used for finances
London taxi – a taxi from London
blackboard – a board that is black

With combinations of nouns, because the first noun describes a purpose, and not quantities, it is always in singular form.

wedding ring / wedding rings

Any articles come before both the entire compound noun, but are based on the final noun, not any other nouns in the compound. For example, sun does not require the here:

Do you have some sun cream? (some cream)
Pass me the sun cream. (the specific cream)

Note that not all nouns can form compound by simply putting one word in front of another. Sometimes nouns must be linked with prepositions:

a sense of longing (not a longing sense)

Compound nouns with more than two nouns

Sometimes compound nouns of more than one word are used to describe additional nouns, which can form more complex compound nouns, similar to placing multiple adjectives in front of a noun. Additional information describes the noun (or compound noun) it comes directly before. Note that the main noun will be the final word in a series, so adding words at the end of these structures will change the noun:

sea creature analysis (a piece of analysis)
sea creature analysis centre (a location)
sea creature analysis centre report (a piece of writing)

If the final noun stays in the same position, additional words will change the description of the same noun:

creature analysis
sea creature analysis
sea creature egg analysis
Mediterranean Sea creature egg analysis

In this example, these are all types of analysis.

This is a brief introduction to compound nouns, mainly focusing on the idea of the word order. Individual nouns and structures can become more complex and in some cases it is necessary to use prepositional phrases and complements to describe ideas, instead of merely placing one word in front of another. This is explored more fully in my follow up article, all about noun complements.

Источник

What is a compound noun?

A compound noun is a noun consisting of two or more words working together as a single unit to name a person, place, or thing. Compound nouns are usually made up of two nouns or an adjective and a noun, but other combinations are also possible, as well.

Generally, the first word in the compound noun tells us what kind of person or thing it is or what purpose he, she, or it serves, while the second word defines the person or object, telling us who or what it is. For example:

water + bottle = water bottle (a bottle used for water)
dining + room = dining room (a room used for dining)
back + pack = backpack (a pack you wear on your back)
police + man = policeman (a police officer who is a man)

Like other nouns, compound nouns can be modified by other adjectives. For example:

“I need to buy a large water bottle.”
“That’s a beautiful dining room.”
“My old backpack is still my favorite.”
“A lone policeman foiled the attempted robbery.”

You can recognize compound nouns because the meaning of the two words put together is different than the meaning of the words separately. For example, water and bottle have their own separate meanings, but when we use them together they mean a particular type of bottle that we drink water from.

Forming compound nouns

As mentioned, compound nouns are formed by combining two or more words, with the most common combinations being noun + noun or adjective + noun. However, combinations using other parts of speech are also possible. Below are the various combinations used to create compound nouns.

Noun + noun

There are a great number of compound nouns formed using the noun + noun combination. For example:

backpack
bathroom
bathtub
bedroom
bus stop
fish tank
football
handbag
motorcycle
shopkeeper
tablecloth
toothpaste
wallpaper
water bottle
website
wristwatch

Adjective + noun

There are also many compound nouns that are formed using the adjective + noun combination. For example:

full moon
blackberry
blackbird
blackboard
cell(ular) phone
mobile phone
hardware
highway
greenhouse
redhead
six-pack
small talk
software
whiteboard

Other combinations

Although the noun + noun and adjective + noun combinations are the most common, there are also plenty of other possibilities for forming compound nouns. For example:

Combination	Examples
noun + verb	haircut, rainfall, sunrise, sunset
noun + preposition	hanger-on, passerby
noun + prepositional phrase	brother-in-law, mother-in-law
noun + adjective	cupful, spoonful
verb + noun	breakfast, washing machine, runway, pickpocket, swimming pool
preposition + noun	bystander, influx, onlooker, underpants, upstairs
verb + preposition	check-in, checkout/check-out, drawback, lookout, makeup
adjective + verb	dry cleaning, public speaking
preposition + verb	input, output, overthrow, upturn

Writing compound nouns

Compound nouns are very common, both in written and spoken English, and there are spelling, punctuation, and pronunciation norms that we must be aware of if we want to use them correctly.

The three written forms of compound nouns

Writing compound nouns is a bit complicated due to the fact that they can take three different forms.

First, open compound nouns (or spaced compound nouns) are those that are written as two separate words, such as washing machine, swimming pool, and water bottle.

Second, there are hyphenated compound nouns, as in check-in, hanger-on, and mother-in-law.

Third, there are closed compound nouns (or solid compound nouns)—those that are written as one word, such as rainfall, drawback, and toothpaste.

Unfortunately, there aren’t any rules that tell us which of the three forms is acceptable for a particular compound noun. Some compound nouns are commonly written in two forms, as in website / web site or checkout / check-out, while others, such as bus stop, are strictly used in one form. Where more than one is possible, the form that is more commonly used may depend on the variety of English (American English vs. British English, for example), the style guide of a publication, or the personal preference of the writer.

If you’re not sure which of the three forms to use, it’s important to check a good, up-to-date dictionary. If you are relying on the spellchecker in a word processor, remember that this has its limits. For example, spellcheck is good for checking whether a particular compound noun can be written as one word (closed); however, if we write a compound noun as two words (open) and it should be written as one word (closed), or if we write it with a hyphen and it should be written without a hyphen, spellcheck will not catch the mistakes.

Finally, remember that, no matter which way the compound noun is written, it always functions grammatically as a single unit.

Pluralizing compound nouns

We usually pluralize a compound noun by adding an “-s” or “-es” to the main word, or the defining word, of the compound noun. This is usually the second word, but not always. For example:

Singular	Plural
bedroom	bedrooms
football	footballs
water bottle	water bottles
full moon	full moons

BUT

Singular	Plural
secretary general	secretaries general
mother-in-law	mothers-in-law
passerby / passer-by	passersby / passers-by

When it’s not obvious which of the words is the defining word, we pluralize the end of it. For example:

Singular	Plural
haircut	haircuts
check-in	check-ins
checkout / check-out	checkouts / check-outs
upturn	upturns

Pronouncing compound nouns

In general, compound nouns are pronounced with the emphasis on the first part of the word. For example:

BEDroom
BLACKbird
CHECK-in
GREENhouse
MAKEup
WATER bottle

Pronouncing compound nouns in this way helps us distinguish words that form a compound noun like blackbird and greenhouse from other instances when the same words would appear together, as in: “Look at that beautiful black bird,” or “I like that green house on the corner.”

Although we normally stress the first word in a compound noun, there are certain exceptions to this pattern. For example, we disregard this rule when pronouncing compound nouns that include titles or proper nouns, as in Secretary GENeral and Mount RUSHmore.

If in doubt, you can use a good dictionary to determine which syllable should be emphasized.

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