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Как научится читать по диагонали? Скорость чтения зависит от скорости восприятия каждого отдельного слова в тексте.
Как быстро и эффективно исправить почерк? Люди часто предполагают, что каллиграфия и почерк являются синонимами, но это не так.
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Word Building. Compound Words in English.
Словообразование. Составные /сложные/ слова в английском языке.
Составные прилагательные.
Составные прилагательные типичны для английского
языка. Они состоят из двух и более слов, которые являются разными частями речи.
Отличительной особенностью таких слов является то, что они формируют единое
понятие и по отдельности слова имеют либо несколько отличное, либо совершенно
иное значение. Они могут писаться слитно, через дефис или пробел.
Правописание прилагательных через дефис.
1.Adjective + Participle I
Good—looking – красивый, интересный, привлекательный,
приятный /о внешности/.
Easy—going – 1) добродушно-весёлый,
беспечный, беззаботный 2) спокойный.
Smart-looking – нарядный, модный.
Russian-speaking – русскоязычный.
Long—lasting – долговечный.
Nice—looking – привлекательный,
миловидный.
2. Noun + Participle I
Heart—breaking – огорчительный, разрывающий сердце, вызывающий скорбь,
душераздирающий, вызывающий глубокую печаль.
Progress-making
–прогрессирующий /достигающий прогресса/, развивающийся, совершенствующийся.
Thought—provoking –
философский /наводящий на размышление/.
Dish—washing – посудомоечный.
Breath—taking – захватывающий,
поразительный, потрясающий.
3. Adverb + Participle I
Fast—developing – быстроразвивающийся,
быстроменяющийся, динамичный.
Well—meaning – доброжелательный, действующий из лучших
побуждений, благонамеренный.
Forward—looking – предусмотрительный,
дальновидный.
4. Noun + Participle II
Poverty—stricken – бедный, бедствующий.
Horse—drawn – конный /на конной тяге/.
Terror—stricken – объятый
или охваченный ужасом.
White—washed – выбеленный,
побеленный.
Hand—written – рукописный,
собственноручно написанный.
Hand—made – сделанный в ручную.
New—fallen – свежевыпавший.
New—born – новорождённый.
New—built – перестроенный, вновь
выстроенный.
New—found – вновь обретённый.
New—made – переделанный, заново
сделанный, недавно сделанный.
5. Adverb + Participle II
Well—paid – хорошо/высоко оплачиваемый,
щедро вознаграждённый.
Well—built – хорошо сложенный.
Well—known – хорошо известный.
Highly-respected – высоко уважаемый.
Well-behaved – послушный.
Badly—behaved – непослушный.
Well—educated – хорошо
образованный.
6. Adjective + Noun + ed
Absent-minded – рассеянный.
Blue-eyed – голубоглазый.
Broad-shouldered – широкоплечий.
Ill—mannered – невоспитанный,
грубый.
Ill—placed – неудачно
расположенный, неуместный.
Red-haired – рыжий, рыжеволосый.
Fair-haired – светловолосый.
Grey-haired – седой.
Kind-hearted – добрый.
Old-fashioned – старомодный.
Narrow-minded – недалёкий, глупый.
Softhearted – мягкий,
отзывчивый, добрый, мягкосердечный.
Neat-handed – ловкий, искусный.
7. Numeral + Noun + ed
Three-headed – трёхглавый.
Four—legged – четырёх ногий,
четырёх колонный.
8. Numeral + Noun
Two-week – двухнедельный.
Three-story – трёхэтажный.
Five-month – пятимесячный.
Six—hour – шестичасовой.
Ten—meter – десятиметровый.
Hundred-dollar – стодолларовый.
Second-hand – поддержанный.
One-legged – одноногий.
9. Noun + Adjective
World-famous – знаменитый.
Snow-white – белоснежный.
Ice-cold – ледяной.
10. Adjective + Adjective
Dark-green – тёмно—зелёный.
Black-blue – чёрно—синий.
Navy-blue – тёмно—синий.
11. Adverb/Preposition + Noun
Near-earth – околоземный.
Out—of—work – безработный.
Oversea – заморский,
заокеанский, заграничный.
Overweight – весящий больше нормы, тяжелее обычного.
12. Adjective + Preposition
Near-by – близкий, соседний.
13. Preposition +
Adjective
Over-active – сверх—активный.
Over—nice – слишком разборчивый,
придирчивый, изощрённый.
Overnight – ночной, продолжающийся всю ночь.
Overrotten – перегнивший.
Слитное правописание прилагательных.
1.Adjective + Adjective
Southeastern – юго—восточный.
Southeast –
юго-восточный.
Southwestern – юго-западный.
Southwest – юго-западный.
Northeastern –северо-восточный.
Northeast –
северо-восточный.
Northwestern – северо-западный.
Northwest – северо—западный.
2. Preposition + Participle I
Outgiving –откровенный,
несдержанный.
Outgoing – уходящий.
отъезжающий, отбывающий.
Outstanding – выдающийся, знаменитый.
3. Preposition + Participle II
Outspoken – высказанный, выраженный, откровенный, прямой.
Outstretched – протянутый, растянутый, растянувшийся.
Outworn – изношенный.
Overblown – пронёсшийся
/о буре/.
Overcrowded – переполненный.
4. Preposition + Noun
Outlaw –незаконный.
Outline – контурный.
Outdoor – внешний,
наружный, находящийся вне дома.
Outside – наружный,
внешний.
5. Preposition + Adjective
Outright – прямой, откровенный.
Overabundant – избыточный.
Overanxious – слишком обеспокоенный.
Правописание прилагательных через пробел.
1. Adjective + Adjective
Light brown – светло—коричневый, русый.
Fair haired – светловолосый.
White haired – светловолосый, белокурый, седой.
Foreign economic –внешнеэкономический.
Social democratic – социал-демократический.
2. Adjective + Noun
Составные существительные.
В английском языке множество составных слов,
состоящих из двух основ -, duty-free — магазин беспошлинной торговли, и т. д. Они
образуются от сложения двух основ, такие существительные называются составными.
Мы остановимся на основных видах составных существительных. Они могут писаться
слитно, через дефис или пробел.
Правописание существительных через дефис.
1. Noun + Noun
Lamp-post – фонарный столб.
Country—house – загородный дом, дача.
Country—side – сельская местность.
Box—office – театральная касса.
Book—club – клуб любителей книги.
Book-keeper – бухгалтер.
Book-keeping – бухгалтерия.
Book—hunter – коллекционер
редких книг.
South-east – юго—восток.
2. Adjective + Noun
Middle-weight – средний вес.
Near-sightedness – близорукость.
3. Adjective + Noun + ed
Middle-aged – средних лет.
Middle-sized – среднего размера.
4. Noun +in-law
Father—in—law — отец мужа (свёкр) или отец
жены (тесть).
Mother —in—law – мать мужа (свекровь)
или мать жены (тёща).
Sister—in—law – невестка (жена брата),
золовка (сестра мужа), свояченица (сестра жены).
5. Verb+ Adverb/Preposition
Breakdown – поломка.
Check—in – регистрация.
Let—up – прекращение,
приостановка, ослабление.
Hanger—on – навязчивый поклонник.
Voice—over – голос за
кадром.
Make—up – грим, косметика.
Passerby (Британский
англ. passer—by) – прохожий.
6. Adjective + Participle I
Well-being – благополучие.
7. Adverb/Preposition + Noun
Off-ramp – съезд.
8. Participle I + Preposition
Talking-to – выговор.
9. Preposition + Participle I
Слитное правописание существительных.
1. Noun + Noun
Countrywoman – 1/ сельская жительница, крестьянка 2/ соотечественница,
землячка.
Toothpaste –
зубная паста.
Football –
футбол.
Bedroom –
спальня.
Boyfriend –
возлюбленный.
Headache –
головная боль.
Bookmark – закладка.
Bookcase – книжный
шкаф.
Bookshelf – книжная
полка.
Bookshop –
книжный магазин.
Bookworm – книжный
червь, любитель книг, библиофил.
Classroom — классная комната.
Shoelace – шнурки.
Dressmaker – портниха.
Salesman – продавец.
Saleswoman – продавщица.
2. Adjective + Noun
Blackboard – доска.
Greenhouse — теплица.
Lighthouse – маяк.
Newpenny – новый пенни.
3. Verb + Adverb/Preposition
Letdown – упадок, ухудшение, ослабление.
4. Noun + Verb
Airlift – воздушные
перевозки.
Haircut – стрижка.
Snowfall – снегопад.
5. Adjective + Participle I
Whitewashing – побелка.
6. Adverb/Preposition + Noun
Onlooker – зритель, наблюдатель.
Forearm – предплечье.
Forecast – предсказание,
прогноз.
Foreground – передний план.
Forefather – предок.
Forehead – лоб.
Foresight – предвидение.
Foreword – предисловие.
Outdoors – двор, улица.
Outfit – снаряжение,
экипировка.
Outlaw –человек вне
закона, изгнанник, беглец.
Outline – контур,
очертание.
Outside – наружность,
внешний мир.
7. Preposition + Participle I
Overcrowding – перенаселение, перенаселённость.
Outgoing – уход,
выход, отъезд, отправление.
Правописание существительных через пробел.
1. Noun + Noun
Сough syrup – сироп от кашля.
Bus stop – автобусная остановка.
Bus driver – водитель автобуса.
Country town – провинциальный город.
Boy scout – бойскаут.
Full moon – полнолуние.
Traffic jam —
автомобильная пробка.
Post office — почта.
Power switch – выключатель.
Soft soap – жидкое мыло.
Shop assistant – продавец, продавщица.
Обратите внимание, что иногда, по форме составные
существительные выглядят как два слова, но функционируют такие составные
существительные как одно, имеют единое значение.
2. Adjective + Noun
High school – средняя школа,
гимназия.
Poor loser – лузер, проигрывающий.
Near sight – близорукость.
New moon – новолуние,
молодой месяц.
3. Verb (ing) + Noun
Swimming pool – плавательный бассейн.
Washing machine – стиральная
машина.
Driving license –
водительские права.
Dining room – столовая.
Singing lesson – урок пения.
Для некоторых составных слов
существует только одна форма, для некоторых возможно сразу несколько написаний.
Если вы хотите быть уверенным, что вы правильно пишите слово — обратитесь в
словарь.
Greenhouse –
теплица.
Green house —
зеленый дом.
Bluebird —
сиалия (род птиц семейства дроздовых).
Blue bird —
синяя птица (птица синего цвета).
Compound words in English can
be formed not only by means of composition but also by means of :
a) reduplication, e.g.
too-too, and also by means of reduplicatin combined with sound
interchange , e.g. rope-ripe,
b) conversion from
word-groups, e.g. to micky-mouse, can-do, makeup etc,
c) back formation from
compound nouns or word-groups, e.g. to bloodtransfuse, to fingerprint
etc ,
d) analogy, e.g. lie-in ( on
the analogy with sit-in) and also phone-in, brawn-drain (on the
analogy with brain-drain) etc.
Classifications of english compounds
1. According to the parts of
speech compounds are subdivided into:
a) nouns, such as : baby-moon,
globe-trotter,
b) adjectives, such as :
free-for-all, power-happy,
c) verbs, such as : to
honey-moon, to baby-sit, to henpeck,
d) adverbs, such as: downdeep,
headfirst,
e) prepositions, such as:
into, within,
f) numerals, such as :
fifty-five.
2. According to the way
components are joined together compounds are divided into:
a) neutral, which are formed
by joining together two stems without any joining morpheme, e.g.
ball-point, to windowshop,
b) morphological where
components are joined by a linking element : vowels «o» or «i» or
the consonant «s», e.g. {«astrospace», «handicraft»,
«sportsman»),
c) syntactical where the
components are joined by means of form-word stems, e.g. here-and-now,
free-for-all., do-or-die .
3. According to their
structure compounds are subdivided into:
a) compound words proper which
consist of two stems, e.g. to job-hunt, train-sick, go-go, tip-top ,
b) derivational compounds,
where besides the stems we have affixes, e.g. ear-minded,
hydro-skimmer,
c) compound words consisting
of three or more stems, e.g. cornflower-blue, eggshell-thin,
singer-songwriter,
d) compound-shortened words,
e.g. boatel, tourmobile, VJ-day, motocross, intervision, Eurodollar,
Camford.
4. According to the relations
between the components compound words are subdivided into :
a) subordinative compounds
where one of the components is the semantic and the structural centre
and the second component is subordinate; these subordinative
relations can be different:
with comparative relations,
e.g. honey-sweet, eggshell-thin, with limiting relations, e.g.
breast-high, knee-deep, with emphatic relations, e.g. dog-cheap, with
objective relations, e.g. gold-rich, with cause relations, e.g.
love-sick, with space relations, e.g. top-heavy, with time relations,
e.g. spring-fresh, with subjective relations, e.g. foot-sore etc
b) coordinative compounds
where both components are semantically independent. Here belong such
compounds when one person (object) has two functions, e.g.
secretary-stenographer, woman-doctor, Oxbridge etc. Such compounds
are called additive. This group includes also compounds formed by
means of reduplication, e.g. fifty-fifty, no-no, and also compounds
formed with the help of rhythmic stems (reduplication combined with
sound interchange) e.g. criss-cross, walkie-talkie.
5. According to the order of
the components compounds are divided into compounds with direct
order, e.g. kill-joy, and compounds with indirect order, e.g.
nuclear-free, rope-ripe .
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Lecture 3. Word-building: affixation, conversion, composition, abbreviation. THE WORD-BUILDING SYSTEM OF ENGLISH 1. Word-derivation 2. Affixation 3. Conversion 4. Word-composition 5. Shortening 6. Blending 7. Acronymy 8. Sound interchange 9. Sound imitation 10. Distinctive stress 11. Back-formation Word-formation is a branch of Lexicology which studies the process of building new words, derivative structures and patterns of existing words. Two principle types of wordformation are distinguished: word-derivation and word-composition. It is evident that wordformation proper can deal only with words which can be analyzed both structurally and semantically. Simple words are closely connected with word-formation because they serve as the foundation of derived and compound words. Therefore, words like writer, displease, sugar free, etc. make the subject matter of study in word-formation, but words like to write, to please, atom, free are irrelevant to it. WORD-FORMATION WORD-DERIVATION AFFIXATION WORD-COMPOSITION CONVERSION 1. Word-derivation. Speaking about word-derivation we deal with the derivational structure of words which basic elementary units are derivational bases, derivational affixes and derivational patterns. A derivational base is the part of the word which establishes connection with the lexical unit that motivates the derivative and determines its individual lexical meaning describing the difference between words in one and the same derivative set. For example, the individual lexical meaning of the words singer, writer, teacher which denote active doers of the action is signaled by the lexical meaning of the derivational bases: sing-, write-, teach-. Structurally derivational bases fall into 3 classes: 1. Bases that coincide with morphological stems of different degrees оf complexity, i.e., with words functioning independently in modern English e.g., dutiful, day-dreamer. Bases are functionally and semantically distinct from morphological stems. Functionally the morphological stem is a part of the word which is the starting point for its forms: heart – hearts; it is the part which presents the entire grammatical paradigm. The stem remains unchanged throughout all word-forms; it keeps them together preserving the identity of the word. A derivational base is the starting point for different words (heart – heartless – hearty) and its derivational potential outlines the type and scope of existing words and new creations. Semantically the stem stands for the whole semantic structure of the word; it represents all its lexical meanings. A base represents, as a rule, only one meaning of the source word. 2. Bases that coincide with word-forms, e.g., unsmiling, unknown. The base is usually represented by verbal forms: the present and the past participles. 3. Bases that coincide with word-groups of different degrees of stability, e.g., blue-eyed, empty-handed. Bases of this class allow a rather limited range of collocability, they are most active with derivational affixes in the class of adjectives and nouns (long-fingered, blue-eyed). Derivational affixes are Immediate Constituents of derived words in all parts of speech. Affixation is generally defined as the formation of words by adding derivational affixes to different types of bases. Affixation is subdivided into suffixation and prefixation. In Modern English suffixation is mostly characteristic of nouns and adjectives coining, while prefixation is mostly typical of verb formation. A derivational pattern is a regular meaningful arrangement, a structure that imposes rigid rules on the order and the nature of the derivational base and affixes that may be brought together to make up a word. Derivational patterns are studied with the help of distributional analysis at different levels. Patterns are usually represented in a generalized way in terms of conventional symbols: small letters v, n, a, d which stand for the bases coinciding with the stems of the respective parts of speech: verbs, etc. Derivational patterns may represent derivative structure at different levels of generalization: - at the level of structural types. The patterns of this type are known as structural formulas, all words may be classified into 4 classes: suffixal derivatives (friendship) n + -sf → N, prefixal derivatives (rewrite), conversions (a cut, to parrot) v → N, compound words (musiclover). - at the level of structural patterns. Structural patterns specify the base classes and individual affixes thus indicating the lexical-grammatical and lexical classes of derivatives within certain structural classes of words. The suffixes refer derivatives to specific parts of speech and lexical subsets. V + -er = N (a semantic set of active agents, denoting both animate and inanimate objects - reader, singer); n + -er = N (agents denoting residents or occupations Londoner, gardener). We distinguish a structural semantic derivationa1 pattern. - at the level of structural-semantic patterns. Derivational patterns may specify semantic features of bases and individual meaning of affixes: N + -y = A (nominal bases denoting living beings are collocated with the suffix meaning "resemblance" - birdy, catty; but nominal bases denoting material, parts of the body attract another meaning "considerable amount" - grassy, leggy). The basic ways of forming new words in word-derivation are affixation and conversion. Affixation is the formation of a new word with the help of affixes (heartless, overdo). Conversion is the formation of a new word by bringing a stem of this word into a different paradigm (a fall from to fall). 2. Affixation Affixation is generally defined as the formation of words by adding derivational affixes to different types of bases. Affixation includes suffixation and prefixation. Distinction between suffixal and prefixal derivates is made according to the last stage of derivation, for example, from the point of view of derivational analysis the word unreasonable – un + (reason- + -able) is qualified as a prefixal derivate, while the word discouragement – (dis- + -courage) + -ment is defined as a suffixal derivative. Suffixation is the formation of words with the help of suffixes. Suffixes usually modify the lexical meaning of the base and transfer words to a different part of speech. Suffixes can be classified into different types in accordance with different principles. According to the lexico-grammatical character suffixes may be: deverbal suffixes, e.d., those added to the verbal base (agreement); denominal (endless); deadjectival (widen, brightness). According to the part of speech formed suffixes fall into several groups: noun-forming suffixes (assistance), adjective-forming suffixes (unbearable), numeral-forming suffixes (fourteen), verb-forming suffixes (facilitate), adverb-forming suffixes (quickly, likewise). Semantically suffixes may be monosemantic, e.g. the suffix –ess has only one meaning “female” – goddess, heiress; polysemantic, e.g. the suffix –hood has two meanings “condition or quality” falsehood and “collection or group” brotherhood. According to their generalizing denotational meaning suffixes may fall into several groups: the agent of the action (baker, assistant); collectivity (peasantry); appurtenance (Victorian, Chinese); diminutiveness (booklet). Prefixation is the formation of words with the help of prefixes. Two types of prefixes can be distinguished: 1) those not correlated with any independent word (un-, post-, dis-); 2) those correlated with functional words (prepositions or preposition-like adverbs: out-, up-, under-). Diachronically distinction is made between prefixes of native and foreign origin. Prefixes can be classified according to different principles. According to the lexico-grammatical character of the base prefixes are usually added to, they may be: deverbal prefixes, e.d., those added to the verbal base (overdo); denominal (unbutton); deadjectival (biannual). According to the part of speech formed prefixes fall into several groups: noun-forming prefixes (ex-husband), adjective-forming prefixes (unfair), verb-forming prefixes (dethrone), adverb-forming prefixes (uphill). Semantically prefixes may be monosemantic, e.g. the prefix –ex has only one meaning “former” – ex-boxer; polysemantic, e.g. the prefix –dis has four meanings “not” disadvantage and “removal of” to disbrunch. According to their generalizing denotational meaning prefixes may fall into several groups: negative prefixes – un, non, dis, a, in (ungrateful, nonpolitical, disloyal, amoral, incorrect); reversative prefixes - un, de, dis (untie, decentralize, disconnect); pejorative prefixes – mis, mal, pseudo (mispronounce, maltreat, pseudo-scientific); prefix of repetition (redo), locative prefixes – super, sub, inter, trans (superstructure, subway, intercontinental, transatlantic). 3. Conversion Conversion is a process which allows us to create additional lexical terms out of those that already exist, e.g., to saw, to spy, to snoop, to flirt. This process is not limited to one syllable words, e.g., to bottle, to butter, nor is the process limited to the creation of verbs from nouns, e.g., to up the prices. Converted words are extremely colloquial: "I'll microwave the chicken", "Let's flee our dog", "We will of course quiche and perrier you". Conversion came into being in the early Middle English period as a result of the leveling and further loss of endings. In Modern English conversion is a highly-productive type of word-building. Conversion is a specifically English type of word formation which is determined by its analytical character, by its scarcity of inflections and abundance of mono-and-de-syllabic words in different parts of speech. Conversion is coining new words in a different part of speech and with a different distribution but without adding any derivative elements, so that the original and the converted words are homonyms. Structural Characteristics of Conversion: Mostly monosyllabic words are converted, e.g., to horn, to box, to eye. In Modern English there is a marked tendency to convert polysyllabic words of a complex morphological structure, e.g., to e-mail, to X-ray. Most converted words are verbs which may be formed from different parts of speech from nouns, adjectives, adverbs, interjections. Nouns from verbs - a try, a go, a find, a loss From adjectives - a daily, a periodical From adverbs - up and down From conjunctions - but me no buts From interjection - to encore Semantic Associations / Relations of Conversion: The noun is the name of a tool or implement, the verb denotes an action performed by the tool, e.g., to nail, to pin, to comb, to brush, to pencil; The noun is the name of an animal, the verb denotes an action or aspect of behavior considered typical of this animal, e.g., to monkey, to rat, to dog, to fox; When the noun is the name of a part of a human body, the verb denotes an action performed by it, e.g., to hand, to nose, to eye; When the noun is the name of a profession or occupation, the verb denotes the activity typical of it, e.g., to cook, to maid, to nurse; When the noun is the name of a place, the verb will denote the process of occupying the place or by putting something into it, e.g., to room, to house, to cage; When the word is the name of a container, the verb will denote the act of putting something within the container, e.g., to can, to pocket, to bottle; When the word is the name of a meal, the verb means the process of taking it, e.g., to lunch, to supper, to dine, to wine; If an adjective is converted into a verb, the verb may have a generalized meaning "to be in a state", e.g., to yellow; When nouns are converted from verbs, they denote an act or a process, or the result, e.g., a try, a go, a find, a catch. 4. Word-composition Compound words are words consisting of at least two stems which occur in the language as free forms. Most compounds in English have the primary stress on the first syllable. For example, income tax has the primary stress on the in of income, not on the tax. Compounds have a rather simple, regular set of properties. First, they are binary in structure. They always consist of two or more constituent lexemes. A compound which has three or more constituents must have them in pairs, e.g., washingmachine manufacturer consists of washingmachine and manufacturer, while washingmachine in turn consists of washing and machine. Compound words also usually have a head constituent. By a head constituent we mean one which determines the syntactic properties of the whole lexeme, e.g., the compound lexeme longboat consists of an adjective, long and a noun, boat. The compound lexeme longboat is a noun, and it is а noun because boat is a noun, that is, boat is the head constituent of longboat. Compound words can belong to all the major syntactic categories: • Nouns: signpost, sunlight, bluebird, redwood, swearword, outhouse; • Verbs: window shop, stargaze, outlive, undertake; • Adjectives: ice-cold, hell-bent, undersized; • Prepositions: into, onto, upon. From the morphological point of view compound words are classified according to the structure of immediate constituents: • Compounds consisting of simple stems - heartache, blackbird; • Compounds where at least one of the constituents is a derived stem -chainsmoker, maid-servant, mill-owner, shop-assistant; • Compounds where one of the constituents is a clipped stem - V-day, A-bomb, Xmas, H-bag; • Compounds where one of the constituents is a compound stem - wastes paper basket, postmaster general. Compounds are the commonest among nouns and adjectives. Compound verbs are few in number, as they are mostly the result of conversion, e.g., to blackmail, to honeymoon, to nickname, to safeguard, to whitewash. The 20th century created some more converted verbs, e.g., to weekend, to streamline,, to spotlight. Such converted compounds are particularly common in colloquial speech of American English. Converted verbs can be also the result of backformation. Among the earliest coinages are to backbite, to browbeat, to illtreat, to housekeep. The 20th century gave more examples to hitch-hike, to proof-read, to mass-produce, to vacuumclean. One more structural characteristic of compound words is classification of compounds according to the type of composition. According to this principle two groups can be singled out: words which are formed by a mere juxtaposition without any connecting elements, e.g., classroom, schoolboy, heartbreak, sunshine; composition with a vowel or a consonant placed between the two stems. e.g., salesman, handicraft. Semantically compounds may be idiomatic and non-idiomatic. Compound words may be motivated morphologically and in this case they are non-idiomatic. Sunshine - the meaning here is a mere meaning of the elements of a compound word (the meaning of each component is retained). When the compound word is not motivated morphologically, it is idiomatic. In idiomatic compounds the meaning of each component is either lost or weakened. Idiomatic compounds have a transferred meaning. Chatterbox - is not a box, it is a person who talks a great deal without saying anything important; the combination is used only figuratively. The same metaphorical character is observed in the compound slowcoach - a person who acts and thinks slowly. The components of compounds may have different semantic relations. From this point of view we can roughly classify compounds into endocentric and exocentric. In endocentric compounds the semantic centre is found within the compound and the first element determines the other as in the words filmstar, bedroom, writing-table. Here the semantic centres are star, room, table. These stems serve as a generic name of the object and the determinants film, bed, writing give some specific, additional information about the objects. In exocentric compound there is no semantic centre. It is placed outside the word and can be found only in the course of lexical transformation, e.g., pickpocket - a person who picks pockets of other people, scarecrow an object made to look like a person that a farmer puts in a field to frighten birds. The Criteria of Compounds As English compounds consist of free forms, it's difficult to distinguish them from phrases, because there are no reliable criteria for that. There exist three approaches to distinguish compounds from corresponding phrases: Formal unity implies the unity of spelling solid spelling, e.g., headmaster; with a hyphen, e.g., head-master; with a break between two components, e.g., head master. Different dictionaries and different authors give different spelling variants. Phonic principal of stress Many compounds in English have only one primary stress. All compound nouns are stressed according to this pattern, e.g., ice-cream, ice cream. The rule doesn't hold with adjectives. Compound adjectives are double-stressed, e.g., easy-going, new-born, sky-blue. Stress cannot help to distinguish compounds from phrases because word stress may depend on phrasal stress or upon the syntactic function of a compound. Semantic unity Semantic unity means that a compound word expresses one separate notion and phrases express more than one notion. Notions in their turn can't be measured. That's why it is hard to say whether one or more notions are expressed. The problem of distinguishing between compound words and phrases is still open to discussion. According to the type of bases that form compounds they can be of : 1. compounds proper – they are formed by joining together bases built on the stems or on the ford-forms with or without linking element, e.g., door-step; 2. derivational compounds – by joining affixes to the bases built on the word-groups or by converting the bases built on the word-groups into the other parts of speech, e.g., longlegged → (long legs) + -ed, a turnkey → (to turn key) + conversion. More examples: do-gooder, week-ender, first-nighter, house-keeping, baby-sitting, blue-eyed blond-haired, four-storied. The suffixes refer to both of the stems combined, but not to the final stem only. Such stems as nighter, gooder, eyed do not exist. Compound Neologisms In the last two decades the role of composition in the word-building system of English has increased. In the 60th and 70th composition was not so productive as affixation. In the 80th composition exceeded affixation and comprised 29.5 % of the total number of neologisms in English vocabulary. Among compound neologisms the two-component units prevail. The main patterns of coining the two-component neologisms are Noun stem + Noun stem = Noun; Adjective stem + Noun stem = Noun. There appeared a tendency to coin compound nouns where: The first component is a proper noun, e.g., Kirlian photograph - biological field of humans. The first component is a geographical place, e.g., Afro-rock. The two components are joined with the help of the linking vowel –o- e.g., bacteriophobia, suggestopedia. The number of derivational compounds increases. The main productive suffix to coin such compound is the suffix -er - e.g., baby-boomer, all nighter. Many compound words are formed according to the pattern Participle 2 + Adv = Adjective, e.g., laid-back, spaced-out, switched-off, tapped-out. The examples of verbs formed with the help of a post-positive -in -work-in, die-in, sleep-in, write-in. Many compounds formed by the word-building pattern Verb + postpositive are numerous in colloquial speech or slang, e.g., bliss out, fall about/horse around, pig-out. ATTENTION: Apart from the principle types there are some minor types of modern wordformation, i.d., shortening, blending, acronymy, sound interchange, sound imitation, distinctive stress, back-formation, and reduplicaton. 5. Shortening Shortening is the formation of a word by cutting off a part of the word. They can be coined in two different ways. The first is to cut off the initial/ middle/ final part: Aphaeresis – initial part of the word is clipped, e.g., history-story, telephone-phone; Syncope – the middle part of the word is clipped, e.g., madam- ma 'am; specs spectacles Apocope – the final part of the word is clipped, e.g., professor-prof, editored, vampirevamp; Both initial and final, e.g., influenza-flu, detective-tec. Polysemantic words are usually clipped in one meaning only, e.g., doc and doctor have the meaning "one who practices medicine", but doctor is also "the highest degree given by a university to a scholar or scientist". Among shortenings there are homonyms, so that one and the same sound and graphical complex may represent different words, e.g., vac - vacation/vacuum, prep — preparation/preparatory school, vet — veterinary surgeon/veteran. 6. Blending Blending is a particular type of shortening which combines the features of both clipping and composition, e.g., motel (motor + hotel), brunch (breakfast + lunch), smog (smoke + fog), telethon (television + marathon), modem , (modulator + demodulator), Spanglish (Spanish + English). There are several structural types of blends: Initial part of the word + final part of the word, e.g., electrocute (electricity + execute); initial part of the word + initial part of the word, e.g., lib-lab (liberal+labour); Initial part of the word + full word, e.g., paratroops (parachute+troops); Full word + final part of the word, e.g., slimnastics (slim+gymnastics). 7. Acronymy Acronyms are words formed from the initial letters of parts of a word or phrase, commonly the names of institutions and organizations. No full stops are placed between the letters. All acronyms are divided into two groups. The first group is composed of the acronyms which are often pronounced as series of letters: EEC (European Economic Community), ID (identity or identification card), UN (United Nations), VCR (videocassette recorder), FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation), LA (Los Angeles), TV (television), PC (personal computer), GP (General Practitioner), ТВ (tuberculosis). The second group of acronyms is composed by the words which are pronounced according to the rules of reading in English: UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization), AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome), ASH (Action on Smoking and Health). Some of these pronounceable words are written without capital letters and therefore are no longer recognized as acronyms: laser (light amplification by stimulated emissions of radiation), radar (radio detection and ranging). Some abbreviations have become so common and normal as words that people do not think of them as abbreviations any longer. They are not written in capital letters, e.g., radar (radio detection and ranging), laser (light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation) yuppie, gruppie, sinbads, dinkies. Some abbreviations are only written forms but they are pronounced as full words, e.g., Mr, Mrs, Dr. Some abbreviations are from Latin. They are used as part of the language etc. - et cetera, e.g., (for example) — exampli gratia, that is - id est. Acromymy is widely used in the press, for the names of institutions, organizations, movements, countries. It is common to colloquial speech, too. Some acronyms turned into regular words, e.g., jeep -came from the expression general purpose car. There are a lot of homonyms among acronyms: MP - Member of Parliament/Military Police/Municipal Police PC - Personal Computer/Politically correct 8. Sound-interchange Sound-interchange is the formation of a new word due to an alteration in the phonemic composition of its root. Sound-interchange falls into two groups: 1) vowel-interchange, e.g., food – feed; in some cases vowel-interchange is combined with suffixation, e.g., strong – strength; 2) consonant-interchange e.g., advice – to advise. Consonant-interchange and vowel-interchange may be combined together, e.g., life – to live. This type of word-formation is greatly facilitated in Modern English by the vast number of monosyllabic words. Most words made by reduplication represent informal groups: colloquialisms and slang, hurdy-gurdy, walkie-talkie, riff-raff, chi-chi girl. In reduplication new words are coined by doubling a stem, either without any phonetic changes as in bye-bye or with a variation of the root-vowel or consonant as in ping-pong, chit-chat. 9. Sound imitation or (onomatopoeia) It is the naming of an action or a thing by more or less exact reproduction of the sound associated with it, cf.: cock-a-do-doodle-do – ку-ка-ре-ку. Semantically, according to the source sound, many onomatopoeic words fall into the following definitive groups: 1) words denoting sounds produced by human beings in the process of communication or expressing their feelings, e.g., chatter; 2) words denoting sounds produced by animals, birds, insects, e.g., moo, buzz; 3) words imitating the sounds of water, the noise of metallic things, movements, e.g., splash, whip, swing. 10. Distinctive stress Distinctive stress is the formation of a word by means of the shift of the stress in the source word, e.g., increase – increase. 11. Back-formation Backformation is coining new words by subtracting a real or supposed suffix, as a result of misinterpretation of the structure of the existing word. This type of word-formation is not highly productive in Modern English and it is built on the analogy, e.g., beggar-to beg, cobbler to cobble, blood transfusion — to blood transfuse, babysitter - to baby-sit.
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. Examples are double-check, cost-effective, around-the-clock, hand-to-hand, forward-thinking, eyeliner, and iced tea. They might also be formed from prefixes or suffixes, as in ex-president, supermicro, presorted, shirtless, or unforgivable.
Basically, compounds are written in one of three ways: solid (teapot), hyphenated (player-manager), or open (which ranges from phrases such as off and on or little by little to combinations like washing machine—have a field day finding more). Because of the variety in formation, the choice among the styles for a given compound represents one of the most vexing of all style issues writers—and lexicographers—encounter.
For some terms, it is often acceptable to choose freely among open, hyphenated, and solid 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 and writerly preference, there are patterns of new compounds as they become established in the English language. Compound nouns, for instance, are usually written as one word; compound verbs are generally written as two; compound adjectives are often written with a hyphen. But note that we added «usually,» «generally,» and «often»—we’re hedging. (Be advised that we’ll be using noncommittal terms throughout, and, essentially, that’s the point of the following articles: there aren’t fast rules to forming compounds, but there are patterns.)
Compound adjectives are combinations of words that work together to modify a noun—technically, they work as unit modifiers. As unit modifiers, they are distinguished from other strings of adjectives that may also precede a noun. For instance, in the constructions «a low, level tract of land» or «that long, lonesome highway,» the two adjectives each modify the noun separately. We are talking about a tract of land that is both low and level and about a highway that is both long and lonesome. These are regarded as coordinate modifiers.
In the examples «a low monthly fee» and «a wrinkled red shirt,» the first adjective modifies the noun plus the second adjective. In other words, we mean that the monthly fee is low and the red shirt is wrinkled. These are noncoordinate modifiers. In the example «low-level radiation,» we do not mean radiation that is low and level or level radiation that is low; we mean radiation that is at a low level. Both words are working as a unit to modify the noun—thus, they are unit modifiers.
Unit modifiers are mostly hyphenated. Hyphens not only make it easier for readers to grasp the relationship of the words but also aid in avoiding confusion. For example, the hyphen in «a call for a more-specialized curriculum» removes any ambiguity as to which the word more modifies, and the hyphen in re-sign distinguishes it from resign. Other examples are co-ed and coed, shell-like and shelllike, over-react and overreact, co-worker and coworker, which have either consecutive vowels, doubled consonants, or simply an odd combination of letters and which the inclusion of a hyphen aids in their readability.
Preposition/adverb (particles) + noun compounds are styled solid, especially when they are short and the first syllable is accented followed by a syllable with falling stress (as in afterthought, crossbones, download, offhand, upstairs, outfield, onstage, overseas, underhand). There are also hyphenated particle compounds, like in-house, off-the-cuff, off-line (or offline), and on-line (or online).
The styling of Internet (internet?)–related compounds (e-mail/email, website/web site) remains in flux, with the same compound styled different ways in different publications. We continue to be eagle-eyed lexicographers in our Western Massachusetts-based aerie.
Compounds—new, permanent, and temporary—are formed by adding word elements to existing words or by combining word elements. In English, there are three basic word elements: the prefix (such as anti-, non-, pre-, post-, re-, super-), the suffix (as -er, -ism, -ist, -less, -ful, -ness), and the combining form (mini-, macro-, psuedo-, -graphy, -logy). Prefixes and suffixes are usually attached to existing words; combining forms are usually combined to form new words (photomicrograph).
For the most part, compounds formed from a prefix and a word are usually written solid (superhero). However, if the prefix ends with a vowel and the word it is attached to begins with a vowel, the compound is usually hyphenated (de-escalate, co-organizer, pre-engineered). But there are exceptions: reelection, cooperate, for example. In addition, usage calls for hyphenation between a prefix and a capitalized word or number (post-Colonial, pre-19th century).
A prefixed compound that would be identical with another word, if written solid, is usually hyphenated to prevent misreading (re-creation, co-op, multi-ply). Prefixed compounds that might otherwise be solid are often hyphenated in order to clarify their formation, meaning, or pronunciation (non-news, de-iced, tri-city). Also, such compounds formed from combining forms like Anglo-, Judeo-, or Sino- are hyphenated when the second element is an independent word and solid when it is a combining form (Judeo-Christian, Sino-Japanese, Anglophile).
Some prefixes, and initial combining forms, have related independent adjectives or adverbs that may be used where the prefix might be expected. A temporary compound with quasi(-) or pseudo(-), therefore, might be written open as modifier + noun or hyphenated as combining form + noun. Thus, the writer must decide which style to follow (quasi intellectual or quasi-intellectual; pseudo liberal or pseudo-liberal).
Compounds formed by adding a suffix to a word are usually written solid (yellowish, characterless), except those having a base word that has a suffix beginning with the same letter or is a proper name (jewel-like, American-ness). Then, there are unique formations such as president-elect and heir apparent. Additionally, when a word is used as a modifier of a proper name, it is usually attached by a hyphen («a Los Angeles-based company,» «a Pulitzer Prize-winning author»).
Most two-word permanent and temporary compounds (unit modifiers) are hyphenated when placed before a noun («one-way street,» «a risk-free investment,» «East-West trade agreements,» «blue-gray/bluish-gray paint») but are often open when following a noun («The author is well known»).
Permanent compounds are those that are so commonly used that they have become—need we say—permanent parts of the language. Temporary compounds are created to meet a writer’s need at a particular moment, and they are often formed of an adverb (such as well, more, less, still) followed by a participle, and hyphenated when placed before a noun («a still-growing company,» «a more-specialized operating system,» «a now-vulnerable opponent»). Temporary compounds, often formed from an adverb ending in the suffix -ly followed by a participle, may sometimes be hyphenated but may also be open because adverb + adjective + noun is a normal word order («an internationally-known artist,» «a beautifully illustrated book»).
Temporary adjectival compounds may also be formed by using a compound noun. If the compound noun is an open compound, it is usually hyphenated so that the relationship of the words to form an adjective is immediately apparent to the reader («a tax-law case,» «a minor-league pitcher,» «problem-solving abilities»). If readily recognizable, the units may occur without a hyphen («a high school diploma» or «a high-school diploma»; «an income tax refund» or «an income-tax refund»). Also, if the words that make up a compound adjective follow the noun they modify, they fall in normal word order and are, therefore, no longer considered unit modifiers that require hyphenation («The decisions were made on the spur of the moment»; «They were ill prepared for the journey»; «The comments were made off the record»; «I prefer the paint that is blue gray»).
Open or Close the Compound?
When a noun + noun compound is short, and established in the English language and pronounced with equal stress on both nouns, the styling is likely to be open (bean sprouts, fuel cell, fire drill). Many short noun + noun compounds, however, that begin as temporary open ones and have the first word accented tend to become solid (database, football, paycheck, hairbrush); this is also the case for some adjectives (shortcut, drywall—but then there’s red tape and red-hot). There are also compounds formed from a verb followed by a noun that is its object, and they tend to be styled as solid (carryall, pickpocket). Vice versa, there are noun compounds consisting of a verb form preceded by a noun that is its object (fish fry, eye-opener, roadblock), and adjective + noun compounds that are written open (genetic code, minor league).
Writers also use a hyphen to make the «unit» relationships of nouns immediately apparent (English-speakers, Spanish-speaking students, fund-raiser, gene-splicing), but compounds in which a noun is the object of a following verb-derived word tend to be written open (problem solver, air conditioning).
Finally, when the nouns in a noun + noun compound describe a double title or function, the compound is hyphenated (city-state, secretary-treasurer, hunter-gatherer, bar-restaurant). And compounds formed from a noun or adjective followed by man, woman, person, or people, as well as denoting an occupation, are regularly solid (congresswoman, salespeople). We’re pretty sure about those guidelines.
These compounds may be hyphenated or solid. The compounds with two-letter particles (such as by, to, in, up, on) are most frequently hyphenated since the hyphen aids in quick comprehension (lean-to, trade-in, add-on, start-up). Compounds with three-letter particles (off, out, through) are hyphenated or solid with about equal frequency (spin-off, payoff, time-out, follow-through, giveaway).
And then there are the verb + -er + particle compounds and verb + -ing + particle compounds. Except for established words like passerby, these compounds are hyphenated (hanger-on, runner-up, listener-in, falling-out, goings-on, talking-to). There are also the two-word established forms consisting of a verb followed by an adverb or a preposition, which is styled open: set to, strike out. Then we have words composed of a particle followed by a verb that are usually styled solid (upgrade, bypass).
The verb form of a compound noun (whether open or hyphenated) most often is spelled with a hyphen (field-test, water-ski, rubber-stamp), whereas a verb derived from a solid noun is written solid (mastermind, brainstorm, sideline). That one’s simple enough. Phew.
To Hyphenate or not to Hyphenate?
That is the question, especially when it comes down to adverb and adjective compounds. And the stickler’s answer is to hyphenate when the modifier is before the word it modifies and to write the compound in open form when it follows it (since there is little or no risk of ambiguity). For example, a journalist might publish a word-for-word quotation or a person might be quoted word for word by the journalist, or a writer might be told that what is said is off the record, and any off-the-record information is to remain confidential. However, usage evidence shows that this formula is not closely followed: a team could play back-to-back games or play two games back-to-back; a boss and employee might have a face-to-face discussion or talk face-to-face; a candidate’s position might be middle-of-the-road; a child could be accident-prone like his or her accident-prone parent. The point is: many permanent and temporary compounds keep their hyphens after the noun in a sentence if they continue to function as unit modifiers.
But compound adjectives composed of foreign words are not hyphenated when placed before a noun unless they are always hyphenated («per diem expenses,» «the a cappella chorus,» but «a ci-devant professor»). Also, chemical names used as modifiers before a noun are not hyphenated («a citric acid solution»). And a compound noun having three or more words may be either hyphenated or open, depending on preference and usage evidence: editor in chief, base on balls, give-and-take, good-for-nothing, know-it-all, justice of the peace, jack-of-all-trades, pick-me-up, sick-to-itiveness.
The Hyphen as Apostrophe
Hyphens are sometimes used to produce inflected forms of verbs that are made of individually pronounced letters or to add an -er ending to an abbreviation—although apostrophes are more commonly used for the purpose (x-ed vs. x’d, you decide).
From the time the American League first allowed designated hitters in 1973, another 41 years passed before the first DH was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Frank Thomas will finally get some company this weekend when Edgar Martinez and Harold Baines join him in Cooperstown, New York. Three Hall of Famers in 46 years is a powerful testament to the challenge of DH-ing.
— J. P. Hoornstra, The Orange County Register, 17 July 2019His continued growth as a player will be key to NU’s secondary growing into one of the league’s best, and Jackson has the right kind of coach, former NFL-er Travis Fisher, to push him toward it.
— Sam McKewon, The Omaha (Nebraska) World-Herald, 2 Aug. 2019
The Hyphen in Chemical Compounds
A hyphen separates prefixes composed of single letters, numerals, or letter-numeral combinations from the rest of a chemical term. In addition, italicized prefixes are followed by a hyphen. The hyphen is also used to separate units of certain chemically complex terms:
α-amino-β-(p-hydroxyphenyl)propionic acid
2-methyl-3-ethylpentane
6H-1,2,5-thiadiazine
In amino acid sequences, hyphens are used to separate the abbreviations («Ala-Lys-Pro-Thr-Tyr-Phe-Gly-Arg-Glu-Gly»).
It should be noted, however, that most chemical names used as modifiers are not hyphenated («the amino acid sequence,» «sodium hypochlorite bleach»).
Hyphenated Numbers
Numbers that form the first part of a compound modifier that express measurement are followed by a hyphen («a 28-mile trip,» «a 10-pound weight,» «a nine-pound baby»), or that are used in a ratio («a fifty-fifty chance,» «60-40 chance»). An adjective that is composed of a number followed by a noun in the possessive is not hyphenated («two weeks’ notice,» «a four blocks’ walk»). Also, when the modifier follows a noun, it is usually not hyphenated («The teacher required an essay that was five pages»; «Children who are twelve years old and under can order from the menu»; «The fence is 12 feet high»).
Hyphens are used in fractions (e.g., two-thirds), and they join the parts of whole numbers (twenty-one). The hyphen is also found in serial numbers, and social security or engine numbers. If you’re measuring something, you might also use the hyphen (foot-pound, kilowatt-hour, column-inch, light-year), or if you are talking about periods of time («pre-2000» or «post-2000,» or «post-20th/twentieth century»).
Compounds that are formed by reduplication, and so consist of two similar-sounding elements (such as hush-hush, razzle-dazzle, or hugger-mugger), are usually hyphenated if each of the elements is made up of more than one syllable, but the solid styling for such words is also common (crisscross, knickknack, singsong). For very short words (such as no-no, so-so), words in which both elements may have primary stress (tip-top), and for injections (tsk-tsk), the hyphenated styling is more common.