Theme: compound nouns. Combinations of two nouns. Verb preposion

particle + noun.

noun + noun:	boyfriend	skinhead
verb + noun:	breakfast	grindstone
adjective + noun:	software	hardware
phrasal verb:	a break-in	a take-over
particle + noun:	onlooker	aftershave

The term particle is used for a word which could be either an adverb or a preposition.

Compound nouns can be written:

• 
  as one word.
  

bookcase	wallpaper
birdcage	snowflake

• 
  as two words.
  

post office	fire engine
eye shadow	cough sweets

• 
  with a hyphen.
  

window-cleaner	air-conditioning
lamp-post	tee-shirt

Consult a dictionary to discover how the word is normally written. There are often alternative forms to be found, for example, drop down menu, drop-down menu, and dropdown menu are all currently acceptable forms of the same compound noun.

Nouns as modifiers

The compound noun girlfriend names a special sort of friend. Nouns can also be used as modifiers without forming a compound noun.

a concrete slab	old oak beams
a car mechanic	a store manager

A noun that is used as a modifier has the same function as an adjective. The first noun usually makes the second one more specific, but we do not think of it as part of a combination that forms a new word. See Adjectives for more on modifiers.

Compound nouns can also be formed using the following combinations of words:-

Noun	+	Noun	toothpaste
Adjective	+	Noun	monthly ticket
Verb	+	Noun	swimming pool
Preposition	+	Noun	underground
Noun	+	Verb	haircut
Noun	+	Preposition	hanger on
Adjective	+	Verb	dry-cleaning
Preposition	+	Verb	output

The two parts may be written in a number of ways:-

1. Sometimes the two words are joined together.

Example: tooth + paste = toothpaste | bed + room = bedroom

2. Sometimes they are joined using a hyphen.

Example: check-in

3. Sometimes they appear as two separate words.

Example: full moon

Real-Life Examples of Compound Nouns

• 
  Whenever the lion fish in the fish tank in the captain's ready room died, it was always a sad moment. (Patrick Stewart, Star Trek's Jean Luke Picard)
  
• 
  Polygraph tests are 20th-century witchcraft. (US politician Sam Ervin)
  
• 
  Those you helped will remember you when the forget-me-nots have withered. (Preacher Charles Spurgeon)
  

Most compound nouns are made from the following components:

• 
  noun + noun: Bath tub, seaman, wall-paper
  
• 
  adjective + noun: full moon, highway, whiteboard
  

Other common combinations include:

• 
  verb + noun: washing machine, driving licence, breakfast
  
• 
  noun + verb: sunrise, rainfall, haircut
  
• 
  preposition + noun: influx, onlooker, bystander
  
• 
  preposition + verb: output, input, overthrow
  
• 
  verb + preposition: checkout, take-off, drawback
  

Why Should I Care about Compound Nouns?

There are three key issues related to compound nouns.

(Issue 1) Choosing the correct version (i.e., the version with spaces, nothing or hyphens)

Choosing the right or best form of a compound noun can be a nightmare. Here's the situation:

• 
  Some compound nouns were always the one-word version (e.g., keyboard)
  
• 
  Some two-word ones have transitioned to a one-word version (e.g., snow man to snowman)
  
• 
  Some two-word ones are transitioning to a one-word version (e.g., eye opener to eyeopener).
  
• 
  Some two-word ones are not transitioning (e.g., peace pipe)
  
• 
  Some compound nouns were always the hyphenated version (e.g., self-control).
  
• 
  Some two-word ones have transitioned to a hyphenated version (e.g., play off to play-off and soon playoff).
  
• 
  Some two-word ones are transitioning to a hyphenated version (e.g., ice cream to ice-cream).
  
• 
  Some exist in two versions (e.g., ice-axe or ice axe but not iceaxe)
  
• 
  Some exist in all three versions (e.g., chatroom, chat-room, chat room )
  

To give yourself the best chance of hitting the right or best version, go through the following checks:

(Check 1) Check if the one-word version exists using your spellchecker or a dictionary. If it does, then happy days – you're done. If it doesn't, go to Check 2.

(Check 2) Check if the hyphenated version exists using a dictionary. (You can't use your spellchecker because it will treat the hyphen like a space, check the spelling of the sub-words either side, and trust that you know what you're doing with compound nouns. (Yeah, thanks for that, Microsoft.) If it does exist, you're done. If it doesn't, do Check 3, Check 4, and Check 5.

Here's some guidance on the types of compound nouns that should always be hyphenated:

• 
  A noun in the form "role"-"role" (e.g., student-athlete, soldier-poet, boy-child)
  
• 
  Nouns with a preposition in the middle (e.g., man-of-war, brothers-in-arms)
  
• 
  Titles of relatives with great (e.g., great-grandmother, great-great-grandson)
  
• 
  Fractions written in full (e.g., two-thirds, one-quarter)
  
• 
  Titles with vice and elect (e.g., president-elect, vice-chair)
  
• 
  Words with "self" (e.g., self-awareness, self-restraint)
  

Read more about prefixes.

(Check 3) You're now left with the two-word version, which you should use unless it makes your sentence ambiguous.

• 
  I like braising steak.
  

(This could be a comment about how you like to cook steak, so write braising-steak to eliminate the ambiguity.)

• 
  I need a wire fastener.
  

(This could be construed as fastener made of wire, so write wire-fastener to eliminate the ambiguity.)

Learn useful verb collocations with the preposition TO in English.

• 
  Adapt to
  
• 
  Add to
  
• 
  Agree to
  
• 
  Apologize to
  
• 
  Belong to
  
• 
  Consent to
  
• 
  Devote to
  
• 
  Happen to
  
• 
  Lead to
  
• 
  Listen to
  
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  Object to
  
• 
  React to
  
• 
  Refer to
  
• 
  Reply to
  
• 
  Speak to
  
• 
  Talk to
  
• 
  Admire for
  
• 
  Apologize for
  
• 
  Apply for
  
• 
  Ask for
  
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  Blame for
  
• 
  Care for
  
• 
  Excuse for
  
• 
  Head for
  
• 
  Long for
  
• 
  Pay for
  
• 
  Pray for
  
• 
  Prepare for
  
• 
  Scold for
  
• 
  Search for
  
• 
  Vote for
  
• 
  Wait for
  
• 
  Wish for
  
• 
  Work for