Compound Nouns for intermediate learners
Compound nouns are formed when two or more words are joined together to create a new word that has an entirely new meaning.
What Are Compound Nouns?
When two or more words are put together and used as a noun in a sentence a 'compound noun' is formed.
Using Compound Nouns
'Compound nouns' are used to make new words with new meanings:
Let's watch
Foot (noun) + ball (noun) = football (compound noun)
She is his
Girl (noun) + friend (noun) = girlfriend (compound noun)
How to Make Compound Nouns
There are different ways to make compound nouns. Here are the most common structures:
You can see a few examples below:
Air + port →
Noun + noun → compound noun
High + school →
Adjective + noun → compound nouns
Rain + fall →
Noun + verb → compound noun
Warning
Regardless of whether a verb, an adjective, or a noun is added to the noun, a compound noun is always considered a noun, rather than a verb or an adjective.
Countable or Uncountable
Compound nouns can be categorized into two groups based on whether they can be counted or not:
- Countable compound nouns
- Uncountable compound nouns
I found two
Here the compound noun 'car park' is countable.
I hate
Here the compound noun 'fast food' is uncountable.
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Proper and Common Nouns
Did you know there are two kinds of noun: common nouns and proper nouns. Common nouns refer to general nouns and proper nouns refer to specific nouns.
Singular and Plural Nouns
Anything that is just one in quantity is singular. But what if there is more than one? Nouns that are two or more are called plurals! Simple, yes? Let's see!
Countable and Uncountable Nouns
It's important to know if a noun is countable or uncountable. This is going to help us to use the correct article. Let's learn more.
