Compound Nouns For Intermediate learners
Understand the structure and usage of compound nouns such as 'notebook' and 'bus stop'. Practical examples and exercises enhance learning.
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 football.
Foot (noun) + ball (noun) = football (compound noun)
She is his girlfriend.
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 → airport
Noun + noun → compound noun
High + school → high school
Adjective + noun → compound nouns
Rain + fall → rainfall
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 car parks.
Here the compound noun 'car park' is countable.
I hate fast food.
Here the compound noun 'fast food' is uncountable.
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