Compound Nouns

Compound nouns are formed by combining two (or more) words. The two words have different meanings separately. But together they have a new meaning. For example, the words tooth and paste are different from the combined word toothpaste. Such combinations have become a common practice and compound nouns are being formed almost every day. The first part of a compound noun gives the information about a person or an object and the second part identifies that person or object. The two parts can be written as two separate words, or as an hyphenated word, or as one word. There are no definite rules about how they should be written. The common understanding is that they first exist as two separate words, then they become hyphenated and finally the is dropped and the two parts become one single word. There the only way to find out how a compound noun is written is by checking the latest dictionary.

What type / what purpose What or who police boy water dining bed man friend tank table room

The two parts may be written in a number of ways : 1. as one word. Example: policeman, boyfriend 2. as two words joined with a hyphen. Example: dining-table 3. as two separate words. Example: fish tank. There are no clear rules about this - so write the common compounds that you know well as one word, and the others as two words. A compound noun may be formed in a number of ways as shown below: The two parts may be: Examples:

bedroom noun + noun water tank motorcycle

printer cartridge rainfall noun + verb haircut train-spotting noun + adverb hanger-on passer-by

washing machine verb + noun driving licence swimming pool lookout verb + adverb* take-off drawback greenhouse adjective + noun software redhead adjective + verb adverb + noun dry-cleaning public speaking onlooker bystander

output overthrow adverb + verb* upturn input

Compound nouns often have a meaning that is different from the two separate words. Stress is important in pronunciation, as it distinguishes between a compound noun (e.g. greenhouse) and an adjective with a noun (e.g. green house). In compound nouns, the stress usually falls on the first syllable: a a a a 'greenhouse = place where we grow plants (compound noun) green 'house = house painted green (adjective and noun) 'bluebird = type of bird (compound noun) blue 'bird = any bird with blue feathers (adjective and noun)

* Many common compound nouns are formed from phrasal verbs (verb + adverb or adverb + verb). Examples: breakdown, outbreak, outcome, cutback, drive-in, dropout, feedback, flyover, hold-up, hangover, outlay, outlet, inlet, makeup, output, set-back, stand-in, takeaway, walkover.

I. Expand the Nominal compounds: 1. air supply 2. animal behaviour 3. aluminium extraction 4. arithmetic unit 5. ball pen 6. battery car 7. battery valve 8. blast furnance 9. boat house 10.boiler feed water 11.boiler inspection door 12.butterfly valve 13.butt weld 14.cable television 15.calculation speed 16.calculator memory 17.car battery 18.carbon dioxide 19.cassette tape 20.coal gas 21.colour television 22.communication satellite 23.computer language 24.computer diagnosis 25.computer manual 26.computer operator 27.computer technology 28.concrete structure 29.concrete wall 30.condenser extractor pump 31.control center 32.control tower 33.cooling tower 34.copper wire 35.cylinder condensation losses 36.cylinder head 37.cylinder head design 38.cylinder walls 39.data input 40.diesel antenna

the supply of air the behaviour of an animal the extraction of aluminium a unit in which arithmetic operation are performed a pen that writes with a tiny ball at its point which rolls ink onto the paper a car which works on battery the valve of a battery a type of furnace which works by a blast of preheated air a boat used as a house the water used for feeding (supplying) the boiler a door for the inspection of a boiler a valve which is in the shape of a butterfly a weld of the type called butt television signals transmitted through cables the speed with which calculations are done the memory of a calculator the battery of a car the dioxide of carbon the tape of a cassette the gas obtained from coal

41.disk drive 42.dish antenna 43.disk drive 44.energy source 45.fire fly 46.fire tube boiler inspection door 47.flood damage 48.food source 49.friction losses 50.gas jar 51.gear mechanism 52.generator power output 53.gravity feed lubrication system 54.grease gun 55.heat content 56.heat transfer 57.heat treatment 58.hot water 59.immigration department officer 60.inflation rate 61.information center 62.jet engine 63.juice extractor 64.key board 65.laser printer 66.leaf protein 67.letter press 68.liquid oxygen 69.litho plate 70.lock nut