What Is A Compound Noun?
A compound noun is a noun that is made up of two or more separate words (although usually made of just two).
house
+
plant
=
houseplant
Although we can often form these using nouns, there are many methods of construction. You will also notice that compound nouns can be made up of either a single word (closed form), a hyphenated word (hyphenated form) or two separate words (open form): –
adjective
adjective
adverb
adverb
noun
noun
noun
verb
verb
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
noun
verb
noun
verb
adverb
noun
verb
adverb
noun
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
greenhouse
broadcast
bystander
input
hanger-on
bathroom
ring toss
lookout
rattle snake
Pronunciation
As you already know, each word in English has a preferred stress. The stress is the part of the word that usually has more emphasis than the rest of the word.
computer = comPUtar
football = FOOTball
reply = rePLY
With regards to pronunciation we treat the whole compound noun as a single word and usually put the stress on the first syllable.
MOtor
PUBlic
SCHOOL
+
+
+
CYcle
SPEAKing
TEAcher
=
=
=
MOtorcycle
PUBlic speaking
SCHOOL teacher
There is good reason to put the stress in the right place. It allows us to express ourself clearly and without confusion. Here is an example of what happens when we don’t alter the stress in the word: –
(stress the same on both words) I’m going to the white house. = I’m going to a house that is white.
(stress on the first syllable) I’m going to the white house. = I’m going to where the president of the USA lives.
Closed Form List
- takeout
- notebook
- overthrow
- shoelace
- haircut
- blackboard
- toothpaste
- snowfall
- keyboard
- secondhand
Hyphenated Form List
- long-term
- take-off
- check-up
- mother-in-law
- jack-in-the-box
- well-being
- has-been
- vice-president
- go-between
- merry-go-round
Open Form List
- hot dog
- swimming pool
- dinner table
- mobile phone
- washing machine
- top hat
- fish tank
- sweet tooth
- post office
- full moon
Compound Nouns Quiz
See what you can remember from the article with this quiz below!
Say Tell Speak Talk
Introduction Say, tell, speak and talk. Four very similar words in English. When should we use them? what words can come after them? Is there even any difference? Let’s have a look. Say We use “say” to quote either directly or indirectly. Quoting directly means we will use quotation marks (“”) and is used to…
Transitive And Intransitive Verbs
Introduction He kicked the ball. She is running. They moved quickly. We can divide verbs into two different categories: transitive verbs and intransitive verbs. We use these terms to describe whether a verb needs to take an object in order to make sense. In the above examples, “kicked” is transitive, “running” is intransitive and “moved”…
Phrasal Verbs List
Below is a list of 47 useful phrasal verbs in English. They are arranged into groups to help memorize them easier. As well as this, example sentences are included to give context and make understanding their use even easier. Each section will be split up using the following format: Phrasal Verb Meaning Example Sentence “Act”…
Question Tags
What Are Question Tags? You’re going away again, aren’t you? He doesn’t like this food, does he? They didn’t go to the party, did they? Questions tags or tag questions (according to American grammarians) are short questions we add to the end of a sentence in order to turn a declarative statement into a question.…