COMPOUND NOUNS (B1)

WHAT DO THESE WORDS HAVE IN COMMON?

YES, THEY´RE COMPOUND NOUNS.

A compound noun is a noun that is made up of two or more words. Most compound nouns in English are formed by nouns modified by other nouns…

For example:

The words tooth and paste are each nouns in their own right, but if you join them together they form a new word – toothpaste.

In  this example the first word modifies or describes the second word, telling us what kind of object or person it is, or what its purpose is. And the second part identifies the object or person in question.

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

1. Sometimes the two words are joined together.         Example: tooth + paste = toothpaste

2. Sometimes they are joined using a hyphen.            Example: can-opener

3. Sometimes they appear as two separate words.     Example: cycle lane 

A good dictionary will tell you how you should write each compound noun.