Compound Nouns

A type of noun we use a lot are compound nouns. These are usually made of two nouns or an adjective plus a noun. When looking at compound nouns one needs to remember that they act as a single word and are modified by other adjectives and nouns.
The three forms for writing compound nouns are:
- open or spaced – there is a space between the two words ( bowling ball )
- hyphenated – hyphen between the two words ( world-class )
- closed or solid – no space or hyphen between the two words (landscape)
Here are a few of the combinations of types of words used to create compound nouns:
noun | + | noun | Haircut | Is this a nice haircut for me? |
Bathroom | The bathroom is on the right. | |||
Drumstick | Do you want to eat the drumstick? | |||
adjective | + | noun | Black Market | There is always a black market for luxury item replicas. |
Smartboard | A smartboard is a great tool in the classroom. | |||
Hotplate | A hotplate will be very useful when we go camping. | |||
verb | + | noun | Stop gap | Jack put in a stop gap to prevent the leaking. |
Running partner | My running partner helps me keep up my training. | |||
Bowling ball | I brought my own bowling ball. | |||
noun | + | verb | Air-conditioning | The air-conditioning system is working well. |
Rainfall | The rainfall has not stopped. | |||
Sidekick | The hero’s sidekick is funny. | |||
verb | + | preposition | take-out | We can have take-out for dinner. |
preposition | + | verb | input | The input he entered was incorrect which caused an error. |
preposition | + | noun | Bystander | A bystander ended up being the main witness. |
noun | + | adjective | Snow white | Her dress was snow white. |
Pronunciation
Generally speaking, when pronouncing compound nouns one tends to stress the first word. This pronunciation is key in helping the listener understand what one is talking about. For example, if you say the words “greenhouse” with equal emphasis on both of the words, this emphasizes a house painted green. If you emphasize or stress the word “green” the listener knows you are talking about a special building used to grow plants.
Plural Forms of Compound Nouns
In most cases the plural of a compound noun is made by changing the most relevant word to a plural. For example:
singular | plural |
One rooftop | Four rooftops |
A school principal | Two school principals |
One haircut | A few haircuts |
A football coach | Eight football coaches |
A shoelace | Five shoelaces |
A toothbrush | Two toothbrushes |
A high-roller | Three high-rollers |
A hitchhiker | Six hitchhikers |
A star-struck lover | Two star-struck lovers |
As the English language has evolved there have been some changes in the way some words are used. For example, older styles demand that the plural of spoonful and truckful be written as spoonsful and trucksful, however, it is more common now to say spoonfuls and truckfuls. Both are acceptable, but remaining consistent in your usage is key. Here are some examples:
old style plural (very formal) | new style plural | |
teaspoonful | 2 teaspoonsful of flour | 2 teaspoonfuls of flour |
truckful | 2 trucksful of toys | 2 truckfuls of toys |
bucketful | 5 bucketsful of milk | 5 bucketfuls of milk |
cupful | 3 cupsful of water | 3 cupfuls of water |
In some cases, the plural of a compound noun is not intuitive. In this case, you should always consult a dictionary to find the plural. For example:
- higher-ups
- also-rans
- go-betweens
- has-beens
- good-for-nothings
- grown-ups
One guideline you should always remember is that in compound nouns made of two nouns the first one behaves as an adjective which is why it usually does not become a plural. Instead, when you have a compound noun of the noun+noun kind, it is the second noun that takes the –s to make it plural. See the examples below:
long plural form becomes > | plural compound noun[noun + noun] |
200 bottles of wine | 200 wine bottles |
5,000 students of philosophy | 5,000 philosophy students |
50 makers of films | 50 film-makers |
30 cans of beer | 30 beer cans |
80 coaches of football | 80 football coaches |