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:

1. open or spaced – there is a space between the two words ( bowling ball )
2. hyphenated – hyphen between the two words ( world-class )
3. 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

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