Compound Nouns

Compound nouns are nouns that consist of two or more words.

In these lessons, we will learn types of compound nouns, how to form plural compound nouns and how to pronounce compound nouns.

Types of Combined Nouns

A Combined Compound Noun is a noun in which multiple words are combined into a single word. It is also called solid or closed compound noun. Some examples are sunrise, baseball, wallpaper.

A Hyphenated Compound Noun is a noun that uses hyphens to bring together multiple words. Some examples are blue-green, mother-of-pearl, rent-a-car.

A Separated Compound Noun is a noun made up of two or more separated words with no hyphen between them. It is also called open or spaced compound noun. Some examples are science fiction, candy bar, ice hockey.

Grammar - Nouns - Compound Nouns
A compound noun is a combination of two nouns.
Types of Compound Nouns: Closed Form, Open Form, Hyphenated Form.
Examples of closed form: firefly, housefly, catwalk, notebook, downtown
Examples of open form: post office, blood pressure
Examples of hyphenated form: son-in-law, three-year-old

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Plural Compound Nouns

Many compound nouns are written as one word.
Their plural is formed in the regular way.

Singular	Plural
classroom	classrooms
dishwasher	dishwashers
screwdriver	screwdrivers

Some compound nouns are written as two words, or two words joined by a hyphen.
The plural is formed by adding s to the second word.

Singular	Plural
book club	book clubs
fire engine	fire engines
ice-cream	ice-creams
baby-sitter	baby-sitters

Some compound nouns consist of three or more hyphenated words.
If the first wood is a noun then add s to the first word.

Singular	Plural
son-in-law	sons-in-law
lady-in-waiting	ladies-in-waiting
lily-of-the-valley	lilies-of-the-valley
passer-by	passers-by

If the first word is not a noun then add s to the end of the compound word.

Singular	Plural
two-year-old	two-year-olds
forget-me-not	forget-me-nots

Pronunciation of Compound Nouns

In compound nouns, the stress usually falls in the first syllable.
Have a look at the following videos for lessons on the pronunciation of compound nouns.

Pronouncing Compound Nouns
The intonation of compound nouns.
What do the words “newspaper”, “bedroom”, and “blackboard” have in common? They are all compound nouns. In this video, I will teach you what compound nouns are and how to pronounce them correctly. I will also be teaching you about pronunciation stress, which will help you sound more like a native speaker.

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Compound Nouns and Pronunciation
How to pronounce compound nouns?

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Stress In compound Nouns: Perfecting Your American Accent

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