Nouns in function of adjectives & compound nouns
NOUNS IN FUNCTION OF ADJECTIVES
Noun often functions as adjective determining another noun:
kitchen table
winter clothes
A noun used as adjective mostly determined:
| material | paper towel steel door cotton dress |
| time | winter holiday Sunday paper |
| place | garden furniture country lane |
| purpose | tin opener skating rink |
| content | grammar book adventure film |
| affiliation | church roof book cover |
| driving force, fuel etc. | gas stove petrol engine |
| function, profession, abilities etc. | card player factory worker |
In colloquial speech, many pairs of nouns, we write together:
- hairdryer
- dishwasher
- sunglasses
COMPOUND NOUNS
There are common and compound nouns in English.
Common nouns do not arise from putting other words together:
- book
- girl
- grammar
- painting
Compound nouns are a combination of two or more words:
| noun+ noun | rainfall farmhouse |
| noun+ -ing | mushroom picking water-skiing |
| ing+ noun | living room swimming pool |
| preposition/ adverb + noun | the Underground background |
| preposition+ verb | underwear intake |
| adjective+ noun | blackboard hotline |
Together, separately or with a conjunction?
There are no consistent rules in spelling compound noun. It is possible to find two ways of spelling the same word depending on the source:
farmhouse/ farm house
living room/ living-room
