Compound nouns

Compound nouns

1. We use compound nouns, not possessive forms, to refer to people or things in terms of:

• what they are for;
• what they are made of;
• what work they do;
• or what kind they are.

The second noun is the main thing or person, and can be singular or plural. The first noun gives more information about the second noun. It is usually singular, unless it has no singular form:

• I just bought a coffee maker in a commercial centre near my house
• I am a university teacher and my husband is a businessman

NOTE: Compound nouns are usually two separate words, but they are occasionally joined together as one word, e.g., sunglasses, bathroom, or hyphenated, e.g., house-hunter, fortune-teller.

2. With containers, a compound noun (a milk bottle) focuses on the container (usually empty), whereas the container + a possessive noun (a bottle of milk) focuses on the contents (the container is usually full).

• A tuna can is empty on the table (empty)
• A can of tuna will be my dinner (full)

Other common examples are a milk carton | a glass of juice, a jam jar [ a jar of jam, a tuna cun |a can of tuna, a matchbox [a box of matches, etc