Compound Nouns for English Language Learners
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This is the second of two courses designed to be simple to learn English for Chinese students.
This article explains compound nouns.
Compound noun worksheet – phrasal verb worksheet – click to download pdf
What are Compound Nouns
A compound noun is a term made of two or more nouns together. For example:
- break + fast = breakfast
- football
- ice cream
- peanut butter
- living room
- sunflower
- swimming pool
- classroom
- hot dog
Try to enter the missing letters to complete these common compound nouns.
- birth _ _ _
- _ _ _ plane
- base _ _ _ _
- s _ _ food
- _ _ _ _ coat
- cup _ _ _ _
Check your answers at the bottom of the page
Types of Compound Nouns
| Compound elements | Examples |
|---|---|
| noun + noun | bedroom water tank motorcycle printer cartridge |
| noun + verb | rainfall haircut train-spotting |
| noun + adverb | hanger-on passer-by |
| verb + noun | washing machine driving licence swimming pool |
| verb + adverb | lookout take-off drawback |
| adverb + noun | onlooker bystander |
| adjective + verb | dry-cleaning public speaking |
| adjective + noun | greenhouse software redhead |
| adverb + verb | output overthrow upturn input |
Adapted from https://www.ef.com/wwen/english-resources/english-grammar/compound-nouns/
Compound Noun Exercise #1
match these simple examples to form compound nouns:
- box
- bus
- film
- income
- mother
- science
- traffic
- travel
- a) agent
- b) driver
- c) fiction
- d) jam
- e) office
- f) star
- g) tax
- h) tongue
Exercise #2
Exercise 2 Fill in the blanks to form compound words with the words below.
light police sewing moon gold
tooth sky water under down life
- A steamship has got a paddle wheel on its side.
- These three horses have got only one overcoat
- Do you want to see the Detain ……… fall?
- People use a ……… brush to clean their teeth.
- David works as a ……… guard at the beach.
- There aren’t any houses near the ………
- Mum, shall we buy a …fish from the pets hop?
- My parents like having dinner under the ……… light
- The man is running ……… stairs because he is late.
- Which one do you prefer? ground or taxi?
- Look! The … scraper in the middle is on fire.
- I want to buy a ….machine for my mum.
- The ……… man is riding his horse in the city centre
Exercise #3
order these sentence whilst completing the compound nouns
Example Answer: Kevin Costner played a bodyguard in a movie with Whitney Houston.
- Kevin / Houston / guard / played / . / movie / a / Whitney / body / in / a / Costner / with
- was / Shergar / a / horse / famous / 1980s / . / in / race / the
- the / outside / found / foot / a / house / large / . / print / police / the / victim’s
- my / like / has / and / a / new / ! / style / hair / really / mother / I / it
- lost / I / can’t / phones / . / music / listen / to / head / my / because / I / my
- there / coast / very / house / . / is / a / light / dangerous / the / is / because
- it / light / was / enough / . / night / see / was / but / there / moon / to
- will / put / burn / this / your / better / . / cream / on / tomorrow / sun / and / it / be
Exercise #4
use the words below to fill the blanks to form compound nouns:
road flood news head jelly dead bow sky check key chair lid fly
- after + math = aftermath
- _______ + board = ______
- _______ + fish = ______
- _______ + scraper = ______
- eye + _______ = ______
- fire + _______ = ______
- _______ + light = ______
- _______ + up = ______
- over + coat = overcoat
- _______ + paper = ______
- rain + _______ = ______
- _______ + quarters = ______
- _______ + lock = ______
- cross + _______ = ______
- wheel + _______ = ______
Conclusion
If you want to learn more about nouns visit the nouns page, or visit the parts of speech page.
Return to the The APC 2 course page – improve your English
Common Compound Nouns
- birthday
- airplane
- baseball
- seafood
- overcoat
- cupcake
Compound Noun Meanings
- Box office: The place where tickets for movies are sold.
- Bus driver: A person who drives a bus.
- Film star: An actor or actress who is famous for their roles in movies.
- Income tax: A percentage of a person’s wages or salary that is paid to the government.
- Mother tongue: The first language a person learns, spoken by parents and used at home.
- Science fiction: A type of book or film based on or related to science, that is not based on facts.
- Traffic jam: A situation where a large number of vehicles are unable to move freely on a road, normally causing delays.
- Travel agent: A person or business that helps plan and arrange travel, including booking flights and hotels.
Compound Noun Explained
- Toothbrush: A small brush used for cleaning teeth.
- Policeman: A male police officer.
- Moonlight: The light from the moon.
- Overcoat: A heavy coat worn over regular clothing for warmth.
- Skyscraper: A very tall building with many floors.
- Goldfish: A small fish often kept as a pet that is gold colored.
- Downstairs: The lower floor in a building, opposite of upstairs.
- Underground: under the surface or the subway system.
- Waterfall: A natural shower of water falling from a height.
- Lifeguard: A person trained to ensure the safety of swimmers at a beach or pool.
- Steamship: A ship powered by steam engines.
- Lighthouse: A tall tower with a light at the top, located at coastlines to guide ships.
- Sewing Machine: A device used for stitching fabric together.
Compound Noun List
- Blackboard: A classroom board used for writing on in schools.
- Aftermath: The following period and result of a bad event.
- Jellyfish: A soft sea animal with a umbrella-shaped body and trailing tentacles.
- Skyscraper: A very tall building with many floors.
- Eyelid: The thin skin covering and protecting the eye.
- Firefly: A small insect that produces light, especially at night.
- Floodlight: A bright light, often used outdoors, that lights a wide area.
- Check-up: A medical examination to assess a person’s health or progress.
- Newspaper: A printed publication containing news, articles, and advertisements, usually published daily or weekly.
- Overcoat: A large, heavy coat worn over regular clothing, especially in cold weather.
- Rainbow: A arc in the sky with a range of beautiful colors appearing when it is sunny and raining.
- Headquarters: The main office or center of an organization.
- Deadlock: A situation where two sides can’t agree.
- Crossroad: A point where two or more roads cross over each other.
- Wheelchair: A chair with wheels for people who have walking difficult.