Compound words types

List of Compound Words with Different Types • 7ESL

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One major grammatical point when speaking, reading or writing in English are compound words. What are compound words? We are going to look at what these words are and how they are formed, as well as looking at some examples of these types of words.

Table of Contents

Compound Words

What is a Compound Word?

In simple terms, a compound word is a word which is made up of two or more words, usually two words, which are put together to form a new meaning, for example ‘deck chair.’

Compound word examples:

• help desk
• hot dog
• bookstore
• classmate
• queen-size
• one-sided
• well-educated

Types of Compound Words

Compound words can fall into one of two categories, each of which has subcategories. Let’s take a closer look at these two types.

Words classified by their form

The first type are compound words which are classified by their form. There are three forms of compound words, these are open form, closed form and hyphenated form. Here is a short description of each of these forms to make them easier to understand. Each description will also have an example of the word used in a sentence.

• Open form compound words are two words which are written independently of one another, separated by a space. An example of this type of compound word would be ‘ice cream.’ Here you can see it used in a sentence ‘I brought an ice cream from the store.’
• Closed form compound words are two words which have been joined together to make a new word, they are not separated by a space and are written one right after the other. An example of this type of compound word is ‘snowman.’ Here you can see the word used in a sentence. ‘At Christmas time, when it snowed, we built a snowman.’
• A hyphenated compound word is two words which are put together and separated by a hyphen. An example of this type of compound word is ’empty-handed.’ This is an example of how the word would look in a sentence. ‘ I entered the competition but I came home empty-handed as I did not win.’

Words classified by their class

The next category that compound words can fall into is the word class. There are three subcategories for this type of compound word as well. These are compound verbs, compound adjective and compound nouns. Here is a short description of each of these types of compound words and some examples to further explain how they word both on their own and in a sentence.

• Compound verbs are words which describe an action. Unlike a regular verb, a compound verb is made up of two words. Compound verbs are usually open formed. An example of a compound verb is ‘ask for.’ Here you can see the word used in a sentence. ‘I like to regularly ask for updates on the project.’
• Compound adjectives are words which are descriptive. Unlike a regular adjective, a compound adjective is made of two words. Compound adjectives are usually hyphenated. An example of a compound adjective is ‘blue-eyed.’ Here is a sentence which contains the word to show how it would work. ‘My wife and daughter are both blue-eyed.‘
• Compound nouns are words which give a name to something. Unlike regular nouns, a compound noun is made up of two words. Compound nouns are usually closed form. An example of a compound noun is ‘apple tree.’ Here is an example of a sentence which contains this compound verb. ‘In the orchard we have several apple trees and one large oak.’

Lists of Compound Words

We will now list a variety of words from each of the classifications and subcategories of compound words.

• full moon
• living room
• dining room
• curtain rail
• deck chair
• tea cup
• dinner plate
• serving spoon
• clothes peg
• dance hall
• seat belt
• coffee grain
• ice cube
• ice cream
• real estate
• yard sale
• hand towel
• cell phone
• high school
• middle school
• grammar school
• elementary school
• car pool
• course work
• disc drive
• common sense
• key pal
• jumping jack
• energy bar
• help desk
• hot dog
• dirt bike
• landing field
• radio waves
• rib cage
• memory stick
• report card

• windfall
• baseball
• worldwide
• southeast
• sailboat
• railway
• stockbroker
• snowman
• birthday
• wildcat
• football
• peanut
• afternoon
• anytime
• blackboard
• bookstore
• classmate
• eyeball
• freelance
• gridlock
• hamburger
• jigsaw
• knighthood
• lipstick
• moonlight
• overkill
• pothole
• runway
• showoff
• strawberry
• uptown
• uproot
• wrongdoing
• workplace
• workshop
• underdog
• today
• springtime
• somehow
• rainbow
• redhead
• rattlesnake
• playground
• overpass

• able-bodied
• runner-up
• clean-cut
• follow-up
• high-tech
• close-up
• father-in-law
• king-size
• queen-size
• one-sided
• run-in
• self-concept
• tip-off
• word-of-mouth
• self-service
• three-dimensional
• well-to-do
• hush-hush
• strong-arm
• x-ray
• toss-up
• well-being
• shrink-wrap
• u-turn
• topsy-turvy
• single-minded
• merry-go-round
• short-tempered
• on-site
• off-site
• life-sized
• in-depth

• blow up
• ask out
• blow out
• add up to
• break down
• break up
• break into
• bring down
• call back
• call around
• call off
• catch up
• check in
• cheer up
• come apart
• come down with
• come about
• come around
• count on
• cross out
• come in
• do over
• drop back
• drop in
• drop down
• eat out
• end up
• fall apart
• fall back
• fall over
• fall down
• fill out
• fill up
• find out
• get along
• get across
• get in
• get out
• get over
• get back
• get away with
• give up
• give away
• give in to
• go ahead
• go after
• go around
• go back
• go into
• grow up
• grow back
• grow apart
• hang out
• keep up
• keep on top of
• let down
• log in
• log out
• look for
• look out
• make up
• make over
• pass away
• pass on
• pay back
• point out
• put down
• put away
• put back
• run out
• run into
• sort out
• sleep over
• sleep in
• switch on
• switch off
• take back
• take off
• think up
• think over

• good-looking
• long-lasting
• English-speaking
• well-known
• part-time
• middle-aged
• well-behaved
• well looked-after
• long-haired
• sparsely-populated
• well-educated
• dimly-lit
• sought-after
• mouth-watering
• fast-moving
• time-saving
• fat-free
• full-length
• world-famous
• five-foot
• brown-eyed
• blonde-haired
• open-minded
• closed-minded
• red-coloured
• five-minute
• short-tempered
• hot-headed
• small-minded
• well-behaved
• hard-working

• eyeball
• snowman
• heartbeat
• sunrise
• raindrop
• moonlight
• myself
• grandfather
• grandmother
• grandchild
• anymore
• goldfish
• skateboard
• seaside
• sunshine
• sunset
• lifespan
• friendship
• gentleman
• cowboy
• birthday
• bookshelf
• battelfield
• chopstick
• dishwasher
• dishwater
• haircut
• earring
• landlord
• necklace
• bypass
• notebook
• houseboat
• pancake
• ladybug
• ringworm
• thunderstorm
• teardrop
• teacake
• headache
• backache
• doorbell
• toolbox

Compound Words | Infographic

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Examples of Compound Words by Type

• DESCRIPTION

  Grandmother With Compound Word Example

• SOURCE

  Grandmother: Natalia Kosheleva / iStock / Getty Images Plus / Background: Tolchik / iStock / Getty Images Plus

• PERMISSION

  Used under Getty Images license

Compound words are an easy way to add interest to your writing. By combining two ideas in one word, you can quickly provide all the information needed. These examples of compounds will show you how it's done.

What Are Compound Words?

A compound word is formed when two words are combined to make a new word. It is one of the ways in which the English language is flexible and always changing, as compound words allow people to create new words as the need arises.

For example, you might use “in” and “side” to create the compound word “inside”.

We should play inside today.

The words “carry” and “over” can make the compound word “carry over”.

We can carry over that surplus into the next sprint.

As you can see, compound words can come in different varieties. Explore examples of each.

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Examples of Compound Words

When it comes to compound words, there are three different types that are important: closed-form, open-form, and hyphenated. Dive into how each type of compound word is different.

Closed-Form Compound Word Examples

Closed compound words are formed when two fully independent, unique words are combined to create a new word. For example, you would combine “grand” and “mother” to create the closed-form word “grandmother”. In a sentence, this would look like, “My grandmother is coming over.” These are the most common types of compound words.

For example:

• bullfrog
• snowball
• mailbox
• grandmother
• railroad
• sometimes
• inside
• upstream
• basketball
• anybody
• outside
• cannot
• skateboard
• everything
• schoolhouse
• grasshopper
• sunflower
• moonlight

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Open Compound Word Examples

Open compound words are formed when two words remain separate on the page but are used together to create a new idea with a specific meaning. For example, “attorney” and “general” are used to form the open compound word “attorney general”. You could see this in the sentence, “The attorney general holds the power in legal matters.” Other examples of open compounds include:

• peanut butter
• Boy Scouts
• no one
• ice cream
• real estate
• high school
• living room
• sweet tooth
• hot dog
• grand jury
• post office
• full moon
• half sister
• cave in

Hyphenated Compound Word Examples

Hyphenated compound words are formed when two separate words are joined together by a hyphen. Examples of hyphenated compound words include:

• two-fold
• check-in
• merry-go-round
• father-in-law
• seventy-two
• long-term
• up-to-date
• mother-in-law
• one-half
• over-the-counter

Note that hyphenated compound words are most commonly used when the words being joined together are combined to form an adjective before a noun. For example:

• forty-acre farm
• full-time worker
• on-campus housing
• state-of-the-art features
• family-run busines

However, these hyphenated compound words become open compounds when they are placed after the word they describe. For example:

• The farm has forty acres.
• The worker is full time.
• The housing is all on campus for freshman
• Its features are truly state of the art.
• The business is still family run.

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Compound Words in Sentences

Now that you learned about the different types of compound words, see if you can find the compound words in the sentences below.

• My grandfather is coming home for the holidays.
• I really want a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
• The real estate agent had to take a test to get her license.
• She is a part-time teacher.
• That is our full-time worker.
• I’m so tired of looking for on-campus housing.
• He was seventy-two years old.
• Let’s go play some basketball
• Has anybody seen my binder?

If you have those down, try creating a few sentences using compound words that you create!

Compound the Reader's Interest

By adding compound words to your writing, you can make your ideas more interesting and descriptive for the reader. The addition of too many compounds can be messy, especially hyphenated compound words; so, be sure to use compound words wisely. Like any seasoning, they are best sprinkled throughout your writing instead of used in every line.

Now, that you have a grasp of compound words, you might want to dive into some compound sentence examples.

Compound nouns in English ‹ engblog.ru

Paradoxically, but the phobia of long words is called in English a very long term hippotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia . This vast word is a clear example of what is called a compound noun ( a compound noun ). It was formed by combining several words: hippopotamine means something incredibly large, the Greek word monstr is used to describe something terrible, sesquippedali is half the length, and phobia is, as you know, an obsessive fear of something.

Fortunately, not all compound nouns in English are so intimidating. Most of them include two short words, sometimes connected by a preposition. So while reading this article, you are unlikely to be threatened with hippopotamusmonstrosesquipedaliophobia.

What are compound nouns

From the very name it is clear that compound nouns are words that include two or more components. In many modern languages, including English, such words are quite common, and their number is constantly growing. This is due to the dynamic development of our world and the constant emergence of new terms, professions, services, etc. A closer look at some of the most commonly used English compound nouns shows that one of the components describes or refines the second, giving a more complete picture of the subject. nine0015

• An air + a plane = an airplane
• A police (police) + a man (person) = a policeman (police).
• A boy (boy) + a friend (friend) = a boyfriend (young man, lover).

Ways of forming compound nouns in English

The table shows the main combinations of parts of speech from which compound nouns can be formed. Please note that some words in English can be several parts of speech at the same time. For example, word work is the noun “work”, and to work is already the verb “work”. And words like in , off , under , by and over can be both prepositions and adverbs.

Forming the plural of compound nouns

The plural of compound nouns is formed by adding the letter s to the main design word:

• A green house (greenhouse) – green houses (greenhouses).
• A car park (parking) - car parks (parking).
• A mother -in-law mothers -in-law

How to determine the main word in a compound noun? It is usually placed second. However, there are also compound nouns in which both components are equal. In such cases, the letter s is added to the second word:

• A table spoon
• An ash tray (ashtray) - ash trays (ashtrays).
• An also- ran (outsider) – also- rans (outsiders).
• A go- between (intermediary) – go- betweens (intermediaries).
• A grown- up / grown up (adult) – grown- ups (adult).

If one of the words that make up the compound noun has a special form in the plural, both words change: a m a nservant (servant) - m e nservant s (servant).

How to write compound nouns in English

Compound nouns in English can be written in three ways: together, with a hyphen, and separately.

• A firefly
• X-ray X-rays.
• A sergeant major - sergeant major, foreman.

There is no clear rule regarding the spelling of compound nouns in English. Therefore, the surest way to check the spelling of a word is to look it up in a dictionary. Interestingly, the use of the hyphen in modern English is reduced to a minimum. And those words that were originally written with a hyphen, over time, begin to be written together (for example, email and online ).

How to pronounce compound nouns in English

Usually, each of the words that make up a compound noun retains its stress, and when pronounced, the first component of the compound word is emphasized.

• A páper knife / páperknife - paper knife.
• A reading test - reading test.
• A sínging lesson - a singing lesson. nine0030

However, this is a general recommendation and may not apply to all compound nouns. Each case is different, and it is best to check the stress in a dictionary.

Clear rules can be followed only in two cases:

1. If a compound noun contains a proper name or the name of something, the stress is most often placed on the first syllable of the second word:
   • Mount Éverest - Mount Everest.
   • Prime Minister - prime minister.
   • New York - New York.
2. If a compound noun is formed from a phrasal verb, the stress falls on the first syllable of the first word:
   • A gétaway escape.
   • A comeback - return.
   • A bréakdown - breakdown, failure.

Learning how to pronounce compound nouns in English is easy. You already know the theory of how this is done, and a practical lesson will be given to you by a native speaker Emma in this video:

The topic of compound nouns in English is not difficult. In order to use them correctly, it is enough to remember a few simple basic rules. And to check how you learned the topic, take our test.

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Compound nouns in English

Match the words from the left column with the words from the right to get compound nouns

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If you find an error, please highlight the text and press Ctrl+Enter .

Compound nouns

There are three types of compound nouns in English: open (parts of which are written separately), hyphenated (parts of which are written with one or more hyphens) and closed (parts of which are written together , in one word). nine0015

Compound nouns are constantly being formed as the world moves around us, and with it technical progress, and many were once compound nouns, which were written separately, then with a hyphen, and finally, already merged. Given the current trend to avoid hyphenated compound words as much as possible, reinvented compound nouns are more likely to achieve coherent spellings than ever before. Some compound nouns that are spelled together in the US, in one word, are hyphenated in British English. nine0593 preposition / adverb

• hanger+on = hanger-on
• voice+over = voice-over
• passer + by = passerby

3. Noun + adjective

• attorney + general= attorney general battle - Minister of Justice / Attorney General
• general battle, royal

  Only a few, such as mother-in-law and hole in one, take the ending "-s/-es" to the first word: holes in one, mothers-in-law.

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