Compound nouns

 A compound noun is formed by joining together two words.

Sometimes these words remain separate.

Examples:

  • washing machine
  • coffee cup
  • fairy tale

Sometimes they are hyphenated (joined together by a hyphen).

Examples:

  • holiday-maker
  • hold-up
  • passer-by

Sometimes the words that make up a compound noun are joined together to make a new word.

Examples:

  • teapot
  • doorstep
  • bedroom

There is no particular rule to determine which format should be used so the best advice is to check in a dictionary – although dictionaries will often disagree with each other!

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