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2
Compound words are very frequent in technical language.
They can be adjectives or nouns. They are formed by combining various elements.
Possible combinations:
Examples
A
adjective/adverb + past participle
short-sighted, well-dressed,easily-seen
second-hand, first-rate
ordinal number + noun
cardinal number + noun + adjective
noun + noun
18-year-old, 300 metres high
bus station, teacup
Compound words can be written:
Examples
B
with a hyphen
self-control
television set
separately, as two words
as one single word
toothbrush
There are no strict rules but:
Examples
C
compound adjectives are usually written with a hyphen
home-made, well-done
exercise book, tomato soup, spring balance,
railway station, rice dish, car wheel
postman, ashtray, boyfriend, headache,
classmate
compound nouns can be written as two words
(without hyphen) when the first word has the function
of identifying the second one, which does not change
its original meaning
compound nouns are usually written as one word when the
‘new word’ has its own new specific meaning
1
Match the words in the two columns in order to create new words.
evening
school
note
telephone
car
house
bed
tomato
summer
book
bag
classes
room
soup
holiday
box
park
work
Word formation - Compound words
WORKING ON GRAMMAR
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Progetto FOR ELECTRONICS_unit_1.indd 23
10/01/