English grammar
Compound nouns 📕
A compound noun is made of two or more words. The first word tells us what kind of thing the second word is.
bus stop (a stop for the bus)
coffee cup (a cup for coffee)
work day (a day of work)
Three ways to write compound nouns
| Written as | Examples |
| One word | toothbrush, bedroom, football, website |
| Two words | bus stop, post office, credit card, living room |
| With a hyphen | mother-in-law, check-in, part-time |
There is no simple rule. Check a dictionary if you are not sure.
The stress is usually on the first word
BUS stop
BEDroom
POST office
The plural
Only the last word gets plural -s:
✓ two bus stops
✗ two buses stop
✓ three credit cards
Exception: in words with a hyphen, the main word gets -s: my mothers-in-law.
The first word is usually singular
✓ a shoe shop
✗ a shoes shop
✓ a ten-year-old boy
✗ a ten-years-old boy