Examples of Hyphenated Compounds
| Mother-in-law | merry-go-round |
| Brother-in-law | six-pack |
| Commander-in-chief | check-in |
| Vice-president | runner-up |
| Editor-in-chief | time-out |
A. Fill each gap with a word from the box to make a common compound noun.
| liner | gloves | pan |
| cover | board | cases |
| basket | table | machine |
- Ramesh made coffee for all the students and put the mugs down on the coffee _____________.
- I changed the bed linen and put on clean sheets and pillow_____________.
- If you want to fry eggs, you’ll find a frying _____________ in the big kitchen cupboard.
- Natalie set up the ironing _____________ and started ironing a silk blouse.
- Don’t take a hot dish out of the oven without protecting your hands with oven _____________, will you?
- I emptied the rubbish and put in a clean bin _____________.
- He took the clothes out of the washing _____________ and put them in the laundry _____________.
- Do you like the pattern on my new duvet _____________?
Examples of Part of Speech Compounds
| Noun + Noun | Adjective + Noun |
| 1. toothpaste (tooth + paste) | 1. blueberry (blue + berry) |
| 2. football (foot + ball) | 2. blackboard (black + board) |
| Noun + Verb | Verb + Noun |
| 1. sunset (sun + set) | 1. swimming pool (swimming + pool) |
| 2. rainfall (rain + fall) | 2. drinking water (drinking + water) |
| Verb + Verb | Adjective + Verb |
| 1. makeup (make + up) | 1. dry-clean (dry + clean) |
| 2. pickup (pick + up) | 2. highlight (high + light) |
| Adverb + Verb | Noun + Adjective |
| 1. overlook (over + look) | 1. snow-white (snow + white) |
| 2. underestimate (under + estimate) | 2. world-famous (world + famous) |
| Adverb + Adjective | Adverb + Noun |
| 1. everlasting (ever + lasting) | 1. underground (under + ground) |
| 2. well-known (well + known) | 2. overcoat (over + coat) |
B. Complete the compound nouns by writing either snow or sun in each space.
| _________burn | _________shine | _________storm | _________light |
| _________ball | _________hat | _________roof | _________screen |
| _________stroke | _________flake | _________plough | _________bathe |
| _________dress | _________drift | _________board | _________tan |
C. Find a compound noun for each of these definitions.
- a court reserved specially for playing badminton
- _______________________________________________________
- a form you fill in when you apply for something
- _______________________________________________________
- a shirt you wear to play football in
- _______________________________________________________
- a helmet to protect your head when cycling
- _______________________________________________________
- special pads you wear over your shins to protect this part of your body during cricket
- _______________________________________________________
- a stadium where spectators stand or sit to watch football matches
- _______________________________________________________