080 : Noun + noun (a bus driver / a headache)

   A   

You can use two nouns together (noun + noun) to mean one thing/person/idea etc. For example:

     a tennis ball      income tax      the city centre

 

The first noun is like an adjective. It tells us what kind of thing/person/idea etc. For example:

     a tennis ball = a ball used to play tennis
     a bus driver = the driver of a bus
     a road accident = an accident that happens on the road
     income tax = tax that you pay on your income
     the city centre = the centre of the city
     a Paris hotel = a hotel in Paris
     my life story = the story of my life

So you can say:

     a television camera      a television programme     

     a television studio        a television producer

    (these are all different things or people to do with television)

     language problems      marriage problems 

     health problems           work problems

    (these are all different kinds of problems)

 

Compare:

     garden vegetables (= vegetables that are grown in a garden)
     a vegetable garden (= a garden where vegetables are grown)

 

Sometimes the first word ends in -ing. Usually these are things we use for doing something:

     a frying pan (= a pan for frying)      a washing machine      a swimming pool

 

Sometimes there are more than two nouns together:

• I waited at the hotel reception desk.
• We watched the World Swimming Championships on television.
• If you want to play table tennis (= a game), you need a table tennis table (= a table).

 

 

   B   

When two nouns are together like this, sometimes we write them as one word and sometimes as two separate words. For example:

     a headache      toothpaste      a weekend      a car park      a road sign

 

There are no clear rules for this. If you are not sure, write two words.

 

 

   C   

Note the difference between:

     a sugar bowl (maybe empty) and a bowl of sugar (= a bowl with sugar in it)
     a shopping bag (maybe empty) and a bag of shopping (= a bag full of shopping)

 

 

   D   

When we use noun + noun, the first noun is like an adjective. It is normally singular, but the meaning is often plural. For example: a bookshop is a shop where you can buy books, an apple tree is a tree that has apples.

 

In the same way we say:

     a three-hour journey (= a journey that takes three hours)

     a ten-pound note (not pounds)

     a four-week course (not weeks)

     a six-mile walk (not miles)

     two 14-year-old girls (not years)

Compare:

• It was a four-week course.
  but  The course lasted four weeks.

 

 

 

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