Noun + noun (a tennis ball/a
headache etc.)
A. We often use two nouns
together (noun + noun) to mean one thing/person/idea etc. For example:
a tennis ball a bank manager a
road accident 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 road accident = an accident
that happens on the road
income tax = tax that you pay
on your income
the sea temperature = the
temperature of the sea
a London doctor = a doctor
from London
So you can say:
a television camera a
television programme a television studio a television producer
(all different things or
people to do with television)
language problems marriage
problems health problems work problems
(all different kinds of
problems)
Compare:
garden vegetables (=
vegetables that are grown in a garden)
a vegetable garden (= a garden
where vegetables are grown)
Often the first word ends in
~ing. Usually these are things used for doing something. For example:
a washing machine a frying pan
a swimming pool the dining room
Sometimes there are more than
two nouns together:
* I waited at the hotel
reception desk. (= a 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 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 stomach ache table tennis
There are no clear rules for
this. If you are not sure, it is usually better to write two words.
You can often put a hyphen (-)
between the two words (but this is not usually necessary): a dining-room
the city-centre
C. Note the difference
between:
a wine glass (perhaps empty)
and a glass of wine (= a glass with wine in it)
a shopping bag (perhaps 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 (not 'a
three-hours journey')
a ten-pound note (not
'pounds') two 14-year-old girls (not 'years')
a four-week English course
(not 'weeks') a three-page letter (not 'pages')
So we say:
* It was a three-hour journey.
but The journey took three hours.
For the structure 'I've got
three weeks' holiday', see Unit 80E.
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