Nouns as Modifiers

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By: Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar http://www.kau.edu.sa/SBANJER http://wwwdrshadiabanjar.blogspot.com 1 Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar NOUNS AS MODIFIERS

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noun can be used to another noun: Nouns as Modifiers Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar 2

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Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar 3 In English we can put two nouns together. The first noun is used as an adjective to modify the second noun and is called a noun adjunct. The first noun is almost always singular because it follows the rule for adjectives, which do not have plural forms in English. N1 N2 can mean that: N1 is a kind of N2 (a grammar book is a kind of book) N1 is an object of an implied verb (an apple tree is a tree that produces apples) GRAMMAR

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Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar 4 It is important to understand that N2 is the thing and N1 is the kind or type: a rose bush is a bush a wrist watch is a watch computer paper is paper

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Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar 5 When a noun is used as a modifier, it is in its singular form. The soup has vegetables in it: It is vegetable soup. The building has offices in it: It is an office building. office modifies building. vegetable modifies soup.

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Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar 6 My mother planted a rose bush in the garden. I bought a new table lamp. Bobby takes the school bus to school. The school ordered fifty new grammar books. That man makes bird cages. Mrs. Taylor bought some new baby clothes. Examples: N1 is singular, even if the phrase is plural.

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Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar 7 When a noun used as a modifier is combined with a number expression, the noun is singular and a hyphen (-) is used. She has a five years old son.. CORRECT INCORRECT XXXXXXXX She has a five-year-old son. vvvvvvv

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Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar 8 We can use a number with N1 to make a compound adjective. Since the number and noun make one unit, we use a hyphen to join them. Note that N1 remains singular because it is being used as an adjective. Examples: a three-car garage a ten-speed bicycle a twenty-dollar bill

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Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar 9 If we use a number to refer to the second noun (how many), we do not use a hyphen: two grammar books five rose bushes Examples:

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Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar 10 We can use a number to refer to the second noun (how many) and a number with the first noun (compound adjective). In that case, there is no hyphen after the first number, but the second number is still used with a hyphen because it forms a compound adjective. Examples: two ten-dollar bills four three-bedroom homes

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Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar 11 two footstools      vs.     two-foot stools Hyphens are used to avoid ambiguity for the reader.

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Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar 12 It was a two-hour test. It was a two hours test. CORRECT INCORRECT vvvvvvv XXXXXXXX

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Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar 13