Compound Nouns

Two words join to make a new noun.

Examples

• toothbrush
• bus stop
• mother-in-law

Key rules

• Compound nouns can be one word (toothbrush), two words (bus stop) or hyphenated (mother-in-law)
• The first word usually describes the second
• The plural is usually on the last word (bus stops)
• In some hyphenated nouns the main noun takes -s (mothers-in-law)

Common mistakes

• toothes brush → toothbrush
• two bus stop → two bus stops