3.1.

The Noun: Morphology

Compound nouns:

Noun compounds are the most common type of compounds in English and exhibit a wide range
of forms and meanings. Compounding is a process of word formation which is particularly
productive in English. A compound is a lexical unit consisting of two or more bases which
function both grammatically and semantically as a single word. The first part tells us what kind
of object or person it is, or what its purpose is (police, boy, water, dining, bed), and the
second part identifies the object or person in question (man, friend, tank, table, room).

In terms of the word classes, we can distinguish between noun compounds consisting of:
 a single common noun + single common noun (snowball, water tank)
 an -ing form + noun (washing machine, driving license)
 a noun + an –ing form (wine drinking, skydiving)
 a proper noun + noun (Markov chain, Cassandra syndrome)
 a single noun + agent / instrumental noun (tax-payer, bystander)
 an adjective + noun (small talk, software)
 a verb + noun (push-button)
 a preposition + noun (aftershock)
 an adverb + noun (off-chance)
 an adverb + verb (input, upturn)

Spelling: There are, at least, three different ways to write a compound noun:
1. Solid (one word): bedroom, policewoman, redhead…
2. Hyphenated (two words joined by a hyphen): birth-control, take-off, dry-cleaning…
3. Open (two words): Oil well, swimming pool, book review…

There are no clear rules about the spelling of the compound nouns. Some of them have
changed throughout history (some have several possible spellings) though their grammatical
status remain the same: compound nouns are always noun phrases at a word level and should
be analysed as one word.

Pronunciation: Compound nouns offer pronunciation that is different from the two separate
words. Compound nouns are stressed on the first element whereas a Noun Phrase is stressed
on the second element:
a 'greenhouse = place where we grow plants (compound noun)
a green 'house = house painted green (adjective and noun)
 a 'bluebird = type of bird (compound noun)
a blue 'bird = any bird with blue feathers (adjective and noun)

Plural: Most compounds form the plural in the usual way by adding –s or –es (or other plural
forms) to the second element of the compound, i.e., to the end of the compound: boyfriends,
office blocks, wedding marches, policewomen... However, some compounds, especially
those with an agent in the first element, may add the plural morpheme to the first part, thus:
passers-by, mothers-in-law, men-of-war…

Noun suffixes:

A number of noun suffixes combine with noun and other parts of speech stems in order to
create new nouns or new meanings. For the formation of new nouns, the most important
suffixes are:

 Formation of abstract nouns:

- hood (added to concrete nouns): motherhood, childhood, neighbourhood…
- ship (added to concrete nouns ending in –er/-or): membership, leadership…
- dom (added to concrete nouns or adjectives): kingdom, freedom, wisdom…
- ness (added to adjectives): happiness, sadness, kindness…
- ity (added to adjectives): authenticity, familiarity, superiority…
- age (added to verbs): wastage, coverage, package…
- al (added to verbs): approval, arrival, refusal…
- ment (added to verbs): agreement, arrangement, employment…
- tion / - sion(added to verbs): decision, division, education, attention…
- ance / -ence / -cy (added to adjectives): frequency, arrogance, consistence…
- th / -t (added to adjectives and verbs): warmth, growth, flight, depth, youth…

 Formation of concrete nouns (nouns indicating people):

- er (added to nouns and verbs to indicate occupation or the main characteristic):
banker, teenager, Londoner, employer…
- ee (added to verbs to indicate passive meaning): employee, trainee, examinee…
- eer (added to nouns to indicate association or engagement): mountaineer, engineer,
auctioneer…
- ist (added to nouns to indicate association): pianist, anarchist, biologist…
- ian / -an (added to nouns to indicate association): Roman, electrician, politician…
- ful (added to nouns to indicate amount or measurement): spoonful, handful,
mouthful…
 Diminutive and feminine nouns:
- ess (added to nouns to form a feminine noun): princess, stewardess, lioness…
- ette (added to nouns to form a feminine noun): usherette, suffragette…
- let (added to nouns to form a diminutive noun): booklet, piglet, starlet…
- ette (added to nouns to form a diminutive noun): kitchenette, cigarette…