COMPOUND NOUN - CONCEPT, EXPLANATION WITH EXAMPLES. & EXERCISE --- EXAMINATION QUESTIONS

 

A word expressing a thing, place, person, quality or state of condition, position or attitude is called a Noun.

In other words a noun is the name of a person, place,thing or a quality. It is generally formed of one word like book, crow or honesty etc.

 But sometimes it is formed of more than one words like Bookworm or Armchair etc. Book and worm separately are nouns and have their meanings but these two combined also form a noun which has a different meaning.

A compound noun is also of three words  like 

Father - in - law.

Besides a noun with another noun, a compound noun is formed of a verb, an adjective and a preposition with a noun.

A compound noun is formed of  :-

Noun +Noun      

Bathroom, Watermark

Adjective + Noun

Roundtable, Prime- Minister.

Verb + Noun

Playing card,  Moving cart.

Preposition + Noun

Underworld, Overtime.

There is no specific way of writing a compound noun. It can be in either way, sometimes by adding hyphen between two words or without a hyphen in between. 

Step-son, take-away, classroom, Blackboard.

In case of a noun with more than two words there is a hyphen between words.

For example :

Commander -in- chief, Mother-in-law, 

While writing a compound adjective, a particular method has to be observed. 

For example 

Take the case of 

Blackboard and Black board:

These two words have different meanings. 

Black Board means any board which is black in colour. But in case of Blackboard it is a board black in colour which a teacher uses for teaching students. 

Similarly take away written separately means to snatch away. But take-away has a particular mode of sending things out of the premises where these are stored or are lying. It also means some message. 

A particular care has to be taken while changing these compound nouns from singular to plural or vice versa. Of the two or three words forming a compound noun the word giving the sense of a noun or the doer has to be changed. 

As in case of Mother-in-law it is mother the main word making a noun and not in-law. So plural will be of mother and not in-law. Its plural will be Mothers - in - law.

 

But in case of the word only in-law, it will be in-laws.

Some compound words worth studying.

(Singular)

Book- Fair

Boyfriend

Carbon paper

Commander-in-chief

Father- in - law

Firefly

Fishtank

Flower arrangement

Full moon

Lighthouse

Milk-man

Maid-servant

Master copy

On looker

Passer by

Time table

Timeframe

Undercoat

Underpass

underboss

Upturn

Upper class

Uppercase

Water tank

Youngman

Zebra crossing

These words require consideration 

while changing their number.

(Plural)

Book- Fairs

Boyfriends

Carbon papers

Commanders-in-chief

Fathers- in - law

Fireflies

Fishtanks

Flower arrangements

Full moons

Lighthouses

Milk-men

Maid-servants

Master copies

On lookers

Passers by

Time tables

Timeframes

Undercoats

Underpasses

underbosses

Upturns

Upper classes

Uppercases

Water tanks

Youngmen

Zebra crossings

Here are some examples of sentences with compound nouns containing errors relating to their number given in an examination.

1. Last year four commander-in-chiefs were promoted.

2. The passer-bys halted and took rest there.

3. The zebras crossing are for the use of padestrians.

4. Four stairs-carpet were spread for drying in the courtyard.

5. All the four walls clock struck four simultaneously.

ANSWER

1. Last year four commanders-in-chief were promoted.

2. The passers-by halted and took rest there.

3. The zebra crossings are for the use of padestrians.

4. Four stair-carpets were spread for drying in the courtyard.

5. All the four wall clocks struck four simultaneously.

EXERCISE FOR PRACTICE

EXERCISE 1.

Find error in the following sentences.Mark the part which contains the error.

1. Those ladies along with/(1) their mother-in-laws have/(2) gone to attend a family function in the city./(3) NE/(4)

2. She was combing her hairs /(1) which had messed up due to /(2) fast moving wind in the ground./(3) NE(4)

3. The company has requisitioned /(1) more troops from its headquarter to /(2) handle the situation in the city./(3) /NE(4)

4. The police is trying to find out /(1)the whereabout of the culprit/(2)  who is still at large./(3) /NE(4)

5. This piece of land is a bone of contention/(1) between two brothers and /(2) they are always at  loggers-head with each other./(3) /NE(4) 

(Answers)

1. (2) 2. ( 1) 3. (2) 4. (2)  5. (3)

EXERCISE 2

Find out error in the following sentences.

1. The world of today is divided into the groups of haves and haves not.

2. Girls students always excel boy students in the examination.

3. Men after men went to the mall to purchase goods.

4. The committee is looking into the criterions required for the new post.

5. Books fairs are organised these days to inculcate habit of reading books among people. 

(Answers)

1. haves and have-nots

2 Girl students

3. Man after man

4. Criteria

5. Book fairs

EXERCISE 3

1. The sales-man went doors - to - doors to sell his goods.

2. Soon a five stars hotel will be constructed near this mall.

3. She has gone to attend her sister's-in law marriage.

4. We went to John's and Lucy's house yesterday but it was locked.

5. Trees after trees were felled to construct a housing colony.

6. The mother was feeding the child by putting spoonsful of pudding in its mouth.

7. Two man servants of the hotel were on leave on that day.

8. She gathered some twigs and handsful of rose flowers.

9. Piles after piles of debris were removed from the site.

10. Commander-in-chiefs of all the regiments attended the seminar.

(Answers)

1. door -to -door

2. five star hotel

3.  sister in law's

4. John and Lucy's 

5. Tree after tree was

6. spoonfuls

7. men servants

8. handfuls

9. Pile after pile ....was

10. Commanders-in-chief

A compound adjective 

A word that describes or qualifies a noun or a pronoun is called an adjective.  Generally it comprises of one word for example: 

This is a stone wall.

In this sentence stone is an adjective qualifying the noun wall.

Sometimes an adjective is formed of two or more than two words  for example:

This is a stone-walled building.

In this sentence stone-walled is an adjective formed of two words stone and walled. It  qualifies the noun building.

COMBINATION IN AN COMPOUND ADJECTIVE

A compound adjective is formed of two words of parts of speech like noun, adjective , adverb or present and past participles.

For example : 

NOUN and NOUN

In this way a teacher-student relationship is established.

In this sentence teacher-student is a compound adjective qualifying the noun relationship.

NOUN  and ADJECTIVE

He takes sugar-free tea.

In this sentence, sugar-free is a compound adjective qualifying the noun tea. Sugar is a noun and free is an adjective. 

These two words may change their positions, one may precede or follow the other.

ADJECTIVE and NOUN

The guests were accorded a 

red-carpet welcome.

In this case, red is an adjective followed by a noun carpet. Red-carpet is a compound adjective qualifying the noun welcome.

NOUN and PARTICIPLE

They served us ice-cooled water. 

In this sentence ice is a noun and  cooled is a past partciple. Ice-cooled is a compound adjective qualifying the noun water. 

ADJECTIVE  and PARTICIPLE

She is proud of her good-looking appearance.

In this sentence good-looking is a compound adjective qualifying the noun appearance. It consists of good an adjective and looking a present participle.

ADVERB and PARTICIPLE

A well-dressed man appeared on the stage.

In this sentence well- dressed is a compound adjective and man is a noun. Well is an adverb and dressed is a past participle.

NUMBER and NOUN

One-time exercise.

NUMBER and PARTICIPLE

One-layered surface.

NUMBER and ADVERB

Single-handedly accomplished job.

NOTE: Sometimes both original part of speech or that of a participle both can be used in a sentence. An original noun or a noun of participle both can be used. For example: 

Night-patrol/patrolling is urgently required  in this area. 

In this sentence both the types of nouns are correct.

Fully-packed hall, a closed-door meeting , sugar -free,

EXERCISE 

Choose the appropriate option in the following sentences.

1. (1. Scant/ 2. scantily)-clad children were sitting on the foot-path.

2. System-(1.generated/2.generating) statements do not need signatures on them.

3. Mouth-(1.watering/2.watered ) delicacies were served in the party.

4. A (1.hot/2.heated ) water - bottle is required for the patient.

5. She brought for me hand-(1.picked/2. picking) berries from the field.

Contd.......

Error Spotting (Verb - Proper Position of Verb in a Sentence)- SENTENCES OF COMPETITIVE EXAMINATION QUESTIONS PATTERN

 

ERROR SPOTTING --- Proper Placing of a Verb in a Sentence

A verb has an important place in a sentence. It is necessary that an appropriate form of a verb is used at a proper place in a sentence. It is because other words like subject, object or adverb etc.  in the sentence relate to a verb in the sentence. 

The importance of a verb can be judged from the fact that if one is to write a sentence of one word, that sentence  is of a verb. For example, 'Go' is a single word that carries all the meaning in itself and forms a sentence in imperative form.  

In competitive examinations, there are questions of errors relating to the incorrect form or position of a verb in a sentence.

Here follow some illustrations of it.

In negative or interrogative sentences, there is an error in the use of a singular first form of the verb with do or does.

 Similarly. with did the second form of the verb is used. e.g.

He does not goes to school.

Does he goes to school?

He did not went to school.

Did he went to school?

Inappropriate use of modal verbs with main verbs. 

e.g. He has went with his brother. 

Some verbs like need and dare are used both as a modal verb and main verb. In their cases, s or es and infinitive are not used with them when these are used as a modal verb.

There are errors of  --

-- the use of an abstract noun in place of a verb, 

-- the use of inversion of a verb in the case of a simple assertive sentence.

-- the  use of a participle in place of a verb.

-- incorrect use of a form of a verb of Voice or Narration in a sentence.

For example 

He told that he is on leave that day.

This poem is wrote by a famous poet.

--incorrect use of not with a phrasal verb. Words of a phrasal verb are not separated. For example - 

He told me not to go out in rain. 

It is wrong to say 

He told me to not go out in rain. 

These errors require to be identified for their  rectification. 

Here follow some sentences with such errors for understanding and error rectification.

 TEST EXERCISE

1. The father could not understand why was his daughter so sad.

2. On entering the room, I found all the books lie on the floor.

3. I would have called him if I had saw him there.

4. You should be presented this box to him.

5. He need to understand your problems.

6. You may need hire a taxi to reach your destination.

  ANSWERS 

1. Inversion in this sentence, 'why was his daughter' is incorrect. It being an assertive sentence, this part should be 'why his daughter was.....' .

2. In this sentence, 'I' is subject, 'found' is its verb, and 'all the books object. Lie is a verb without any subject. It describes the noun 'books' but the verb cannot describe a noun it should be an adjective, it should be a participle as an adjective 'lying'.

3. This is a conditional sentence, In the conditional part of a sentence, third form of verb is used with 'had' So it should be '...if I had seen him..' 

4. This sentence with the verb 'be presented' is in passive form. But is should be in active form. So it is 'You should present this box to him'. 

5. Need in this sentence is a modal verb like should, can or would etc. With a modal verb an infinitive is not used. It is 'He need understand your problems.  

6. In this sentence, 'Need' is used as a main verb. 'May' is a helping verb. With main verb, need, an infinitive, 'to hire' is required.

EXERCISES FOR PRACTICE 

ONE

Find out errors in the following sentences and rectify them.

1. On reaching there, I found that the house of my friend is situated in the farthest corner of the village.

2. He told her that if he goes to his office he would take her along with him.

3. The labourer while digging earth found a pitcher full of coins bury under the ground.

4. The passerby asked the young man which road did lead to the nearest market.

5. He preferred to join his father's business instead of joining a government job after he completes his education.

ANSWERS 

1. .....my friend was situated...  2. ...if he went to.....  3.....coins buried under...   

4. ....which road led to.....  5. ......after he completed. 

TWO

Find out errors in the following sentences and mark their relative part as answers. Mark NE in case there is no error.

1. The general flanked by a large(1) number of armed soldiers was (2) headed towards the enemy's post.(3) NE(4).

2. His father assured his son that he need (1) not to worry about the money (2) required by him as he possessed enough of it with him.(3) NE(4)

3. The children felt much amused (1) when they saw a juggler (2) while played in the garden in the evening.(3) NE (4)

4. I came across, at the hindermost corner of the street, (1) a dandyish appearing young man who wears (2) a flamboyant yellow and green suit and a black coloured hat.(3) NE (4)

5. Having gather the required information, (1) the investigating team got engrossed in preparing its report (2) for its presentation to the chief investigation officer. (3) NE (4)

ANSWERS 

1. 3. ....heading towards....  2. .....not worry.....  3. (3) .....while playing...  4. ....who wore...   5.  (1) Having gathered.....

THREE

Fill in the blanks in the following sentences by selecting appropriate word out of given options. 

1. Once one catches bad cold, it takes about one week or so when one................( (a) recovers/ (b) recovered) from it. 

2. Since he .........((a) is not/(b)has not been) doing this job for some time back, he will not be able to show his performance well at this time.

3. For the time at his disposal is very short, it is advisable for him that he should wind up his work as early as he ....... ( (a).is/ (b)can be) able  to. 

4.The proceedings of the meeting of today were marked by the repeated exchange of .......... ((a) hot/ (b) heated ) arguments among the members. 

5. As it had been raining since morning, we have decided to spend our time ........ ((a) stay/ (b) staying) at home. 

ANSWERS 

1.a.  2.b.  3.a.  4.b.   5.b.

FOUR

1. As the house is lying vacant for some time, it needs repair and renovation before you start living in it.

2. Children felt very happy when they saw an aeroplane flown in the sky above their heads.

3. Coleridge could not accompany Shakespeare and Dorothy as hot tea fell on his foot and he burn his foot. 

4. The little child soon falls sleep when his mother sings lullaby and rocks the cradle.

5. The superintendent instructed that students appear in the examination should affix an attested photograph on their Hall entry card.

CONTD.

Error Spotting (Subject Identification in a Sentence)- SENTENCES OF COMPETITIVE EXAMINATION QUESTIONS PATTERN

ERROR SPOTTING --- Identification of Appropriate Subject in a Sentence

In a sentence, Subject, Verb, and Object are its  most important parts. All other parts of speech in the sentence are written in consonance with them. For example Verb, relative pronoun or possessive pronoun used in a sentence are according to its subject. Their variances cause errors. For this reason identification of the proper subject in a sentence is of utmost importance.

In various competitive examinations, there are questions of errors arising due to incorrect identification of  subject and /or other parts of speech relating to it. The identification of an appropriate subject and its relation with other words in the sentence is very essential to find out these errors. 

To explain the point further here follow some illustrations.

In case of a sentence starting with a gerund as its subject singular verb is used e.g.

Playing games like cricket or football is very amusing.

In this sentence,  'Playing' a gerund and used as a noun is subject and words  'games like cricket or football' give further information about it. 

Here 'Playing' is subject. It should not be confused with 'games like cricket or football'.

So verb 'is' according to  a singular subject, 'Playing' , will be used.

Either he or his brothers are at fault.

Neither he nor his friends are at fault.

In the case of either..or, neither ...nor sentences, subject is the noun or pronoun nearer to the verb.

In these cases, they are 'brothers' and 'friends'.

Here verb will be used according to part of the subject nearer to the verb. In the two sentences written above plural verb 'are' will be used according to 'brothers' and 'friends'.

In the case of 'one of the' or; none of the' a plural noun is used after these words.

 For example, 'One of my friends' 'One of those' or 'one of the proposals', etc. 

The verb in this case is used according to the subject. It may be singular or plural as the subject is. 

Look at the following sentences.

One of my friends has gone abroad.

None of his proposals was accepted.

In these sentences, pronouns 'one' and ' none' are subjects. These should not be confused with friends and proposals.

He is not one of those who shirk work.

This is one of the boxes which were empty.

In these sentences, relative pronouns, ' who' and 'which' describe words immediately prior to them i.e. who describes those and which boxes. So verbs will be used according to these.

Here are similar sentences extracted from question papers of different competitive examinations. 

(Please note that  all of these are adapted.) 

EXERCISE

1. To be a king and wear a crown are more glamorous to see than to bear.

2. I am fully aware that my boss is one of those who is totally dedicated to their work.

3. To participate in the contest and win a prize are his ambition.

4. The Principal fined those two students but neither of them were at fault. 

5. Lack of ingredients in appropriate quantity in food lead to its bad taste.  

(All the sentences are adapted from source and  extracted from different question papers of competitive examinations ) 

 ONE

Find out the error in the following sentences and rectify them.

1. He is one of the borrowers who has not repaid the loan amount.

2. A group of constables were chasing the thief.

3. Neither the students nor their teacher were present in the classroom at that time.

4. Paucity of funds have hindered the smooth working of the project.

5. I want each members of this office should contribute some money for this noble cause.

6. The company had to bear much losses during the previous year.

   

7. A number of farmers expects rich crops due to good rain fall this year. 

8. It have been only through his help that I am  able  to complete my project.

    

9. He has got job in one of the biggest enterprise of the country.

10. There is a sect of people in the society that do not believe in such things.

ANSWERS

1. who have

2. was

3.was

4. has

5. each member

6. many

7. expect

8. It has.... 

9. enterprises

10..... that does

TWO

1. All religions teaches to believe in God and do the right but none advocates to do an evil.

2. Modern facilities has made the life of a common man very comfortable but sedentary and lazy. 

3. Harvesting of crops have already been started by farmers during the first week of this month.

4. As thieves in the darkness of night was not visible, they managed to run away.

5. The students and the teacher is planning to go out for a picnic next Sunday.

6. The jury is divided in its judgement. 

7. One of the workers working in the factory have fallen ill and is absent today. 

8. Most of the chapters taught to us by our teacher during this session relates to a single topic.

9. An addition of twenty buses in the local bus service fleet have  improved its service in the city substantially.

10. A group of fifty students of our school have decided to go to nearby villages and undertake job of their cleanliness.

ANSWERS

1. teach

2. have

3.has

4. were

5.are

6. are

7. has

 8.chapters.... relate

9. has improved

10. has

THREE 

1. The scheme which will be launched during the next two years require an additional investment of one hundred crore. 

2. These companies have been asked to furnish their financial details and information about its board members.

3. While banks almost always meets the overall target, keeping up with the sub-targets was getting difficult for banks with limited expertise in certain sectors.

4. Not only the students but also the Principal were laughing at the joke, he cracked.

5. The sowing of summer crops such as rice and soybeans and corn have been lagging as a result.

6. Seldom has the discoveries of the world's greatest discoverers like    Copernicus and Galileo been forgotten. 

7. The flood situation in the eastern region of the country remain grim for the fifth day.

8. How many does the cricket bat cost?

9. There was many people who voted for him.

10. Much people attended the feast hosted by the village panchayat.

ANSWERS

1. The scheme....... requires

2. about their

3. meet

4......... the principal was... 

5.The sowing..... has

6....... have the.. 

7. remains

8. How much.. 

9. were

10. Many

FOUR

1. Playing in the park is one of the thing that small children really love.

2. Findings by the investigating team has been sent to the chief investigation officer for his consideration and orders.  

3. My visiting to my family are few and far between.

4. The mother, as well as her children were brought to the police station for interrogation.

5. This coffee is not available in any of the shop in the neighbourhood market.

6. Virat Kohli is one of the best batsman that the world has seen.

7. After a heated argument they went to their respective place.

8. A large number of people opines that demonetazation was not in the interest of the country. 

9. Many people thinks to migrate to other states where ther are enough job opportunities for them.

10. Despite my repeated requests he went out in rain and have caught 

ANSWERS

1. the things

2. have

3. is

4. was brought

5..... of the shops... 

6...... best batsmen

 7. places

8. opine

9....... people think.... 

10. ..... he went.... has caught...