Learning Objectives
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:
define compound words;
identify compound words;
combine different words to form compound words;
give examples of compound words.
SUCCESS CRITERIA
The students are able to:
define compound words;
identify compound words;
combine different words to form compound words;
give examples of compound words.
DISCUSSION
Compound words are individual words (or phrases that act as individual words) made from two or more words working together. They can be most parts of speech, including nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and even prepositions like inside, outside, within, and without.
Compound words have their own distinct meanings that are different from the meanings of the words they’re made of. For example, the compound word grandparent is made from the individual words grand and parent. While grandparents are similar to parents, they’re not the same—and not all grandparents are grand, either!
There are three types of compound words in grammar, determined by how the words are separated.
Open compound words: spaces between the words
Closed compound words: no spaces between the words
Hyphenated compound words: hyphens between the words
Open compound words have spaces in between the words, which can make them hard to identify. But despite how they look, open compound words always act like single words. They always appear together, in the same order, and they each have their own unique meanings.
Open compound words are mostly nouns, and they’re used the same as regular nouns. If you want to make an open compound word plural, you usually pluralize only the final word in the group, not all the words.
black eye close call rib cage
cotton candy common sense dining room
first aid living room full moon
french fry high school ice cream
Compared to open compound words, closed compound words are much easier to remember and to use. There are no spaces between the words, so closed compound words both look and act like individual words.
airport babysit background
backpack basketball bedroom
bathroom blueberry playground
checkout fingerprint daylight
Last are hyphenated compound words, which have hyphens between the words.
clean-cut editor-in-chief empty-handed
far-fetched mother-in-law father-in-law
free-for-all life-size merry-go-round
long-distance long-term mind-blowing
These general “rules”—which are somewhat fluid and flexible—provide guidance as to what format a compound word takes.
Closed compound words are usually nouns: They put on makeup.
Open compound words are usually nouns or verbs: I have to make up (verb) that exam at my high school. (noun)
Hyphenated compound words are usually adjectives or adverb-adjective combinations: I have to take a make-up (adjective) exam. I will be well-prepared. (adverb + adjective)
EVALUATION
Choose the adverbs in the following sentences and state the kind of adverb.
I went to the market yesterday.
The dog sat lazily in the shade of the tree.
The man grumbled loudly while cleaning the table.
We will leave today.
Yesterday, we played in the basketball tournament.
They ate popcorn and watched movies all day.
She plays the violin terribly.
She quietly went upstairs.
They pay the rent quarterly.
I wonder how my driver's license got stuck under here.