The green ONE! - Compound Nouns part 1.

I’m sure my old professor Michael Ashby won’t mind me pinching his story as this really is the best… It happened in Spain just as the changeover from signing to chip and pin came in.

Michael: How do I work this thing?

Cashier: Use the buttons, Sir.

Michael: Sorry?

Cashier: Push the green ONE.

Michael: (to self) where’s the green ONE? Hmmmm… Ah, the GREEN one.

I find incorrect stress patterns in compound nouns particularly jarring and the rules are really so easy to learn that I thought I’d share them with you, along with a fun activity to do.

So, what is a compound noun?

A compound noun is a noun that is made up of two or more words. In English, most compound nouns are combinations of:

•  NOUN + NOUN (book + case = bookcase)
•  ADJECTIVE + NOUN (white + board = whiteboard)

Other possibilities do exist but are not as frequent, for example:

• PREPOSITION + NOUN (under + ground = underground)
• NOUN + PREPOSITION (check + in = check-in)
• NOUN + VERB (sun + rise = sunrise)

Where does the stress go?

In compound nouns the general rule is to stress the first part, so you get: BOOKcase, WHITEboard, UNDERground, CHECK-in, SUNrise. If you don’t like writing this way, simply underline the stress – bookcase, whiteboard etc.

Confusion arises when the second part is also stressed as, in most cases, this is simply a phrase. Consider the following:

Waiter: What can I get you?

Diner: A HOT DOG and some fries, please.

Waiter: This is not that kind of restaurant, get out!

Please don't eat me... whimper whimper...

Other such confusing cases exist, for example GREEN HOUSE and GREENhouse...

You can't grow nowt in a GREEN HOUSE...

...but a GREENhouse will give you plenty.

Tone - practice activity

The examples of HOT DOG and GREEN HOUSE will often be accompanied by a rising tone on the first element, followed by a fall on the second. This is not quite right for compound nouns so try to encourage your students to produce a falling tone from the beginning of the first element. If they can't hear the difference try some physical movement:

• put three chairs in the middle of the classroom and ask for three volunteers.
• the first two students will be 'GREEN' and 'HOUSE', the third will be 'GREENhouse'.
• ask the first two to stand up when they hear their word in the sentence 'You can't grow nowt in a GREEN HOUSE.'
• ask the third student to stand when they hear 'GREEN' and then to sit when they hear 'house' in the clause '...but a GREENhouse will give you plenty.'
• hopefully this visual will help the rest of the class to recognise the pitch movement on 'GREENhouse'.
• follow this up by drilling students in pairs, making them stand up and sit down as they say compound nouns - this could end up in chaos, but if they're really good you can almost get a Mexican wave on the go!
• don't be afraid to try this in a one-to-one class either, I've had a right laugh with it recently.

Spot the difference - practice activity

This activity is designed to get your students thinking about compound nouns and (hopefully) producing the correct stress pattern naturally.

• Give each pair of students a copy of the spot the difference picture below, folded in half so only the left side is visible:

• ask them to describe what they can see in the picture.
• then to find and label as many compound nouns as possible.
• after this, get them to open the paper and 'spot the difference' (discussing the changes should encourage the use of compound nouns).
• monitor and correct any incorrect stress patterns.
• get oral feedback from the class and write up a few sentences on the board, e.g. 'The seagull is eating rubbish in the first picture', 'The seal trip is busy in the second picture'...
• drill the sentences as a class.

You could follow this up with a discussion based on the environmental concerns in the picture. Or find an alternative spot the difference to use and discuss (Google images is great for this).

Answers - compound nouns in the pictures: lighthouse, baseball cap, banana skin, rowing boat, fishing boat, power boat, seagull, seal trip, life ring, litter bin, recycling bin, fishing rod, coastline, ponytail.

Coming soon...

A wooden SPOON on OXFORD street - Compound Nouns part 2.