Unit 18. ,Closed-Circuit 'Television and 'Sell-by Date.

Stress in Longer Compound Nouns

Unit 18; Part A

Some compounds are made up of three parts. They may have two wordsor three words, and sometimes the first and second words are hyphenated:
desktop publishing central nervous system left-luggage office
part: 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3

Unit 18; Part B

Many three-part compounds have secondary stress on the first part and main stress on the third part:
      ,first-degree 'burns       ,three-point 'turn      ,cheque-book 'journalism

Some of these use an established two-part compound with stress on thefirst part. In the new three-part compound, however, main stress is onthe third part:
           two-part:      'ballroom   'desktop
           three-part:    ,ballroom 'dancing   ,desktop 'publishing
        Other examples: ,cheque-book 'journalism ,hairpin 'bend ,rush hour 'traffic

18.1.jpg

In other three-part compounds the first two parts (often joined with ahyphen) function as an adjective to describe the third part:
,state-owned 'industry (the industry is state-owned)
,closed-circuit 'television (the television is closed-circuit)
Other examples: ,ball-point 'pen ,button-down 'collar ,first-degree 'burns ,drop-down 'menu ,semi-detached 'house ,wide-angle 'lens

Note: Compounds beginning with a number usually have this pattern, too:
,ten-pin 'bowlin g ,one-man 'band
Other examples: ,one-parent 'family ,two-horse 'race

Unit 18; Part C

Other three-part compounds have secondary stress on the first part and main stress on the second part:
     ,school 'leaving age      ,left-'luggage office      ,parent-'teacher association

Some of these use an established two-part compound with main stress onthe second part. In the new three-part compound the stress remains onthe second part:
     two-part:      ,washing-'up   ,central 'heating
     three-part:    ,washing-'up liquid   ,central 'heating system
Other examples: ,hard-'luck story ,C'D player ,wild-'goose chase

In others, a first part with secondary stress is added to an established two-part compound with stress on the first part. Compare:
     'carriageway    and: ,dual 'carriageway
Other examples: ,armoured person'nel carrier ,safety de'posit box ,travelling 'salesman ,white 'blood cells

Unit 18; Part D

Some three-part compounds have main stress on the first part. Most of these also have secondary stress on the third part:
'no-man's land 'real estate ,agent 'pick-up ,truck
Other examples: 'fallout ,shelter 'greenhouse ef,fect 'sell-by,date 'housewarming ,party 'payback ,period 'windscreen ,wipers 'sister-in-law ('brother-in-law, etc.)

Exercises

1 Write the words in the correct column.

You will hear 15 three-part compound nouns. Press 'pause' after eachone and write it in the correct column, according to whether the first,second or third part has the main stress.

main stress on the first part

main stress on the second part

main stress on the third part

pinball machine

left-luggage office

first-time buyer

Now check your answers in the Key and then say the compounds aloud.

2 Choose a compound noun from each pair to complete the sentence.

Choose a compound noun from each pair to complete the sentence. Thecompound should have main stress on the first, second or third part, asindicated. (Some of these are given in B, С and D opposite.)

Example: Don't forget to buy some washing-up liquid .(stress on second part)
              (peanut butter / washing-up liquid)

1 She teaches in a __________. (third)
    (grant-maintained school / teacher-training college)
2 He lives in a/an __________. (second)
    (old-people's home / semi-detached house)
3 He spent some time working as a/an __________. (third)
    (travelling salesman / air traffic controller)
4 As I was driving I had a problem with my __________. (first)
    (rear-view mirror / windscreen wipers)
5 You'll recognise him easily. He's the one with the __________. (first)
    (baseball cap / shoulder-length hair)

Now listen and check your answers. Then say the sentences aloud.

3 What do the pictures show?

What do these pictures show? Choose words from the box to makethree-part compound nouns. With one exception, they all have mainstress on the third part. Which is the exception? Key.1 double-decker bus 2 bullet-proof vest 3 four-leaf clover 4 hot-water bottle 5 three-piece suit 6 right-angled triangle The exception is 'hot-water bottle' which has main stress on the second part, 'water'. angled bottle ~~bus~~ bullet clover ~~decker~~ ~~double~~ four hot leaf piece proof right suit three triangle vest water
Now listen and check your answers. Then say the compounds aloud.
Follow up: Lookaround your house and list all the things you can see that arethree-word compounds. These may be parts of your house or objectsinside it. Do you know where the main stress is placed in each?

Unit 17 Unit 18 Unit 19