Unit 80. Noun + noun (a tennis ball / a headache)

Unit 80; Part A

You can use two nouns together (noun + noun) to mean one thing/person/idea etc. For example:
     a tennis ball       a bank manager       a road accident       income tax       the city centre

The first noun is like an adjective. It tells us what kind of thing/person/idea etc. For example:
    a tennis ball = a ball used to play tennis
    a road accident = an accident that happens on the road
income tax = tax that you pay on your income
   the water temperature = the temperature of the water
a London doctor = a doctor from London
   my life story = the story of my life

So you can say:
    a television camera    a television programme    a television studio    a television producer
   (these are all different things or people to do with television)
   language problems    marriage problems    health problems    work problems
   (these are all different kinds of problems)

Compare:
   garden vegetables (= vegetables that are grown in a garden)
    a vegetable garden (= a garden where vegetables are grown)

Sometimes the first word ends in -ing. Usually these are things used for doing something:
    a frying pan (= a pan for frying)    a washing machine    a swimming pool    a dining room

Sometimes there are more than two nouns together:
•   I waited at the hotel reception desk.
•   We watched the World Swimming Championships on television.
• If you want to play table tennis (= a game), you need a table tennis table (= a table).

Unit 80; Part B

When two nouns are together like this, sometimes we write them as one word and sometimes as two separate words.
For example:
a headache toothpaste a weekend a car park a road sign
There are no clear rules for this. If you are not sure, write two words.

Unit 80; Part C

Note the difference between:

a sugar bowl (perhaps empty) and a bowl of sugar (= a bowl with sugar in it)
a shopping bag (perhaps empty) and a bag of shopping (= a bag full of shopping)

Unit 80; Part D

When we use noun + noun, the first noun is like an adjective. It is normally singular, but the meaning is often plural. For example: a bookshop is a shop where you can buy books, an apple tree is a tree that has apples.

In the same way we say:
    a three-hour journey (= a journey that takes three hours)
    a ten-pound note (not pounds)
     a four-week course (not weeks)
    two 14-year-old girls (not years)
    a six-page letter (not pages)

Compare:
    It was a four-week course. but   The course lasted four weeks.

Exercises

1 What do we call these things and people?

What do we call these things and people?

1    A ticket for a concert is    a concert ticket .
2    Problems concerning health are health problems .
3    A magazine about computers is __________________.
4    Photographs taken on your holiday are your __________________.
5    Chocolate made with milk is __________________.
6    Somebody whose job is to inspect factories is __________________.
7    A horse that runs in races is __________________.
8    A race for horses is __________________.
9    A hotel in central London is __________________.
10 The results of your exams are your __________________.
11 The carpet in the dining room is __________________.
12 A scandal involving an oil company is __________________.
13 Workers at a car factory are __________________.
14 A scheme to improve a road is __________________.
15 A course that lasts five days is __________________.
16 A question that has two parts is __________________.
17 A girl who is seven years old is __________________.

2 Answer the questions using two of the following words each time.

Answer the questions using two of the following words each time:

~~accident~~ belt card credit editor forecast newspaper
number ~~road~~ room seat shop weather window

1    This can be caused by bad driving.
2    If you're staying at a hotel, you need to remember this.
3    You should wear this when you're in a car.
4    You can often use this to pay for things instead of cash.
5    If you want to know if it's going to rain, you can read or listen to this.
6    This person is a top journalist.
7    You might stop to look in this when you're walking along a street.

a road accident
your __________
a _____________
a _____________
the ___________
a _____________
a _____________

3 Complete the sentences using the following.

Complete the sentences using the following:

15 minute(s) 60 minute(s) two hour(s) five day(s) two year(s) 500 year(s)
six mile(s) six mile(s) 20 pound(s) five coursc(s) ~~ten page(s)~~ ~~450 page(s)~~

Sometimes you need the singular (day/page etc.) and sometimes the plural (days/pages etc.).
1    It's quite a long book. There are    450 pages    .
2    A few days ago I received a   ten-page    letter from Julia.
3    I didn't have any change. I only had a ___________ note.
4    At work in the morning I usually have a ___________ break for coffee.
5    There are ___________ in an hour.
6    It's only a ___________ flight from London to Madrid.
7    It was a very big meal. There were ___________.
8    Mary has just started a new job. She's got a ___________ contract.
9    The oldest building in the city is the ___________ castle.
10 I work ___________ a week. Saturday and Sunday are free.
11 We went for a long walk in the country. We must have walked ___________.
12 We went for a ___________ walk in the country.

Unit 79 Unit 80 Unit 81

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