COMPOUND NOUNS

A compound noun is a noun that is made with two or more words. A compound noun is usually [noun + noun] or [adjective + noun], but there are other combinations (see below). It is important to understand and recognize compound nouns. Each compound noun acts as a single unit and can be modified by adjectives and other nouns.

There are three forms for compound nouns:

1. open or spaced - space between words (tennis shoe)

2. hyphenated - hyphen between words (six-pack)

3. closed or solid - no space or hyphen between words (bedroom)

Here are some examples of compound nouns:

noun + noun bus stop Is this the bus stop for the number 12 bus?

fire-fly In the tropics you can see fire-flies at night.

football Shall we play football today?

adjective + noun full moon I always feel crazy at full moon.

blackboard Clean the blackboard please.

software I can't install this software on my PC.

verb(-ing) + noun breakfast We always eat breakfast at 8am.

washing machine

Put the clothes in the red washing machine.

swimming pool

What a beautiful swimming pool!

noun + verb(-ing) sunrise I like to get up at sunrise.

haircut You need a haircut.

train-spotting His hobby is train-spotting.

verb + preposition check-out Please remember that check-out is at 12 noon.

noun + prepositional phrase

mother-in-law

My mother-in-law lives with us.

preposition + noun underworld Do you think the police accept money from the underworld?

noun + adjective truckful We need 10 truckfuls of bricks.

Pronunciation

Compound nouns tend to have more stress on the first word. In the phrase "pink ball", both words are equally stressed (as you know, adjectives and nouns are always stressed). In the compound noun "golf ball", the first word is stressed more (even though both words are nouns, and nouns are always stressed). Since "golf ball" is a compound noun we consider it

as a single noun and so it has a single main stress - on the first word. Stress is important in compound nouns. For example, it helps us know if somebody said "a GREEN HOUSE" (a house which is painted green) or "a GREEN house" (a building made of glass for growing plants inside).

British/American differences

Different varieties of English, and even different writers, may use the open, hyphenated or closed form for the same compound noun. It is partly a matter of style. There are no definite rules. For example we can find:

container ship

container-ship

containership

If you are not sure which form to use, please check in a good dictionary.

https://www.englishclub.com/grammar/nouns-compound.htm

COMPOUND NOUNS

For example:

The words tooth and paste are each nouns in their own right, but if you join them together

they form a new word - toothpaste.

The word black is an adjective and board is a noun, but if you join them together they form

a new word - blackboard.

In both these example the first word modifies or describes the second word, telling us what

kind of object or person it is, or what its purpose is. And the second part identifies the

object or person in question.

Compound nouns can also be formed using the following combinations of words:-

Noun + Noun Toothpaste

Adjective + Noun monthly ticket

Verb + Noun swimming pool

Preposition+ Noun underground

Noun + Verb haircut

Noun + Preposition hanger on

Adjective + Verb dry-cleaning

Preposition+ Verb output

The two parts may be written in a number of ways:-

1. Sometimes the two words are joined together.

Example: tooth + paste = toothpaste | bed + room = bedroom

2. Sometimes they are joined using a hyphen.

Example: check-in

3. Sometimes they appear as two separate words. 

Example: full moon

There's a list of lots of compound words here.

A good dictionary will tell you how you should write each compound noun.

http://www.learnenglish.de/grammar/nouncompound.html

COMPOUND NOUN

What Is a Compound Noun

Most compound nouns contain at least one noun. The other word or words may be an adjective, preposition, or verb. The second word is almost always the main word, with the first word modifying it or adding to its meaning. 

Compound words, a large group of words to which compound nouns belong, are expressed in three ways.

Closed form - has two words that have melded together to make one word, like: softball, redhead, makeup, and keyboard.

Hyphenated form examples are: six-pack, five-year-old, and son-in-law. Open form - has the words next to each other, like: post office, upper class, and

attorney general.Sometimes, the hyphen disappears as the word is more widely used, and it becomes a closed word.

Compound Noun List

Here are types of compound words and examples. The asterisks indicate types of compound words that may be compound nouns.

adjective /adjective - blue-green, adjective/noun - blackboard, full moon adjective/preposition - forthwith adjective/verb - dry-cleaning, highlight noun/adjective - snow white noun/noun - toothpaste, football, fish tank noun/preposition (adverb) - love-in, hanger on, passer-by noun/verb - haircut, browbeat, rainfall preposition/adjective - over-ripe preposition (adverb)/noun - underground, underworld, bystander, onlooker preposition/preposition - without preposition (adverb)/verb - output, undercut, outlook, overthrow verb/adjective - tumbledown verb/noun - swimming pool, breakwater, washing machine verb/preposition (adverb) - takeout, check-in, drawback, lookout verb/verb - freeze-dry

Plural and Possessive Rules

There are no hard and fast rules concerning plurals of compound words, especially since some hyphens are omitted after time. In hyphenated words, usually the “s” goes at the end of the main word, like daughters-in-law or mayors-elect. Sometimes it is at the end, like in go-betweens and higher-ups. In the open form, the “s” is added to the main word, like: bills of fare, assistant secretaries of state, and notaries public. 

To make a compound word possessive, you usually add an apostrophe “s” at the end of the word, like: mother-in-law’s car or five-year-old’s birthday. If the compound word is plural, it can get a little strange with two “s” sounds close together, like: “fathers-in-law’s attire”. If you can, it would be better to reword the sentence so the plural compound word does not need to be possessive, like: “The attire of the fathers-in-law.”

http://grammar.yourdictionary.com/parts-of-speech/nouns/compound-noun.html

COMPOUND NOUNS

What are compound nouns? Here, we’ll take an up-close look at compound nouns so you can recognize them when you see them, plus we’ll provide you with some compound noun examples that will help you use them effectively.

Compound nouns are words for people, animals, places, things, or ideas, made up of two or more words. Most compound nouns are made with nouns that have been modified by adjectives or other nouns.

In many compound nouns, the first word describes or modifies the second word, giving us insight into what kind of thing an item is, or providing us with clues about the item’s purpose. The second word usually identifies the item.

Compound nouns are sometimes one word, like toothpaste, haircut, or bedroom. These are often referred to as closed or solid compound nouns.

Sometimes compound nouns are connected with a hyphen: dry-cleaning, daughter-in-law, and well-being are some examples of hyphenated compound nouns.

Sometimes compound nouns appear as two separate words: full moon, Christmas tree, and swimming pool are some examples of compound nouns that are formed with two separate words. These are often referred to as open or spaced compound nouns.

Compound Noun Examples

The more you read and write, the more compound noun examples you’ll encounter. The following sentences are just a few examples of compound nouns. Compound noun examples have been italicized for easy identification.

Compound nouns can be made with two nouns:

Let’s just wait at this bus stop.

I love watching fireflies on warm summer nights.

While you’re at the store, please pick up some toothpaste, a six-pack of ginger ale, and some egg rolls.

Compound nouns can be made with an adjective and a noun:

Let’s watch the full moon come up over the mountain.

Please erase the blackboard for me.

Compound nouns can be made with a verb and a noun:

Be sure to add bleach to the washing machine.

Let’s be sure to stay somewhere with a swimming pool.

Compound nouns can be made with a noun and a verb:

He always gets up before sunrise.

I really could use an updated hairstyle.

Compound nouns can be made with a verb and a preposition:

Checkout is at noon.

Please remember to schedule your dog’s annual check-up.

Compound nouns can be made with a noun and a prepositional phrase:

My mother-in-law is the kindest person I know.

Compound nouns can be made with a preposition and a noun:

Do you believe in past lives?

This city is vibrant, so it’s hard to believe it has a thriving criminal underworld.

Compound nouns can be made with a noun and an adjective:

We need a truckful of mulch for the garden.

 https://www.gingersoftware.com/content/grammar-rules/nouns/compound-nouns/

Compound

In linguistics, a compound is a lexeme (less precisely, a word) that consists of more than one stem. Compounding or composition is the process of word formation that creates compound lexemes (the other word-formation process' being derivation). That is, in familiar terms, compounding occurs when two or more words are joined to make one longer word. The meaning of the compound may be very different from the meanings of its components in isolation. Usually, it is a noun with one or more preceding noun adjuncts.

Formation of compounds

Agglutinative languages tend to create very long words with derivational morphemes. Compounds may or may not require the use of derivational morphemes also. In Finnish,

although there is theoretically no limit to the length of compound words, words consisting of more than three components are rare.

Compounds can be rather long when translating technical documents from English to some other language, since the lengths of the words are theoretically unlimited, especially in chemical terminology.

Semantic classification

A common semantic classification of compounds yields four types:

endocentric

exocentric

copulative

appositional

An endocentric compound consists of a head, i.e. the categorical part that contains the basic meaning of the whole compound, and modifiers, which restrict this meaning. For example, the English compound doghouse, where house is the head and dog is the modifier, is understood as a house intended for a dog. Endocentric compounds tend to be of the same part of speech (word class) as their head, as in the case of doghouse. (Such compounds were called tatpuruṣa in the Sanskrit tradition.)

Exocentric compounds (called a bahuvrihi compound in the Sanskrit tradition) are hyponyms of some unexpressed semantic head (e.g. a person, a plant, an animal...), but not of any its component which may be perceived as a formal head, and their meaning often cannot be transparently guessed from its constituent parts. For example, the English compound white-collar is neither a kind of collar nor a white thing. In an exocentric compound, the word class is determined lexically, disregarding the class of the constituents. For example, a must-have is not a verb but a noun. The meaning of this type of compound can be glossed as "(one) whose B is A", where B is the second element of the compound and A the first. A bahuvrihi compound is one whose nature is expressed by neither of the words: thus a white-collar person is neither white nor a collar (the collar's colour is a metonym for socioeconomic status). Other English examples include barefoot.

Copulative compounds are compounds which have two semantic heads.

Appositional compounds refer to lexemes that have two (contrary) attributes which classify the compound.

Type Description Examples

endocentric A+B denotes a special kind of B darkroom, smalltalk

exocentric A+B denotes a special kind of an skinhead, paleface (head:

unexpressed semantic head 'person')

copulativeA+B denotes 'the sum' of what A and B denote

bittersweet, sleepwalk

appositional

A and B provide different descriptions for the same referent

actor-director, maidservant

Syntactic classification

Noun–noun compounds

Most natural languages have compound nouns. The positioning of the words (i. e. the most common order of constituents in phrases where nouns are modified by adjectives, by possessors, by other nouns, etc.) varies according to the language.

Verb–noun compounds

A type of compound that is fairly common in the Indo-European languages is formed of a verb and its object, and in effect transforms a simple verbal clause into a noun.

In Spanish, for example, such compounds consist of a verb conjugated for the second person singular imperative followed by a noun (singular or plural): e.g., rascacielos (modelled on "skyscraper", lit. 'scratch skies'), sacacorchos ('corkscrew', lit. 'pull corks'),guardarropa ('wardrobe', lit. 'store clothes'). These compounds are formally invariable in the plural (but in many cases they have been reanalyzed as plural forms, and a singular form has appeared).

This construction exists in English, generally with the verb and noun both in uninflected form: examples are spoilsport, killjoy, breakfast, cutthroat, pickpocket, dreadnought, and know-nothing.

Also common in English is another type of verb–noun (or noun–verb) compound, in which an argument of the verb is incorporated into the verb, which is then usually turned into a gerund, such as breastfeeding, finger-pointing, etc. The noun is often an instrumental complement. From these gerunds new verbs can be made: (a mother) breastfeeds (a child) and from them new compounds mother-child breastfeeding, etc.

A special kind of composition is incorporation, of which noun incorporation into a verbal root (as in English backstabbing, breastfeed, etc.) is most prevalent (see below).

Verb–verb compounds

Verb–verb compounds are sequences of more than one verb acting together to determine clause structure. They have two types:

In a serial verb, two actions, often sequential, are expressed in a single clause. In each

case, the two verbs together determine the semantics and argument structure.

Serial verb expressions in English may include What did you go and do that for?, or He just upped and left; this is however not quite a true compound since they are connected by a conjunction and the second missing arguments may be taken as a case of ellipsis.

In a compound verb (or complex predicate), one of the verbs is the primary, and

determines the primary semantics and also the argument structure. The secondary verb,

often called a vector verb or explicator, provides fine distinctions, usually in

temporality oraspect, and also carries the inflection (tense and/or agreement markers).

The main verb usually appears in conjunctive participial (sometimes zero) form.

Compound verbs are very common in some languages, such as the northern Indo-Aryan

languages Hindustani and Panjabi, and Dravidian languages like Tamil, where as many

as 20% of verb forms in running text are compound. They exist but are less common in

other Indo-Aryan languages like Marathi and Nepali, in Tibeto-Burman

languages like Limbu and Newari, in Turkic languages like Turkish and Kyrgyz,

in Korean and Japanese, and in northeast Caucasian languages like Tsez and Avar.

Under the influence of a Quichua substrate speakers living in the

Ecuadorian altiplano have innovated compound verbs in Spanish:

De rabia puso rompiendo la olla, 'In anger (he/she) smashed the pot.' (Lit. from

anger put breaking the pot)

Botaremos matándote 'We will kill you.' (Cf. Quichua huañuchi-shpa shitashun, lit.

kill-CP throw.1plFut.

Compound verb equivalents in English (examples from the internet):

What did you go and do that for?

If you are not giving away free information on your web site then a huge proportion

of your business is just upping and leaving.

Big Pig, she took and built herself a house out of brush.

Caution: In descriptions of Persian and other Iranian languages the term 'compound verb'

refers to noun-plus-verb compounds, not to the verb–verb compounds discussed here.

Compound adpositions

Compound prepositions formed by prepositions and nouns are common in English and the Romance languages (consider English on top of, Spanish encima de, etc.). Japanese shows the same pattern, except the word order is the opposite (with postpositions): no naka (lit. "of inside", i.e. "on the inside of"). Hindi has a small number of simple (i.e., one-word) postpositions and a large number of compound postpositions, mostly consisting of simple postposition ke followed by a specific postposition (e.g., ke pas, "near"; ke nīche, "underneath").

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compound_(linguistics)

COUNTABLE / UNCOUNTABLE NOUNSA noun can be countable or uncountable. Countable nouns can be "counted", they have a singular and plural form.

For example:

A book, two books, three books.....

An apple, two apples, three apples....

Uncountable nouns (also called mass nouns or noncount nouns) cannot be counted, they are

not separate objects. This means you cannot make them plural by adding -s, because they

only have a singular form. It also means that they do not take a/an or a number in front of

them.

For example:

Water

Work

Information

Coffee

Sand

Countable(use a/an or a number in front of countable nouns)

Uncountable(there is no a/an or number with uncountable nouns)

An Apple / 1 Apple Rice

I eat an apple every day. I eat rice every day. (not I eat a rice

every day.)

Add (s) to make a countable noun plural

There is no plural form for an uncountable noun

apples rice

I eat an apple every day. Apples are good for you.

I eat rice every day. Rice is good for you.

A computer= Computers are fun.

To make uncountable nouns countable add a counting word, such as a unit of

measurement, or the general word piece. We use the form "a ....... of ......."

An elephant=Elephants are large. Rice=a grain of rice

Water=a glass of water

Rain=a drop of rain

Music=a piece of music

You can use some and any with countable nouns.Some dogs can be dangerous.I don't use any computers at work.

You can use some and any with uncountable nouns.

I usually drink some wine with my meal.I don't usually drink any water with my

wine.

You only use many and few with plural countable nouns. 

So many elephants have been hunted that they are an endangered species.

There are few elephants in England.

You only use much and little with uncountable nouns.

I don't usually drink much coffee.Little wine is undrinkable though.

You can use a lot of and no with plural countable nouns. 

No computers were bought last week.A lot of computers were reported broken

the week before.

You can use a lot of and no with uncountable nouns.A lot of wine is drunk in France.No wine is drunk in Iran.

Some mass nouns refer to groups of specific things.

For example:-

Tables, chairs, cupboards etc. are grouped under the mass noun furniture. 

Plates, saucers, cups and bowls are grouped under the mass noun crockery.

Knives, forks, spoons etc. are grouped under the collective noun cutlery.

When you are travelling suitcases, bags etc. are grouped under the mass

noun luggage / baggage. 

Making uncountable nouns countable

You can make most uncountable noun countable by putting a countable expression in front

of the noun.

For example:-

A piece of information.

2 glasses of water.

10 litres of coffee.

Three grains of sand.

A pane of glass.

Sources of confusion with countable and uncountable nouns

The notion of countable and uncountable can be confusing.

Some nouns can be countable or uncountable depending on their meaning. Usually a noun

is uncountable when used in a general, abstract meaning (when you don't think of it as a

separate object) and countable when used in a particular meaning (when you can think of it

as a separate object).

For example:-

glass - Two glasses of water. (Countable) | A window made of glass. (Uncountable)

glasses - I wear glasses. (Always plural)

Some supposedly uncountable nouns can behave like countable nouns if we think of them

as being in containers, or one of several types.

This is because 'containers' and 'types' can be counted.

Believe it or not each of these sentences is correct:-

Doctors recommend limiting consumption to two coffees a day. 

(Here coffees refers to the number of cups of coffee) 

You could write; "Doctors recommend limiting consumption to two cups of coffee a day."

The coffees I prefer are Arabica and Brazilian. 

(Here coffees refers to different types of coffee)

You could write; "The types of coffee I prefer are Arabica and Brazilian."

!Note - In good monolingual dictionaries, uncountable nouns are identified by [U] and

countable nouns by [C].

http://www.learnenglish.de/grammar/noununcount.html

PLURAL FORMS OF COMPOUND NOUNS

In general we make the plural of a compound noun by adding -s to the "base word" (the most "significant" word). Look at these examples:

singular Plural

a tennis shoe three tennis shoes

one assistant headmaster five assistant headmasters

the sergeant major some sergeants major

a mother-in-law two mothers-in-law

an assistant secretary of state three assistant secretaries of state

singular Plural

my toothbrush our toothbrushes

a woman-doctor four women-doctors

a doctor of philosophy two doctors of philosophy

a passerby, a passer-by two passersby, two passers-by

Note that there is some variation with words like spoonful or truckful. The old style was to say spoonsful or trucksful for the plural. Today it is more usual to say spoonfuls or truckfuls. Both the old style (spoonsful) and the new style (spoonfuls) are normally acceptable, but you should be consistent in your choice. Here are some examples:

old style plural (very formal) new style plural

teaspoonful

3 teaspoonsful of sugar 3 teaspoonfuls of sugar

truckful 5 trucksful of sand 5 truckfuls of sand

bucketful 2 bucketsful of water 2 bucketfuls of wáter

old style plural (very formal) new style plural

cupful 4 cupsful of rice 4 cupfuls of rice

Some compound nouns have no obvious base word and you may need to consult a dictionary to find the plural:

higher-ups

also-rans

go-betweens

has-beens

good-for-nothings

grown-ups

Note that with compound nouns made of [noun + noun] the first noun is like an adjective and therefore does not usually take an -s. A tree that has apples has many apples, but we say an apple tree, not apples tree;matchbox not matchesbox; toothbrush not teethbrush.

With compound nouns made of [noun + noun] the second noun takes an -s for plural. The first noun acts like an adjective and as you know, adjectives in English are invariable. Look at these examples:

long plural form becomes →

plural compound noun[noun + noun]

100 trees with apples 100 apple trees

1,000 cables for telephones 1,000 telephone cables

long plural form becomes →

plural compound noun[noun + noun]

20 boxes for tools 20 tool boxes

10 stops for buses 10 bus stops

4,000 wheels for cars 4,000 car wheels

https://www.englishclub.com/grammar/nouns-compound-plural.htm

Spelling compound words with or without hyphens

Have you ever wondered whether compound words such as “monthlong” should be spelled

as one word, as a hyphenated phrase, or as two separate words? I spent some time looking

up the commonly used compounds listed inThe Associated Press Stylebook and Libel

Manual and checking the recommended spellings there against the recommended spellings

in William Sabin’s The Gregg Reference Manual and The American Heritage Dictionary.

Here’s what I found. You’re welcome to print a copy for reference.

Solid compounds (whether used as adjectives, adverbs, or nouns):

afterthought; anytime; anywhere; awestruck; backup; backyard; beforehand; breakdown;

breathtaking; buildup (also build-up); burnout; byproduct (also by-product); cannot;

caregiver; carryover; checkout; churchgoer; citywide; cleanup; colorblind; cooperative (but

co-op in its shortened form); copyedit (also copy-edit); countryside; coworker (also co-

worker); bankcard; database (also data base); daycare (also day care); daylong; easygoing;

extracurricular; falloff; freelance; frontline (also front line); fundraiser (also fund-raiser);

fundraising (also fund-raising); ghostwrite; goodwill (also good will); grass roots; grownup

(also grown-up); groundwater; hardcore; holdup; homeowner (but home ownership);

hourlong; inpatient; kickoff; lifestyle (also life-style, life style); makeup (also make-up);

marketplace; meantime; monthlong; nationwide; nevertheless; noncompliance;

nonconforming; nonconformity; nonetheless; nonprofit; notwithstanding; nowhere;

officeholder; onboard (also on-board); ongoing; online; outpatient; overexposure;

overgeneralization; overgeneralize; paperwork (also paper work); percent; policymaker,

policymaking (also policy-making); postscript; preempt, preemptive; printout; proactive

(also pro-active);proofread; pothole; redheaded (but red-haired); rollout; schoolmate;

schoolroom; schoolteacher; schoolwork; schoolyard (but school day and school year);

somewhere; spreadsheet; springtime; startup; statewide; stockholder; stockroom (also stock

room); storyteller; summertime; tablecloth; thereof; timeline; timesaving; tossup; touch

point; turnaround; voicemail; waitperson; webpage (also web page and Web page); website

(also web site and Web site); weekday; weekend; weeklong; whiteout; wintertime;

workbench; workday; workflow (but paper flow); workforce; workgroup (also work

group); workload; workout; workplace (also work place); workroom; worksheet;

workstation; worktable; workweek; workwoman; wrongdoing; yearlong

Hyphenated compounds (when used as adjectives, adverbs, or nouns):

able-bodied; absent-minded; ad-lib; A-frame; check-in; child-care (as an adjective; also

childcare as an adjective; child care as a noun); clean-cut; clearing-house (also

clearinghouse); close-up; co-insurance (also coinsurance); co-op (but cooperative in its long

form, and cooperate as a verb); co-payment (also copayment); email (also e-mail); empty-

handed; fact-finding; father-in-law; far-flung; far-off; far-ranging; follow-through (also

followthrough); follow-up (also followup); front-runner (also frontrunner); frame-up; free-

for-all; get-together; get-tough; G-string; half-mast; half-staff; hand-picked; hanky-panky;

hi-fi; high-tech; ho-hum; hush-hush; in-depth; in-law; in-network; know-how; life-size;

mind-blowing; mind-boggling; mother-in-law; narrow-minded; nitty-gritty; not-for-profit;

on-site; one-sided; passer-by; pell-mell; pooh-pooh; red-haired (but redheaded); red-hot; re-

elect, re-election; roly-poly; second-rate; self-service; shrink-wrap; sign-in; sign-on; soft-

spoken; straight-laced; strong-arm; strong-willed; time-consuming; T-shirt; U-boat; U-turn;

V-neck; voice-over; vote-getter; walk-through (as a noun); warm-up; weak-kneed; well-

being; well-to-do; wheeler-dealer; word-of-mouth; worn-out; write-out; year-end

Spaced words:

African American (also African-American); after all (also afterall); cash flow; child care

(as a noun; child-care or childcare as an adjective);course work; every time; fact sheet;

food shelf; health care (alsohealthcare); help desk; life span; mind frame; more so; on site

(but on-site review); paper flow (but workflow); profit sharing (but profit-sharing

arrangement); pro forma; pro rata; school day; school year (but schoolmate; schoolroom;

schoolteacher; schoolwork; schoolyard); time frame (but timeline); time saver; vice

president (and similar terms--formerly hyphenated compounds); waiting room; word

processing (but word-processed material); work release

Words whose spelling changes

according to how they are used

Spaced words as noun phrases or adverbial phrases; hyphenated compounds as

compound adjectives (or unit modifiers) preceding nouns:

day to day (as in We worked day to day), day-to-day (as in our day-to-day routine); door to

door, door-to-door; eye to eye, eye-to-eye; long distance, long-distance (but always long-

distance in reference to telephone calls, as in I ran a long distance in a long-distance race

to call you long-distance); long term, long-term; one time, one-time; out of bounds, out-of-

bounds; out of court, out-of-court; out of network, out-of-network; out of pocket, out-of-

pocket; right to work, right-to-work; roll call, roll-call; note: second-rate (in all uses); side

by side, side-by-side; white collar, white-collar; working class, working-class

Solid compounds as indefinite pronouns; two words to single out a member of a

group:

anybody, any body (as in any body of water); anyone, any one (as in any one of you);

anyway, any way (as in any way you look at it); everyone, every one; nobody, no body

Spaced words as verbs with prepositions used as adverbs; solid compounds as nouns

or adjectives:

back up (as in Be sure to back up your files), backup (as in The sergeant called for backup);

build up (as in You need to build up a resistance to this bug), buildup (as in The military

buildup is worrisome); check off, checkoff; check out, checkout; check up, checkup; clean

up, cleanup; crack up, crackup; cut back, cutback; cut off, cutoff; hand off, handoff; hand

out, handout; hold out; holdout; make up, makeup; pick up, pickup; roll out, rollout; set up,

setup; shut down, shutdown; smash up, smashup; speed up, speedup; stand off, standoff;

stand out, standout; take off, takeoff; take out, takeout; take over, takeover, take up, takeup;

wind up, windup; work out, workout; work up, workup.

Spaced words as verbs with prepositions used as adverbs; hyphenated compounds as

nouns or adjectives:

call up (as in Let’s call up the reserves), call-up (as in The call-up came at a bad time);

check in, check-in; follow through, follow-through; follow up, follow-up; push up, push-

up; cover up, cover-up; hands off, hands-off; send off, send-off; shake up, shake-up; sign

in, sign-in; sign on, sign-on; start up, start-up; tie in, tie-in; tie up, tie-up; trade in, trade-in;

trade off, trade-off; walk up, walk-up; warm up, warm-up; write out, write-out

Spaced words as nouns; hyphenated compounds as verbs:

spot check (as in The spot check was a surprise), spot-check (as in If you can’t proofread

the document, at least spot-check it)

Spaced words as articles or adjectives with nouns; solid compounds as adjectives:

a while (as in for a while), awhile (as in awhile later); a long time, longtime; every day,

everyday; health care (healthcare); under water, underwater

Spaced words as adverbs with adjectives; hyphenated compounds as adjectives

preceding nouns:

so called (as in He was so called because he was foolish), so-called (as inThe so-called

leader of the group)

Spaced words as prepositions with adverbs; solid compounds as adjectives or adverbs:

over all (as in The coffee spilled over all my papers), overall (as inOverall, things aren’t so

bad)

Spaced words as adjectives following nouns; solid compounds as adjectives preceding

nouns:

under way (as in The remodeling is under way), underway (as inunderway refueling)

Spaced words as adjectives and nouns; solid compounds as adjectives:

every day (as in Read every day), everyday (as in my everyday routine)

Spaced words as adverbs; hyphenated compounds as adjectives:

upside down (as in The pizza landed upside down), upside-down (as inThe picture was

upside-down)

Solid compounds as nouns; hyphenated compounds as adjectives:

grownup (also grown-up), grown-up

Spaced words as adjectives with nouns; hyphenated compounds as adjectives or

nouns:

left hand, left-handed, left-hander; right hand, right-handed, right-hander

http://www.wilbers.com/part24.htm