Upload
dr-shadia-banjar
View
6.028
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
DESCRIPTION
English Grammar
Citation preview
By: Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar http://www.kau.edu.sa/SBANJER http://wwwdrshadiabanjar.blogspot.com
1Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar
NOUNS AS MODIFIERSNOUNS AS MODIFIERS
Noun can be used to another noun:
Nouns as Modifiers
Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar 2
NOUN - NOUN ADJECTIVE - NOUN
•This car is for sportsdriving.
•It is a sports car.
•The Jeep has a drive(-train) that moves all four wheels.
•It has four-wheel drive.(a feature of the car)
Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar 3
In English we can put two nouns together. The first nounis used as an adjective to modify the second noun and iscalled a noun adjunct. The first noun is almost alwayssingular because it follows the rule for adjectives, whichdo not have plural forms in English.
N1 N2 can mean that:1. N1 is a kind of N2 (a grammar book is a kind of book)2. N1 is an object of an implied verb (an apple tree is a
tree that produces apples)
Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar 4
It is important to understand that N2 is the thing and N1 is the kind or type:
• a rose bush is a bush• a wrist watch is a watch• computer paper is paper
Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar 5
When a noun is used as a modifier, it is in its singular form.
The soup has vegetables in it:It is vegetable soup.
The building has offices in it:It is an office building.
officemodifies building.
vegetable modifies soup.
Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar 6
My mother planted a rose bush in the garden.I bought a new table lamp.Bobby takes the school bus to school.The school ordered fifty new grammar books.That man makes bird cages.Mrs. Taylor bought some new baby clothes.
Examples:
N1 is singular, even if the phrase is plural.
Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar 7
When a noun used as a modifier is combined with a number expression, the noun is singular and a hyphen (-) is used.
She has a five years old son..
CORRECTCORRECT
INCORRECTINCORRECTXXXXXXXX
She has a five-year-old son.√√√√√√√
Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar 8
We can use a number with N1 to make a compound adjective. Since the number and noun make one unit, we use a hyphen to join them. Note that N1 remains singular because it is being used as an adjective.
Examples:
a three-car garagea ten-speed bicyclea twenty-dollar bill
Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar 9
If we use a number to refer to the secondnoun (how many), we do not use a hyphen:
two grammar booksfive rose bushes
Examples:
Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar 10
We can use a number to refer to the second noun(how many) and a number with the first noun(compound adjective). In that case, there is no hyphenafter the first number, but the second number is stillused with a hyphen because it forms a compoundadjective.
Examples:
two ten-dollar billsfour three-bedroom homes
Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar 11
two footstools vs. two-foot stools
Hyphens are used to avoid ambiguity for the reader.
NO HYPHEN HYPHEN
•Two footstools sold for a half-million dollars.
•Two-foot stools sold for a half-million dollars.
Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar12
It was a two-hour test.
It was a two hours test.
CORRECTCORRECT
INCORRECTINCORRECT
√√√√√√√
XXXXXXXX
Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar 13