List six jobs you would like to have in order of preference. How many different suffixes are there in your list? Do any of the job names not have a suffix? (e.g. pilot, film star)

 

4. Do these words mean a thing, a person, or both?

 

1 a cooker 3 a ticket-holder 5 a cleaner 7 a drinker

2 a typewriter 4 a CD player 6 a smoker 8 a dresser

 

5. Compete each of the second sentences by changing the words underlined in the first
sentences. Use a suffix from the previous page and make any spelling changes needed.

1 Most of his crimes can be forgiven. Most of his crimes are………….

2 The Club refuses to admit anyone not wearing shoes. The Club refuses………… to

anyone not wearing shoes.

3 Her only fault is that she is lazy. Her only fault is.. ……..

4 This firm has produced a lot in recent years. This firm has been very…………… in

recent years.

5 I found the book very easy and pleasant to read. I found the book very…………….

 

Which word is the odd one out in each group and why?

1 brotherhood neighbourhood manhood priesthood

2 tearful spiteful dreadful handful

3 appointment involvement compliment arrangement

4 worship kinship friendship partnership

 

 

V) Conversion

Exercises

1. Find cases of conversion in the following sentences.

1. The clerk was eyeing him expectantly. 2. Under the cover of that protective din he was able to toy with a steaming dish which his waiter had brought. 3. An aggressive man battled his way to Stout's side. 4. Just a few yards from the front door of the bar there was an elderly woman comfortably seated on a chair, holding a hose linked to a tap and watering the pavement. 5. — What are you doing here? — I'm tidying your room. 6. My seat was in the middle of a row. I could not leave without inconveniencing a great many people, so I remained. 7. How on earth do you remember to milkthe cows and give pigs their dinner? 8. In a few minutes Papa stalked off, correctly booted and well mufflered. 9. "Then it's practically impossible to steal any diamonds?" asked Mrs Blair with as keen an air of disap-pointment as though she had been journeying there for the express purpose. 10. Ten minutes later I was speeding along in the direction of Cape Town. 11. Restaurants in all large cities have their ups and downs. 12. The upshot seemed to be that I was left to face life with the sum of £ 87 17s 4d. 13. "A man could be very happy in a house like this if he didn't have to poison his days with work,"said Jimmy. 14.I often heard that fellows after some great shock or loss have a habit, after they've been on the floor for a while won­dering what hit them, of picking themselves up and piecing themselves together.

 

 

VI) Compounding

Additional material

Compound nouns

A compound noun is a fixed expression which is made up of more than one word and functions as a noun. Such expressions are frequently combinations of two nouns, e.g. address book, human being [person], science fiction [fiction based on some kind of scientific fantasy].

If you understand both parts of the compound noun, the meaning will usually be clear. Compound nouns are usually written as two words, e.g. tin opener [an opener for tins], bank account [an account in a bank], pedestrian crossing [a place for people to cross a road], but sometimes they are written with a hyphen instead of a space between the words, e.g. pen-name [a false name used by a writer, a pseudonym], baby-sitter [someone who sits with a baby/child while parents are out]. Sometimes they may be written as one word, e.g. earring, trademark [the symbol of a product].

Usually the main stress is on the first part of the compound but sometimes it is on the second part. In the common compound nouns below, the word which contains the main stress is underlined.

alarm clock answering machine blood donor boo k token

burg lar alarm bus stop contact lens credit card

heart attack package holiday steerin g wheel shoe horn

tea-bag wind screen windscreen wiper youth hostel

 

Compound nouns may be countable, uncountable or only used in either the singular or the plural. The examples given above are all countable compound nouns. Here are some examples of common uncountable compound nouns.

air- traffic control birth control blood pressure computer technology

cotton wool data- processing food poisoning hay fever [allergy to pollen]

income tax junk food mail order pocket money

 

Here are some examples of common compound nouns used only in the singular.

arms race [countries wanting most powerful weapons]

brain drain [highly educated people leaving country to work abroad]

death penalty

generation gap global warming greenhouse effect

labour force mother -tongue

sound barrier welfare state

 

Here arc some examples of common compound nouns used only in the plural,
grass roots human rights kitchen scissors luxury goods

race relations road works sun glasses traffic lights

 

Compound adjectives

A compound adjective is made up of two parts. It is usually written with a hyphen, e.g. well-dressed, never-ending and shocking-pink. Its meaning is usually clear from the words it combines. The second part of the adjective is frequently a present or past participle.A large number of compound adjectives describe personal appearance.

Here is a rather far-fetched description of a person starting from the head down.

Tom was a curly-haired, sun-tanned, blue-eyed, rosy-cheeked, thin-lipped, broad-shouldered, left-handed, slim-hipped, long-legged, flat-footed young man, wearing an open-necked shirt, brand-new, tight-fitting jeans and open-toed sandals.

Other compound adjectives describe a person's character.

Melissa was absent-minded [forgetful], easy-going [relaxed], good-tempered [cheerful], warm-hearted [kind] and quick-witted [intelligent] if perhaps a little big-headed Iproud of herself], two-faced [hypocritical], self-centred [egotistical] and stuck-up [snobbish (colloquial)] at times.

Another special group of compound adjectives has a preposition in its second part.

The workers' declaration of an all-out strike forced management to improve conditions.]

Once there were fields here but now it's a totally built-up area.

That student's parents are very well-off but they don't give him much money and he is

always complaining of being hard-up.

I love these shoes and, although they're worn-out, I can't throw them away.

This area was once prosperous but it now looks very run-down.

Here are some other compound adjectives with typical nouns.

air-conditioned rooms; bullet-proof windows on the president's car; cut-price goods in the sales; duty-free cigarettes; hand-made clothes; interest-free credit; last-minute revision for an exam; long-distance lorry driver; long-standing relationship; off-peak train travel; part-time job; remote-controlled toy car; second-class ticket; so-called expert; sugar-free diet; time-consuming writing of reports; top-secret information; world-famous film star.

 

 

Exercises

 

1. In some cases more than one compound noun can be formed from one particular element. For example blood pressure and blood donor, air-traffic control, birth control and self-control. Complete the following compound nouns with a noun other than the one suggested opposite. Use your dictionary.

 

1............... token 4 blood.... 7...... tax 10 ……... lights

2 junk............. 5 tea..... 8..... processing 11……... food

3 sound....................... 6 mother..... 9..... crossing 12 …….. race

 

2. What are they talking about? In each case the answer is a compound noun from the previous pages.

 

EXAMPLE: I had it taken at the doctor's this morning and he said it was a little high for my age. blood pressure.

1 You really shouldn't cross the road at any other place.

2 It's partly caused by such things as hair sprays and old fridges.

3 She always has terrible sneezing fits in the early summer.

4 I can't understand why they spend so much on devising ways of killing people.

5 They say that working there is much more stressful than being a pilot.

6 The worst time was when I dropped one at the theatre and spent the interval searching
around on the floor. I couldn't see a thing without them.

7 I don't think it should ever be used whatever the crime.

8 It's much easier not to have To make your own travel arrangements.

9 It took my mother ages to get used to leaving a message on mine!

 

3. Here are some compound expressions you have worked with in this unit. Explain what the significance of the nouns used in the compound are.

 

EXAMPLE windscreen a screen that protects a driver from the wind
1 hook token 4 generation gap 7 luxury goods

2 burglar alarm 5 greenhouse effect 8 pocket money

3 food poisoning 6 kitchen scissors 9 welfare suite

 

4. List as many compound adjectives beginning with self, as you can. Mark them P or N for positive or negative characteristics, or write neutral.

 

5. Answer the questions by using a compound adjective which is opposite in meaning to the
adjective in the question. Note that the answer may or may not have the same second
element as the adjective in the question.

 

EXAMPLE Is he working full-time? No, part-time.

1 Isn't she rather short-sighted? 4 Are her shoes high-heeled?

2 Is your brother well-off? 5 Is this vase mass-produced?

3 Would you say the boy is well-behaved? 6 Do they live in south-east England?

 

6. Add a preposition from the list below to complete appropriate compound adjectives.

 

back up out off on of

1 She's done the same low-paid job for so long that she's really fed-.......... with it now.

2 The two cars were involved in a head-............... collision.

3 He has a very casual, laid-................. approach to life in general.

4 It'll never happen again. It's definitely a one-.............. situation.

5 He's a smash hit here but he's unheard-............... in my country.

6 She bought a cut-…………paper pattern and made her own dress.