NOMINAL COMPOUNDS

Sometimes a Noun and a Noun-equivalent or a Noun-phrase are joined in a compact manner in order to express clearly and precisely a person or a thing. This is called a Nominal Compound.

It should be remembered here that all types of Noun-equivalent terms or phrases apart from Nouns are generally called Nominals. That is why terms like Adjective, Verb, Pronoun etc. are considered as Nominal. And all kinds of parts of speech in Noun phrase can create Nominal sense. So as two Nouns can be joined in Nominal Compound, three or more different Parts of Speech can be joined.

Formation of Nominal Compounds:

Noun + Noun

Football match (a match played with football)

Radio programme (a programme on the radio)

Lunchbox (a box containing lunch)

Tron determination (determination as strong as tron)

Stone wall (a wall made of stone)

Mountain streams (streams in the mountains)

Birthday party (a party to celebrate a birthday)

Ceiling fan (a fan hanging from ceiling

Machine cloth (cloth made by machine)

News bulletin (bulletin for news)

Dust heap (heap of dust)

Steam engine (engine worked by steam)

Iron gate (a gate made of iron)

Iron safe (a safe made of iron)

Picture book (a book containing pictures)

Country cottage ( a cottage in a country)

Moon light (light of the moon)

Box camera (a camera looking like a box)

Bus fare (fare for travelling by bus)

Bed time (time to go to bed)

Ice bag (a bag full of ice)

Dust storm (storm blowing dust)

Wind mill (a mill driven by wind)

Sea sickness (sickness while travelling on sea)

Ink bottle (a bottle containing ink)

Telephone operator (an operator operating on telephone)

Tea garden (a garden of tea plants)

Night club (a club to enjoy a night)

Football club (a club with an object of playing football)

Flower vase (a vase for keeping flower)

Ivory tower (a tower made of ivory)

Arm chair (a chair having arms for relaxation)

Life time (time throughout life)

Foot path (path for walking on foot)

Summerday (a day in summer)

Pocket book (a book short enough to keep tr a pocket

Post man (a man for delivering postal articles)

Post office (an office of postal department)

Book stall (a stall for books)

Tea stall (a stall for serving tea)

Book store (a store for keeping books)

City park (a park in a city)

News paper (paper for news)

Toy train (a train used as a toy)

Tooth paste (paste used for tooth)

Sportsman (a man skilled in sports)

Wristwatch (a watch for using on wrist)

Ear ring (a ring for using with ear as an ornamenti

Oil lamp (a lamp lit with oil)

Potato chips (chips of potato)

Tea cup (a cup for taking tea)

Paper merchant (a merchant dealing in paper)

Gas oven (oven lit by gas)

Tear gas (gas causing tear)

Law court ( a court for deciding a case by law)

Business man ( a man who lives on business)

Body guard ( a guard on duty for protection of any body)

Boat man ( a man who controls a boat)

Bed room ( a room for sleeping on bed)

Battle ground ( a ground for battle)

Bath tub (a tub for bath)

Chair person ( a person presiding on chair)

Census report (a report containing census)

Chess board (a board for playing chess)

Cotton textiles ( textiles made of cotton)

Cottage industry ( industry running at a cottage)

Glass house (a house made of glass)

Goods train ( a train for carrying goods)

Guest room ( a room for receiving guest)

Marble palace ( a palace made of marble)

Door mat ( a mat on door)

Day dream ( a dream dreamt in day time)

Election fever ( feverish sensation during election)

Fibre glass (glass in the form of fibre)

Film producer ( a producer of film)

Flower show (a show of flower)

Home comfort (comfort felt at home)

Heart attack ( an attack on heart)

Letter box ( a box for getting letters into)

Life insurance ( insurance covering risk of life)

Neck tie ( a tie wearing on neck)

Nursery rhyme ( rhyme for reading in nursery)

Poverty line (line marking poverty)

Pleasure trip (a trip for pleasure)

Safety razaor (a razor with guard for safety)

Science fiction ( a fiction on science)

Tear drop ( a drop of tear)

TV serial (a serial on TV)

War ship (a ship used in Wars)

Youth hostel (a hostel for youth)

Noun + Verb / Verbal Noun

Bus stop (a spot where buses stop)

Rainfall ( falling of rain)

Sunrise (rising of the sun)

Snake bite (biting of a snake)

Clay modelling (modelling on clay)

Oil painting (painting with oil colour)

Sword fighting (fighting with sword)

Boat racing (racing by boat)

Book binder (a binder of books)

Tax payer (one who pays tax)

Day break (the time when a day breaks)

Fact finding (finding of fact)

Fault finding (finding of fault)

Fortune hunting (hunting of fortune)

Loud speaker (an instrument by which one can speak loudly)

Record breaking (that which breaks the record)

Verb/Verbal Noun/Participial + Noun

Breakfast (a tiffin that breaks fasting over night at day-break)

Burial ground (the ground where burial is done)

Dining table la table for dining)

Dotted graph (a graph that is recorded with dots)

Fishing boat (a boat for fishing)

Flying fish (a fish that flies)

Hunger strike (a strike carried with hunger)

Pick pocket (one who picks pocket)

Watch dog (a dog that watches)

Shuddering reaction (reaction that causes shuddering)

Withered violet (a violet that is withered)

Adjective + Noun

Black board ( a board painted black)

Dark room (a room for photo processing in darkness)

Main spring (a spring which operates the main function)

Magic lantern (a lantern used for magic)

Solar energy (energy emitting from the sun)

Leaden heart (heart that is made of lead)

Metal money (money made of metal)

Nominal Compound consisting of more than two words

Birth day party (a party to celebrate birthday)

Low cost house (a house made at a cost that is low)

Calcutta bus routes (routes for buses in Calcutta)

Machine made clothes (clothes made by machine)

Labour saving method ( a method that saves labour)

One-parent family (a family consisting of one parent)

Aircraft-control system (a system that controls aircraft)

Jute producing areas (areas that produce jute)

Some more list of Nominal Compound

Noun + Adjective: snow-white

Noun + Preposition: lock-up

Pronoun+ Noun: he-goat 

Reflexive Pronoun + Noun: self-control, self-confidence, self-sufficiency, self-respect

Reflx Pornoun + Nominal: self-seeker, self-supporting

Reflx Pronoun + Verb: self-help 

Reflx Pronoun+Adjective (derived from verb): self-taught, self-employed, self-willed, self-centred

Adjective + Noun: easy-chair.

Adjective + Nominal: best-seller

Adjective + Adjective: blue-black

Adjective + Verb: short cut, white wash

Adjective + Preposition: left-over

Verb + Noun: wash-basin

Verb + Pronoun: hold-all

Verb + Verb: hear-say

Verb + Adverb: know-how

Verb + Preposition: make-up, cover-up, turn-over, walk-out

Adverb + Adverb: wherever, whenever

Preposition + Noun:

over-time, over production, by-law, off-print , over-coat, over-sight, over-work, over-exercise, out-growth

Preposition + Verb:

over-flow, out-cry, outlet, outlook, uplift, uproar, upstart

Writing procedure for Nominal Compound

1. Some nominal compounds are written with hyphen mark (-) : over-flow, over-production, know-how, pen-friend, self-centred, self-control, self respect etc.

2. Some nominal compounds are written without a hyphen mark and with a little space between the words: football match, pocket book, film star, radio programme, post office etc. 

3. Some nominal compounds are written with either a hyphen mark or a space between the words: 

mountain-stream/mountain stream,
flower-vase/flowre vase,
ink-bottle/ink bottle
ivory-tower/ivory tower,
ice-bag/ice bag.

4. A few nominal Compounds are written without a hyphen mark or a space between the words i. e. in a compact way making a single words: Postman, birthday, newspaper, boatman, necktie, breakfast. whereever, whenever etc.

5. A few nominal compounds having more than two words are written with hyphens between first two words and with space between later words: one-parent family, jute-producing area etc.

6. A few nominal compounds having more than two words are written without hyphens but first two words as a single word and the later word with a little space: birthday party, breakfast table etc.