Noun as AdjectiveAs you know, a noun is a person, place or thing, and an adjective is a word that describes a noun:
Sometimes we use a noun to describe another noun. In that case, the first noun "acts as" an adjective.
The "noun as adjective" always comes firstIf you remember this it will help you to understand what is being talked about:
The "noun as adjective" is singularJust like a real adjective, the "noun as adjective" is invariable. It is usually in the singular form.
In other words, if there is a plural it is on the real noun only. A few nouns look plural but we usually treat them as singular (for example news, billiards, athletics). When we use these nouns "as adjectives" they are unchanged:
Exceptions:
How do we write the "noun as adjective"?We write the "noun as adjective" and the real noun in several different ways:
There are no easy rules for this. We even write some combinations in two or all three different ways: (head master, head-master, headmaster) How do we say the "noun as adjective"?For pronunciation, we usually stress the first word:
Can we have more than one "noun as adjective"?Yes. Just like adjectives, we often use more than one "noun as adjective" together. Look at these examples: car production costs: we are talking about the costs of producing cars
England football team coach: we are talking about the coach who trains the team that plays football for England
Note: in England football team coach can you see a "hidden" "noun as adjective"? Look at the word "football" (foot-ball). These two nouns (foot+ball) have developed into a single noun (football). This is one way that words evolve. Many word combinations that use a "noun as adjective" are regarded as nouns in their own right, with their own dictionary definition. But not all dictionaries agree with each other. For example, some dictionaries list "tennis ball" as a noun and other dictionaries do not. government road accident research centre: we are talking about a centre that researches into accidents on the road for the government
Newpapers often use many nouns together in headlines to save space. Look at this example: BIRD HEALTH RESEARCH CENTRE MURDER MYSTERY To understand headlines like these, try reading them backwards. The above headline is about a MYSTERY concerning a MURDER in a CENTRE for RESEARCH into the HEALTH of BIRDS. Note, too, that we can still use a real adjective to qualify a "noun as adjective" structure:
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