adjectives
1.80 If you want to describe the action expressed by the noun, you use one or more adjectives or nouns in front of it.
He served a jail sentence for reckless driving .
The police need better training in dealing with the mentally ill.
He called for a national campaign against under-age drinking .
1.81 A few -ing nouns, mostly words for sporting or leisure activities, are much more common than their related verbs. In some cases there is no verb, although it is always possible to invent one. For example, you are more likely to say We went caravanning round France than We caravanned round France .
Here is a list of the commonest of these nouns:
angling
boating
bowling
canoeing
caravanning
electioneering
hang-gliding
mountaineering
paragliding
shoplifting
shopping
sightseeing
skateboarding
snorkelling
snowboarding
surfing
weightlifting
window-shopping
windsurfing
yachting
Although these words are not always associated with a verb, most of them can be used as -ing participles.
I spent the afternoon window-shopping with Grandma.
countable nouns
1.82 Some -ing nouns that are related to verbs are countable nouns . They generally refer to the result of an action or process, or to an individual instance of it. Sometimes their meaning is not closely related to that of the verb.
Here is a list of the commonest of these nouns:
beginning
being
building
drawing
feeling
finding
hearing
meaning
meeting
offering
painting
saying
setting
showing
sitting
suffering
turning
warning
For more information on countable nouns, see paragraphs 1.15 to 1.22 .
Compound nouns: car park, mother-in-law, breakdown
1.83 A single noun is often not enough to refer clearly to a person or thing. When this is the case, a compound noun can be used. A compound noun is a fixed expression that is made from more than one word, and that behaves as a noun.
Some people write out a new address book every January.
How would one actually choose a small personal computer ?
Where did you hide the can opener ?
…a private swimming pool .
Once it is clear what you are referring to, it is sometimes possible to use just the second word of a two-word compound noun. For example, after mentioning a swimming pool , you can just refer to the pool .
Most compound nouns consist of two words, but some consist of three or more words.
…a vase of lily of the valley .
two words, one word or a hyphen?
1.84 Some compound nouns are written with hyphens instead of spaces between the words.
I’m looking forward to a lie-in tomorrow.
He’s very good at problem-solving .
Judy’s brother-in-law lived with his family.
Some compound nouns, especially very frequent ones, are written as one word.
…patterned wallpaper .
They copied questions from the blackboard .
In some cases, you can choose whether to write a compound noun with or without a hyphen, or with or without a space. For example, both air-conditioner and air conditioner are possible, and both postbox and post box are possible.
A few compound nouns that consist of more than two words are written partly with hyphens and partly with spaces, for example back-seat driver and bring-and-buy sale .
…children from one-parent families .
…a Parent-Teacher Association .
lists of compound nouns
1.85 Compound nouns may be countable, uncountable, singular, or plural.
Here is a list of some common countable compound nouns:
address book
air conditioner
air raid
alarm clock
assembly line
baby-sitter
back-seat driver
bank account
bird of prey
book token
blood donor
bride-to-be
bring-and-buy sale
brother-in-law
burglar alarm
bus stop
can opener
car park
compact disc
contact lens
credit card
dining room
drawing pin
driving licence
estate agent
fairytale
father-in-law
film star
fire engine
fork-lift truck
frying pan
guided missile
health centre
heart attack
high school
human being
letter box
lily of the valley
mother-in-law
musical instrument
nervous breakdown
news bulletin
old
1.80 If you want to describe the action expressed by the noun, you use one or more adjectives or nouns in front of it.
He served a jail sentence for reckless driving .
The police need better training in dealing with the mentally ill.
He called for a national campaign against under-age drinking .
1.81 A few -ing nouns, mostly words for sporting or leisure activities, are much more common than their related verbs. In some cases there is no verb, although it is always possible to invent one. For example, you are more likely to say We went caravanning round France than We caravanned round France .
Here is a list of the commonest of these nouns:
angling
boating
bowling
canoeing
caravanning
electioneering
hang-gliding
mountaineering
paragliding
shoplifting
shopping
sightseeing
skateboarding
snorkelling
snowboarding
surfing
weightlifting
window-shopping
windsurfing
yachting
Although these words are not always associated with a verb, most of them can be used as -ing participles.
I spent the afternoon window-shopping with Grandma.
countable nouns
1.82 Some -ing nouns that are related to verbs are countable nouns . They generally refer to the result of an action or process, or to an individual instance of it. Sometimes their meaning is not closely related to that of the verb.
Here is a list of the commonest of these nouns:
beginning
being
building
drawing
feeling
finding
hearing
meaning
meeting
offering
painting
saying
setting
showing
sitting
suffering
turning
warning
For more information on countable nouns, see paragraphs 1.15 to 1.22 .
Compound nouns: car park, mother-in-law, breakdown
1.83 A single noun is often not enough to refer clearly to a person or thing. When this is the case, a compound noun can be used. A compound noun is a fixed expression that is made from more than one word, and that behaves as a noun.
Some people write out a new address book every January.
How would one actually choose a small personal computer ?
Where did you hide the can opener ?
…a private swimming pool .
Once it is clear what you are referring to, it is sometimes possible to use just the second word of a two-word compound noun. For example, after mentioning a swimming pool , you can just refer to the pool .
Most compound nouns consist of two words, but some consist of three or more words.
…a vase of lily of the valley .
two words, one word or a hyphen?
1.84 Some compound nouns are written with hyphens instead of spaces between the words.
I’m looking forward to a lie-in tomorrow.
He’s very good at problem-solving .
Judy’s brother-in-law lived with his family.
Some compound nouns, especially very frequent ones, are written as one word.
…patterned wallpaper .
They copied questions from the blackboard .
In some cases, you can choose whether to write a compound noun with or without a hyphen, or with or without a space. For example, both air-conditioner and air conditioner are possible, and both postbox and post box are possible.
A few compound nouns that consist of more than two words are written partly with hyphens and partly with spaces, for example back-seat driver and bring-and-buy sale .
…children from one-parent families .
…a Parent-Teacher Association .
lists of compound nouns
1.85 Compound nouns may be countable, uncountable, singular, or plural.
Here is a list of some common countable compound nouns:
address book
air conditioner
air raid
alarm clock
assembly line
baby-sitter
back-seat driver
bank account
bird of prey
book token
blood donor
bride-to-be
bring-and-buy sale
brother-in-law
burglar alarm
bus stop
can opener
car park
compact disc
contact lens
credit card
dining room
drawing pin
driving licence
estate agent
fairytale
father-in-law
film star
fire engine
fork-lift truck
frying pan
guided missile
health centre
heart attack
high school
human being
letter box
lily of the valley
mother-in-law
musical instrument
nervous breakdown
news bulletin
old
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