Modifying using nouns: noun modifiers

Modifying using nouns: noun modifiers

Nouns can be used as modifiers in front of other nouns when you want to give more specific information about someone or something.

Sometimes, when nouns are used like this they become fixed expressions which are called compound nouns (see paragraphs 1.84 to 1.93).

When the nouns used in front of other nouns are not in fixed expressions, they are called noun modifiers.

the car door.

tennis lessons.

a football player.

cat food.

the music industry.

a surprise announcement.

singular and plural forms 2.175 You normally use the singular form of a count noun (see paragraphs 1.16 to 1.23) as a noun modifier, even when you are referring to more than one thing. For example, you refer to a shop that sells books as 'a book shop', not 'a books shop', even though it sells a large number of books, not just one.

Many plural nouns lose their '-s' endings when used in front of other nouns.

my trouser pocket.

pyjama trousers.

paratroop attacks.

Here is a list of common plural nouns which lose their '-s' and '-es' endings when they are used as modifiers:

However, some plural nouns keep the same form when used in front of other nouns.

arms control.

the arms race.

clothes pegs.

Here is a list of common plural nouns which remain the same when they are used as modifiers:

Plural nouns are explained in paragraphs 1.42 to 1.47.

using more than one noun modifier 2.176 If you want to be even more specific, you can use more than one noun modifier. For example, a 'car insurance certificate' is a certificate which indicates that a car has been insured, and a 'state pension scheme' is a scheme that is run by the state and concerns workers' pensions.

a Careers information Officer.

car body repair kits.

a family dinner party.

a school medical officer.

used with adjectives 2.177 If you want to give more information about a noun that has a modifier in front of it, you can put adjectives in front of the noun modifier.

a long car journey.

a new scarlet silk handkerchief.

complex business deals.

this beautiful morning sunlight.

the French film industry.

When an adjective comes in front of two nouns, it is usually obvious whether it is modifying the two nouns combined or only the noun modifier.

For example, in 'an electric can opener', the adjective 'electric' is modifying the combination 'can opener': whereas in 'electric shock treatment', 'electric' is modifying the noon 'shock' and then both the adjective and the noun modifier are modifying the noun 'treatment'.

Adjectives are explained in paragraphs 2.2 to 2.107.

2.178 Proper nouns can also be used as noun modifiers. For example, if you want to show that something is connected with a place, organization, or institution, you put the name of the place, organization, or institution in front of all other noun modifiers. You also put them in front of classifying adjectives.

Brighton Technical College.

the Cambridge House Literacy Scheme.

Proper nouns are explained in paragraphs 1.53 to 1.59.

2.179 The use of noun modifiers in English is very common indeed. In fact, when the context makes it clear what you mean, you can use almost any noun to modify any other noun. You can use noun modifiers to indicate a wide range of relationships between the two nouns.

For example, you can say what something is made of, as in 'cotton socks'. You can also say what is made in, a particular place, as in 'a glass factory'. You can say what someone does, as in 'a football player', or you can say where something is, as in 'my bedroom curtains'.

You can say when something happens, as in 'the morning mist' and 'her wartime activities'. You can also describe the nature or size of something, as in 'a surprise attack' and 'a pocket chess-set'.

The use of noun modifiers is a productive feature of English. Productive features are explained in the Introduction.