You can use two nouns together (
noun +
noun) to mean
one thing/person/idea etc. For example:
- a tennis ball
- income tax
- the city centre
The first noun is like an adjective. It tells us what kind of thing/person/idea etc. For example:
a tennis ball = a ball used to play tennis
a bus driver = the driver of a bus
a road accident = an accident that happens on the road
income tax = tax that you pay on your income
the city centre = the centre of the city
a Paris hotel = a hotel in Paris
my life story = the story of my life
So you can say:
- a television camera
- a television programme
- a television studio
- a television producer
(these are all different things or people to do with television)
- language problems
- marriage problems
- health problems
- work problems
(these are all different kinds of problems)
Compare:
garden vegetables (= vegetables that are grown in a garden)
a vegetable garden (= a garden where vegetables are grown)
Sometimes the first word ends in -
ing. Usually these are things we use for doing something:
- a frying pan (= a pan for frying)
- a washing machine
- a swimming pool
Sometimes there are more than two nouns together:
- I waited at the hotel reception desk.
- We watched the World Swimming Championships on television.
- If you want to play table tennis (= a game), you need a table tennis table (= a table).
When two nouns are together like this, sometimes we write them as one word and sometimes as two separate words. For example:
- a headache
- toothpaste
- a weekend
- a car park
- a road sign
There are no clear rules for this. If you are not sure, write two words.
Note the difference between:
a sugar bowl (maybe empty) and a bowl of sugar (= a bowl with sugar in it)
a shopping bag (maybe empty) and a bag of shopping (= a bag full of shopping)
When we use noun + noun, the first noun is like an adjective. It is normally singular, but the meaning is often plural. For example: a bookshop is a shop where you can buy books, an apple tree is a tree that has apples.
In the same way we say:
- a three-hour journey (= a journey that takes three hours)
- a ten-pound note (not pounds)
- a four-week course (not weeks)
- a six-mile walk (not miles)
- two 14-year-old girls (not years)
Compare:
- It was a four-week course.
but The course lasted four weeks.
