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Nouns As Modifiers

Nouns can function as adjectives by modifying other nouns. The modifying noun comes before the noun it describes to add meaning. For example, "chicken soup" tells what kind of soup it is. As a modifier, the noun is usually singular. When combined with a number, the modifying noun takes a hyphen, like "half-year course". It is also common for two nouns to work together as modifiers, such as "toy factory building" or "four-bedroom house". Using nouns as modifiers provides specificity about the type or attributes of the noun being described.

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753 views5 pages

Nouns As Modifiers

Nouns can function as adjectives by modifying other nouns. The modifying noun comes before the noun it describes to add meaning. For example, "chicken soup" tells what kind of soup it is. As a modifier, the noun is usually singular. When combined with a number, the modifying noun takes a hyphen, like "half-year course". It is also common for two nouns to work together as modifiers, such as "toy factory building" or "four-bedroom house". Using nouns as modifiers provides specificity about the type or attributes of the noun being described.

Uploaded by

Yani Meo
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Nouns as Modifiers

Modifier is the word phrase or clause that


fungtions as an adjective or adverb which
describes the word or group of other word.
A noun can modify another noun that follows it. As a
modifier, the first noun gives specific information
about the following noun. In nearly all cases, the
noun that acts as the modifier is in singular form.

 They do not have vegetable soup, but they do


have chicken soup and tomato soup.
In the sentence, the
nouns vegetable, chicken and tomato are modifiers.
They modify soup. Without the modifiers, we would
not know what soup they have or do not have, and
all we would know is they have soup.
As stated, the modifying noun is placed attributively; that is, before the noun it describes to
add meaning to it (the noun being modified). For example, we know what a ship is, but do we
know what type of ship it is or what it is used for? By using a noun acting as an adjective
before the noun ship, we get to know what ship it is – a battleship, cargo ship, container ship,
cruise ship, merchant ship, sailing ship, spaceship, or supply ship, or even an enemy ship or a
pirate ship.

 Examples:
We are renovating the old farm buildings..
They spent the weekends doing the flower bed.
She kept her money box under her bed.
The road accident injured five people.
He still keeps the library books after they have expired.
 When a noun used as a modifier is combined with a number
expression, the noun is singular and a hyphen is used.
Examples:
He took a half-year course in raising pigeons.
He does a one-man show in an open-air theatre.
The pilot overshot the runway and crashed his two-seater aircraft..
She plays in a five-girl rock band.

 Noun modifiers of noun modifiers are used together.  


Examples:
He sprawled on the family room couch reading newspaper.
That one over there is a toy factory building.
You can get your rock garden tools in this store.
His company car workshop is demanding overdue payments.
Their two-partner computer business is expanding fast.
The family lived in a four-bedroom country house.
He will have to serve a six-year prison sentence for attempted
murder.
In the first example above, family is a noun modifier and room too is a
noun modifier. This means the noun modifier family is modifying the
noun modifier room. In the lower list, each example has two noun
modifiers modifying one noun; for example, two-partner and computer
together modify the noun business
 

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