Compound Nouns

 

Sometimes when you're reading, you'll find two nouns stuck together, pretending to be one word. This happens so often we had to make a name for these noun friends. We call them compound nouns. A compound noun is two nouns together, acting as just one word. They might be written as a single word, or they may have a dash between the words. Sometimes they are two words used together to mean one thing.

Explanation for older students: Often, as we read, we notice that a word is made up of two nouns written as a single word. These nouns are called compound nouns. They might be written as a single word, or they may have a dash between the words. Sometimes they are two words used together to mean one thing.

Examples of compound nouns: football, circus tent, merry-go-round, living room

Guess what compound noun is being described in these riddles:

1. I am a room where you eat your dinner. _____________________________________________

2. Does your circus have lions? Are they wild? You can't have wild lions in your circus! Hire me and I'll soon have them trained and under control. I am a _______________________________.

3. Your dentist will be angry if you don't brush your teeth with this compound noun! _____________________

4. Students often have these special books to teach them the subjects they study. ______________________________

5. Are you afraid of the dark? This light is one you can carry around with you in a dark house or dark woods. _____________

6. Don't let your dog sleep in a lion cage or a birdhouse. He deserves his very own home, which we call a ________________

7. When it's a cold, winter day, go outside and build your own person, round, and cold, and smiling. Build a _______________

8. On a hot day, this makes a great treat. You can eat it in a bowl or in a cone. Try a scoop of chocolate! Eat some _________________________

9.  On Thanksgiving, my family eats this for dessert. It's made from something big and orange that we make jack-o-lanterns with in October. We put it in a crust and sometimes we put whipped cream on top. We're eating _____________________________

10. At Christmas, we hang these on our tree, and I usually find one in my stocking also. It's a sweet treat shaped like a shepherd's crook or an upside down letter-J. This holiday treat is a ______________________________________

Answers: (Accept other answers that make sense.)

1. dining room

2. lion tamer

3. toothbrush

4. textbooks

5. flashlight

6. doghouse

7. snowman

8. ice cream

9. pumpkin pie

10. candy cane