Compound Nouns: Formation, Spacing, and Plurals: correct answers
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This challenge contains 11 questions at medium difficulty covering Basics: Compound Nouns. Test your knowledge with a mix of question formats!
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Correct answers
Question 1
Complete the real estate agent's enthusiastic email to a plant-loving client.
You will absolutely love this property! It features a massive _____ in the backyard where you can grow tropical plants all winter.
The correct answer is greenhouse.
A greenhouse (closed compound noun) is a glass building used for growing plants. A green house (adjective + noun) simply means a house that is painted the color green. Since the client wants to grow tropical plants, they need a greenhouse!
Question 2
The correct answers are: A half-eaten cupcake was found near the safe. There was a suspicious getaway car parked in the alley.
Compound nouns can be closed (one word), open (two words), or hyphenated.
- Cupcake is a closed compound noun.
- Getaway car is an open compound noun.
- "Finger print" should be a closed compound noun (fingerprint).
- "Rollingpin" should be an open compound noun (rolling pin).
Question 3
Finish the local newspaper's report on the chaotic pie-baking contest.
Because the judge accidentally ate the scorecards, there were three _____ who all demanded the silver trophy.
The correct answer is runners-up.
In compound nouns made of a noun and a particle/preposition (like runner-up or passerby), the plural -s attaches to the main noun (runner), not the end of the word.
Question 4
The correct answers are: This charming estate features a beautiful greenhouse for your carnivorous plants. You will love the enormous swimming pool in the backyard.
A compound noun functions as a single unit of meaning.
- A greenhouse is a glass building for growing plants, whereas a green house is simply any house painted the color green.
- A swimming pool is a specific type of facility designed for swimming (a compound noun), whereas a swimming duck is just a duck (noun) that happens to be swimming (participle acting as an adjective).
Question 5
Help the stressed wedding planner finalize the seating chart by choosing the correct word.
The bride has five _____, and they all want to sit right next to the open bar.
The correct answer is brothers-in-law.
When pluralizing a hyphenated compound noun, you must add the plural -s to the "head" noun (the most important word). Since they are brothers (not laws), "brothers" becomes plural.
Question 6
The correct answers are brother-in-law's and sisters-in-law.
Brother-in-law's is a singular possessive. To show possession for a compound noun, you always add 's to the very end of the word, regardless of where the head noun is.
Sisters-in-law is a simple plural. Because there are "three" of them, we need the plural form. We pluralize the head noun (sister -> sisters) without adding an apostrophe.
Question 7
Complete the angry traveler's online review by choosing the correctly spelled compound noun for each blank.
The hotel room was a disaster! I found a half-eaten bowl of ice cream under the bed, and the bathroom was completely out of toothpaste.
The hotel room was a disaster! I found a half-eaten bowl of ice cream under the bed...
"Ice cream" is an open compound noun, meaning it is written as two separate words despite functioning as a single idea.
...and the bathroom was completely out of toothpaste.
"Toothpaste" is a closed compound noun, meaning the two original words have merged into one single word with no spaces or hyphens.
Question 8
Help the event planner complete her notes about the chaotic family reunion by choosing the correct words for each blank.
To avoid any drama, the planner seated all the mothers-in-law at a separate table, far away from the two runners-up of last year's pie-eating contest.
To avoid any drama, the planner seated all the mothers-in-law at a separate table...
When pluralizing a hyphenated compound noun, we add the plural "-s" to the principal word (the "head noun"). Since they are mothers, it becomes mothers-in-law.
...far away from the two runners-up of last year's pie-eating contest.
Similarly, the head noun here is "runner," so we pluralize it as runners-up, not runner-ups.
Question 9
The correct answers are runners-up and grown-ups.
In the compound noun runner-up, "runner" is the head noun, so it takes the plural "-s" (runners-up).
However, grown-up is made entirely of an adjective (grown) and a preposition (up). When a compound noun lacks a clear head noun, we simply add "-s" to the very end of the word (grown-ups).
Question 10
Complete the new employee's survival guide by choosing the correctly formatted compound noun for each blank.
To survive Monday mornings, you need to master the art of the brainstorm and never miss a strict Friday deadline.
To survive Monday mornings, you need to master the art of the brainstorm...
"Brainstorm" is a closed compound noun. Over time, as compound words become more common in English, they often evolve from two words (or hyphenated words) into a single, closed word.
...and never miss a strict Friday deadline.
"Deadline" is also a closed compound noun. Writing it as two words ("dead line") changes the meaning entirely, and hyphenating it is incorrect.
Question 11
The correct answers are mothers-in-law and passersby.
For hyphenated compound nouns containing a noun and a preposition/adjective (like mother-in-law or passerby), we make them plural by adding "-s" to the principal noun (the "head noun"), not to the end of the word.
Therefore, mother becomes mothers (mothers-in-law) and passer becomes passers (passersby).