Types Of Compound Words, Closed Compounds, Hyphenated Compounds and Open Compounds
Table of Contents
Types Of Compound Words
When using the English language in everyday life, we sometimes realize that several different words must be evaluated together and offer a single meaning. These word groups, which complement each other and give the meaning requested only when used side by side, are defined as compound words. It is extremely important to be aware of these words when writing academic content in English and not to make mistakes in terms of spelling rules.
There are different types of compound words, and the spelling rules for each can be different. After reading this content, we hope that you can organize academic content more easily and thus avoid spelling mistakes.
1. Closed compounds
If at least two words come together and form a single meaning, sometimes these words are written side by side, without any space between them. People who make typos about such words usually write these words with a hyphen between them or separate the words directly. The adjacent writing of words adds more intense meaning to the word and conceptualizes the word in this way. Let’s examine a few examples if you wish.
- flowerpot: this word is a combination of the words flower and pot.
- keyboard: this word is a combination of the words key and board.
- notebook: this word is a combination of the words note and book.
- bookstore: this word is a combination of the words book and store.
2. Hyphenated compounds
Some compound word variants do not look very compatible before they come together. Generally, second words that contain descriptive and detailing information are used after the hyphen. These types of words may consist of two or even three different words. In such a case, a ire sign is placed between both words. In a three-word compound word group, there can be two hyphens in total. Not putting hyphens between words, writing words completely separately or writing words adjacent directly will be considered as a typo and will lose you points. So which words fall into the second compound word group?
- mother-in-law: we often use an in-law suffix to qualify individuals who became our relatives, especially after marriage. This means that these individuals are not relatives of our birth, but have become legal relatives. Here, we see that it is used by putting hyphens between three different words. Remember, there is no extra space between the hyphen and the word itself.
- merry-go-round: similarly, here you see the name of a toy that children love in amusement parks. This toy, which contains animal figures and moves in a circular manner, is characterized by a compound word consisting of 3 words.
3. Open Compounds
Some phrases are actually known as compound words, although they are not written adjacently. To understand which words are included in this group, read the words calmly and try to identify situations where two different words mean one thing. In general, reviewing the compound word list can also be a great idea and will familiarize you with compound words. The rule to be careful here is the following: Hyphens cannot be placed between words here. If you do something like this, you will make a typo. But words are not written adjacent. These words look like two different words in a sentence, but together they characterize a single object. Let’s look at the examples.
- school bus: as you can see, the words school and bus come together to point out an object that has a unique meaning from both different words.
- living room: The words living and room come together to point out an object with an original meaning from two different words.
