Compound words

Compound words

The third class of words is compound words. These have free forms, usually two, as their intermediate constituents, but in compound words can be distinguished from grammatical structure in three ways.

1.      Compound words cannot be devided by the insertion of intervening material between the two parts, but grammetical structure can be so divided ( closed compound word , nothing space)

Example    : sweetheart, greenhouse

2.      A member of a compound word cannot participate in a grammetical structure. Compare hard ball and basebal. (opened compound word  )

Example    : ice cream. Office boy, any other

3.      Some compound nouns, you may re call, have the stress pattern

Stress pattern  (‘    ‘)  ( - )

Example    : Father-in-law