Page 168 - Basic English Usage

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226 noun + noun

Structure
It is very common in English to put two nouns together without a
preposition.
tennis shoes asheepdog thecardoor orange juice
The first noun is like an adjective in some ways. Compare:
arace-horse (= asort ofhorse)
ahorse-race {= asortof race)
a flower garden (= asort of garden)
a garden flower (=a sort of flower)
milk chocolate (= something to eat)
chocolate milk (= something to drink)
The first noun is usually singular in form, even if the meaning is plural.
ashoe-shop (NOT @shees-shep)
abus-stop (NOT abuses-siep) .
Some common short | noun + noun | expressions are written as one
word (for example sheepdog). Others are written with a hyphen (for
example horse-race) or separately (for example milk chocolate). There
are no very clear rules, and we can often write an expression in more
than one way. To find out what is correct in a particular case, look in a
good dictionary.

Meaning
The first noun can modify the second in many different ways.
It can say what the second is made of or from:
milk chocolate aglass bow!
or where it is:
atable lamp Oxford University
or when it happens:
adaydream afternoon tea
or what it is for:
carkeys aconference room

Noun + noun + noun + noun...
We can put three, four or more nouns in a group.
road accident research centre ( = a centre for research into
accidents on roads)
Newspaper headlines often have this structure.
HELICOPTER CRASH PILOT DEATH FEAR