When you’re looking at a new vocabulary word, it’s important that you pay attention to where and how it’s classified as a part of speech. That is, is it a noun? an adjective? a verb? In some cases, there will be one unique classification, but other words can be used as several different parts of speech. In addition, when two single words are combined into one compound word, the classification of the compound word might be completely different from either of its original components. By studying parts of speech as part of your vocabulary program, you’ll be able to learn more about how words are used, and how they can be used together to make compound words that build your vocabulary twice as fast.

A compound word can be made of several combinations. Here are some of the most common:

noun + noun

When you’re looking at this category, keep in mind that the meaning of the compound word won’t always come directly from the two nouns taken in order. For example, the word airplane doesn’t mean “a plane that is made of air” but rather “a plane that travels in the air.” It’s the same with the word lightbulb, which is “a bulb that produces light” rather than “a bulb that is made of light.” Notice that the word light can also be an adjective, but in this case that’s not the sense being used. If you broke the compound word into two, a light bulb might be an undersized dormant tulip, using the adjective form of the word.

adjective + noun

When you do combine adjectives and nouns into compound words, you’ll often create a new noun that describes a specific item. Many schools still have blackboards at the front of the classrooms upon which teachers write in chalk, but there could be any number of things built out of black boards that have nothing to do with lessons.

adjective + verb

Similarly, the adjective/verb combination often results in a compound word with a specific meaning. To whitewash something means to cover it over or hide it, metaphorically. The noun “whitewash” refers to a substance made out of calcium hydroxide and chalk, often used in agriculture or as an inexpensive paint, and the literal meaning of “cover with a white coating to hide what is underneath” led to the new meaning of the verb.

verb + preposition

Be careful to note when the compound word is classified as a completely different part of speech from either of its component words, and be sure to note the proper times to use those word combinations in a sentence, either separately or as a compound word.

“A chick uses something called an ‘egg tooth’ to break through its shell on hatching.”
“The invention of the electron microscope led to many scientific breakthroughs.”

“Will you please take out the garbage tomorrow morning?”
“An estimated 25% of Americans eat takeout food for lunch or dinner every day.”

Mix up new compounds and add more substance to your vocabulary study today!