Noun + noun

Two nouns side by side can make one idea. The first noun works like an adjective and tells you what kind / what for; the second noun is the main thing.

💡Many languages put the main noun first (“driver of bus”). In English the main noun comes last: a bus driver, the city centre, car keys.

• My uncle is a taxi driver.

• Can I have your phone number?

• Turn left at the traffic lights.

Swap the nouns and the meaning changes: a flower garden is a garden (full of flowers), but a garden flower is a flower (grown in gardens).

Because the first noun works like an adjective, it usually has no -s, even when the meaning is plural: a shop that sells shoes → a shoe shop.

• There's a new shoe shop near my house.

  not: shoes shop

• I need a new toothbrush.

• Where's the ticket office?

• Exception: nouns that always end in -s keep it: a clothes shop, a sports car, a savings account
• Noun 1 can be an -ing form (what it's for): a swimming pool, a washing machine, a waiting room
• You can join more than two nouns: a hotel reception desk, a table tennis ball
• Spelling has no clear rule: some are one word (toothbrush, bedroom, headache), some are two (bus stop, post office). If you're not sure, write two words.

When a number + unit comes before a noun to describe it, the unit is singular and joined with hyphens: a ten-minute walk, a two-hour meeting, a five-year-old boy, a three-day trip.

• My school is a fifteen-minute walk from home.

  not: fifteen-minutes

• We stayed in a four-star hotel.

• She found a 50,000-dong note in her pocket.

You can also use -'s (see the lesson “-'s or of”): a ten-minute walk = ten minutes' walk.

Noun + noun names the object / the kind (a cup made for coffee). a … of … names what's inside (a cup full of coffee).

• I'd like a cup of tea, please.

  you want the tea

• Can you wash those coffee cups?

  the cups themselves

• Don't forget your water bottle.

• ✗My father is a driver bus.

  ✓My father is a bus driver.

  The main noun comes last.

• ✗We live in the centre city.

  ✓We live in the city centre.

  The main noun comes last.

• ✗She works in a shoes shop.

  ✓She works in a shoe shop.

  The first noun is usually singular.

• ✗It's a ten-minutes walk.

  ✓It's a ten-minute walk.

  Before a noun, the unit is singular.

• ✗I have a five-years-old daughter.

  ✓I have a five-year-old daughter.

  Before a noun, year has no -s.

• ✗I'm thirsty. Can I have a coffee cup?

  ✓I'm thirsty. Can I have a cup of coffee?

  To drink → a cup of coffee; a coffee cup is the cup.