Compound nouns are words formed by combining two or more words, usually a noun modified by another noun or an adjective. There are three main types of compound nouns: closed compounds with no space between words like bedroom; hyphenated compounds like daughter-in-law; and open compounds with a space like swimming pool. Compound nouns can be formed in many ways including noun+noun, adjective+noun, verb+noun, and preposition+noun combinations. The meaning of a compound noun may be different than the individual words.

1. COMPOUND NOUNS
A compound noun is a noun that is made with two or more words. A compound noun is
usually [noun + noun] or [adjective + noun], but there are other combinations (see below).
It is important to understand and recognize compound nouns. Each compound noun acts as
a single unit and can be modified by adjectives and other nouns.
There are three forms for compound nouns:
1. open or spaced - space between words (tennis shoe)
2. hyphenated - hyphen between words (six-pack)
3. closed or solid - no space or hyphen between words (bedroom)
Here are some examples of compound nouns:
noun + noun bus stop Is this the bus stop for the number
12 bus?
fire-fly In the tropics you can see fire-
flies at night.
football Shall we play football today?
adjective + noun full moon I always feel crazy at full moon.
blackboard Clean the blackboard please.
software I can't install this software on my
PC.
verb(-ing) + noun breakfast We always eat breakfast at 8am.

2. washing
machine
Put the clothes in the red washing
machine.
swimming
pool
What a beautiful swimming pool!
noun + verb(-ing) sunrise I like to get up at sunrise.
haircut You need a haircut.
train-spotting His hobby is train-spotting.
verb + preposition check-out Please remember that check-
out is at 12 noon.
noun + prepositional
phrase
mother-in-
law
My mother-in-law lives with us.
preposition + noun underworld Do you think the police accept
money from the underworld?
noun + adjective truckful We need 10 truckfuls of bricks.
Pronunciation
Compound nouns tend to have more stress on the first word. In the phrase "pink ball", both
words are equally stressed (as you know, adjectives and nouns are always stressed). In the
compound noun "golf ball", the first word is stressed more (even though both words are
nouns, and nouns are always stressed). Since "golf ball" is a compound noun we consider it

3. as a single noun and so it has a single main stress - on the first word. Stress is important in
compound nouns. For example, it helps us know if somebody said "a GREEN HOUSE" (a
house which is painted green) or "a GREEN house" (a building made of glass for growing
plants inside).
British/American differences
Different varieties of English, and even different writers, may use the open, hyphenated or
closed form for the same compound noun. It is partly a matter of style. There are no
definite rules. For example we can find:
 container ship
 container-ship
 containership
If you are not sure which form to use, please check in a good dictionary.
https://www.englishclub.com/grammar/nouns-compound.htm
COMPOUND NOUNS
For example:
The words tooth and paste are each nouns in their own right, but if you join them together
they form a new word - toothpaste.
The word black is an adjective and board is a noun, but if you join them together they form
a new word - blackboard.
In both these example the first word modifies or describes the second word, telling us what
kind of object or person it is, or what its purpose is. And the second part identifies the
object or person in question.
Compound nouns can also be formed using the following combinations of words:-
Noun + Noun Toothpaste
Adjective + Noun monthly ticket
Verb + Noun swimming pool
Preposition + Noun underground

4. Noun + Verb haircut
Noun + Preposition hanger on
Adjective + Verb dry-cleaning
Preposition + Verb output
The two parts may be written in a number of ways:-
1. Sometimes the two words are joined together.
Example: tooth + paste = toothpaste | bed + room = bedroom
2. Sometimes they are joined using a hyphen.
Example: check-in
3. Sometimes they appear as two separate words.
Example: full moon
There's a list of lots of compound words here.
A good dictionary will tell you how you should write each compound noun.
http://www.learnenglish.de/grammar/nouncompound.html
COMPOUND NOUN
What Is a Compound Noun
Most compound nouns contain at least one noun. The other word or words may be an
adjective, preposition, or verb. The second word is almost always the main word, with the
first word modifying it or adding to its meaning.
Compound words, a large group of words to which compound nouns belong, are expressed
in three ways.
 Closed form - has two words that have melded together to make one word, like:
softball, redhead, makeup, and keyboard.
 Hyphenated form examples are: six-pack, five-year-old, and son-in-law.
 Open form - has the words next to each other, like: post office, upper class, and
attorney general.
Sometimes, the hyphen disappears as the word is more widely used, and it becomes a
closed word.
Compound Noun List

5. Here are types of compound words and examples. The asterisks indicate types of compound
words that may be compound nouns.
 adjective/adjective - blue-green,
 adjective/noun - blackboard, full moon
 adjective/preposition - forthwith
 adjective/verb - dry-cleaning, highlight
 noun/adjective - snow white
 noun/noun - toothpaste, football, fish tank
 noun/preposition (adverb) - love-in, hanger on, passer-by
 noun/verb - haircut, browbeat, rainfall
 preposition/adjective - over-ripe
 preposition (adverb)/noun - underground, underworld, bystander, onlooker
 preposition/preposition - without
 preposition (adverb)/verb - output, undercut, outlook, overthrow
 verb/adjective - tumbledown
 verb/noun - swimming pool, breakwater, washing machine
 verb/preposition (adverb) - takeout, check-in, drawback, lookout
 verb/verb - freeze-dry
Plural and Possessive Rules
There are no hard and fast rules concerning plurals of compound words, especially since
some hyphens are omitted after time. In hyphenated words, usually the “s” goes at the end
of the main word, like daughters-in-law or mayors-elect. Sometimes it is at the end, like in
go-betweens and higher-ups. In the open form, the “s” is added to the main word, like: bills
of fare, assistant secretaries of state, and notaries public.
To make a compound word possessive, you usually add an apostrophe “s” at the end of the
word, like: mother-in-law’s car or five-year-old’s birthday. If the compound word is plural,
it can get a little strange with two “s” sounds close together, like: “fathers-in-law’s attire”.
If you can, it would be better to reword the sentence so the plural compound word does not
need to be possessive, like: “The attire of the fathers-in-law.”
http://grammar.yourdictionary.com/parts-of-speech/nouns/compound-noun.html
COMPOUND NOUNS
What are compound nouns? Here, we’ll take an up-close look at compound nouns so you
can recognize them when you see them, plus we’ll provide you with some compound noun
examples that will help you use them effectively.
Compound nouns are words for people, animals, places, things, or ideas, made up of two or
more words. Most compound nouns are made with nouns that have been modified by
adjectives or other nouns.

6. In many compound nouns, the first word describes or modifies the second word, giving us
insight into what kind of thing an item is, or providing us with clues about the item’s
purpose. The second word usually identifies the item.
Compound nouns are sometimes one word, like toothpaste, haircut, or bedroom. These are
often referred to as closed or solid compound nouns.
Sometimes compound nouns are connected with a hyphen: dry-cleaning, daughter-in-law,
and well-being are some examples of hyphenated compound nouns.
Sometimes compound nouns appear as two separate words: full moon, Christmas tree, and
swimming pool are some examples of compound nouns that are formed with two separate
words. These are often referred to as open or spaced compound nouns.
Compound Noun Examples
The more you read and write, the more compound noun examples you’ll encounter. The
following sentences are just a few examples of compound nouns. Compound noun
examples have been italicized for easy identification.
Compound nouns can be made with two nouns:
Let’s just wait at this bus stop.
I love watching fireflies on warm summer nights.
While you’re at the store, please pick up some toothpaste, a six-pack of ginger ale, and
some egg rolls.
Compound nouns can be made with an adjective and a noun:
Let’s watch the full moon come up over the mountain.
Please erase the blackboard for me.
Compound nouns can be made with a verb and a noun:
Be sure to add bleach to the washing machine.
Let’s be sure to stay somewhere with a swimming pool.

7. Compound nouns can be made with a noun and a verb:
He always gets up before sunrise.
I really could use an updated hairstyle.
Compound nouns can be made with a verb and a preposition:
Checkout is at noon.
Please remember to schedule your dog’s annual check-up.
Compound nouns can be made with a noun and a prepositional phrase:
My mother-in-law is the kindest person I know.
Compound nouns can be made with a preposition and a noun:
Do you believe in past lives?
This city is vibrant, so it’s hard to believe it has a thriving criminal underworld.
Compound nouns can be made with a noun and an adjective:
We need a truckful of mulch for the garden.
https://www.gingersoftware.com/content/grammar-rules/nouns/compound-nouns/
Compound
In linguistics, a compound is a lexeme (less precisely, a word) that consists of more than
one stem. Compounding or composition is the process of word formation that creates
compound lexemes (the other word-formation process' being derivation). That is, in
familiar terms, compounding occurs when two or more words are joined to make one
longer word. The meaning of the compound may be very different from the meanings of its
components in isolation. Usually, it is a noun with one or more preceding noun adjuncts.
 Formation of compounds
Agglutinative languages tend to create very long words with derivational morphemes.
Compounds may or may not require the use of derivational morphemes also. In Finnish,

8. although there is theoretically no limit to the length of compound words, words consisting
of more than three components are rare.
Compounds can be rather long when translating technical documents from English to some
other language, since the lengths of the words are theoretically unlimited, especially in
chemical terminology.
 Semantic classification
A common semantic classification of compounds yields four types:
 endocentric
 exocentric
 copulative
 appositional
An endocentric compound consists of a head, i.e. the categorical part that contains the
basic meaning of the whole compound, and modifiers, which restrict this meaning. For
example, the English compound doghouse, where house is the head and dog is the modifier,
is understood as a house intended for a dog. Endocentric compounds tend to be of the
same part of speech (word class) as their head, as in the case of doghouse. (Such
compounds were called tatpuruṣa in the Sanskrit tradition.)
Exocentric compounds (called a bahuvrihi compound in the Sanskrit tradition)
are hyponyms of some unexpressed semantic head (e.g. a person, a plant, an animal...), but
not of any its component which may be perceived as a formal head, and their meaning often
cannot be transparently guessed from its constituent parts. For example, the English
compound white-collar is neither a kind of collar nor a white thing. In an exocentric
compound, the word class is determined lexically, disregarding the class of the constituents.
For example, a must-have is not a verb but a noun. The meaning of this type of compound
can be glossed as "(one) whose B is A", where B is the second element of the compound
and A the first. A bahuvrihi compound is one whose nature is expressed by neither of the
words: thus a white-collar person is neither white nor a collar (the collar's colour is
a metonym for socioeconomic status). Other English examples include barefoot.
Copulative compounds are compounds which have two semantic heads.
Appositional compounds refer to lexemes that have two (contrary) attributes which
classify the compound.
Type Description Examples
endocentric A+B denotes a special kind of B darkroom, smalltalk
exocentric
A+B denotes a special kind of an skinhead, paleface (head:

9. unexpressed semantic head 'person')
copulative
A+B denotes 'the sum' of what A and B
denote
bittersweet, sleepwalk
appositional
A and B provide different descriptions for
the same referent
actor-director, maidservant
 Syntactic classification
Noun–noun compounds
Most natural languages have compound nouns. The positioning of the words (i. e. the most
common order of constituents in phrases where nouns are modified by adjectives, by
possessors, by other nouns, etc.) varies according to the language.
Verb–noun compounds
A type of compound that is fairly common in the Indo-European languages is formed of a
verb and its object, and in effect transforms a simple verbal clause into a noun.
In Spanish, for example, such compounds consist of a verb conjugated for the second
person singular imperative followed by a noun (singular or plural):
e.g., rascacielos (modelled on "skyscraper", lit. 'scratch skies'), sacacorchos ('corkscrew',
lit. 'pull corks'),guardarropa ('wardrobe', lit. 'store clothes'). These compounds are formally
invariable in the plural (but in many cases they have been reanalyzed as plural forms, and a
singular form has appeared).
This construction exists in English, generally with the verb and noun both in uninflected
form: examples are spoilsport, killjoy, breakfast, cutthroat, pickpocket, dreadnought,
and know-nothing.
Also common in English is another type of verb–noun (or noun–verb) compound, in which
an argument of the verb is incorporated into the verb, which is then usually turned into
a gerund, such as breastfeeding, finger-pointing, etc. The noun is often an instrumental
complement. From these gerunds new verbs can be made: (a mother) breastfeeds (a
child) and from them new compounds mother-child breastfeeding, etc.
A special kind of composition is incorporation, of which noun incorporation into a verbal
root (as in English backstabbing, breastfeed, etc.) is most prevalent (see below).
Verb–verb compounds
Verb–verb compounds are sequences of more than one verb acting together to determine
clause structure. They have two types:
 In a serial verb, two actions, often sequential, are expressed in a single clause. In each
case, the two verbs together determine the semantics and argument structure.

10. Serial verb expressions in English may include What did you go and do that for?, or He just
upped and left; this is however not quite a true compound since they are connected by a
conjunction and the second missing arguments may be taken as a case of ellipsis.
 In a compound verb (or complex predicate), one of the verbs is the primary, and
determines the primary semantics and also the argument structure. The secondary verb,
often called a vector verb or explicator, provides fine distinctions, usually in
temporality oraspect, and also carries the inflection (tense and/or agreement markers).
The main verb usually appears in conjunctive participial (sometimes zero) form.
 Compound verbs are very common in some languages, such as the northern Indo-Aryan
languages Hindustani and Panjabi, and Dravidian languages like Tamil, where as many
as 20% of verb forms in running text are compound. They exist but are less common in
other Indo-Aryan languages like Marathi and Nepali, in Tibeto-Burman
languages like Limbu and Newari, in Turkic languages like Turkish and Kyrgyz,
in Korean and Japanese, and in northeast Caucasian languages like Tsez and Avar.
 Under the influence of a Quichua substrate speakers living in the
Ecuadorian altiplano have innovated compound verbs in Spanish:
De rabia puso rompiendo la olla, 'In anger (he/she) smashed the pot.' (Lit. from
anger put breaking the pot)
Botaremos matándote 'We will kill you.' (Cf. Quichua huañuchi-shpa shitashun, lit.
kill-CP throw.1plFut.
 Compound verb equivalents in English (examples from the internet):
What did you go and do that for?
If you are not giving away free information on your web site then a huge proportion
of your business is just upping and leaving.
Big Pig, she took and built herself a house out of brush.
Caution: In descriptions of Persian and other Iranian languages the term 'compound verb'
refers to noun-plus-verb compounds, not to the verb–verb compounds discussed here.
Compound adpositions
Compound prepositions formed by prepositions and nouns are common in English and the
Romance languages (consider English on top of, Spanish encima de, etc.). Japanese shows
the same pattern, except the word order is the opposite (with postpositions): no naka (lit.
"of inside", i.e. "on the inside of"). Hindi has a small number of simple (i.e., one-word)

11. postpositions and a large number of compound postpositions, mostly consisting of simple
postposition ke followed by a specific postposition (e.g., ke pas, "near"; ke nīche,
"underneath").
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compound_(linguistics)
COUNTABLE / UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS
A noun can be countable or uncountable. Countable nouns can be "counted", they have a
singular and plural form.
For example:
 A book, two books, three books.....
 An apple, two apples, three apples....
Uncountable nouns (also called mass nouns or noncount nouns) cannot be counted, they are
not separate objects. This means you cannot make them plural by adding -s, because they
only have a singular form. It also means that they do not take a/an or a number in front of
them.
For example:
 Water
 Work
 Information
 Coffee
 Sand
Countable
(use a/an or a number in front of
countable nouns)
Uncountable
(there is no a/an or number with
uncountable nouns)
An Apple / 1 Apple Rice
I eat an apple every day.
I eat rice every day. (not I eat a rice
every day.)
Add (s) to make a countable noun
plural
There is no plural form for an
uncountable noun
apples rice

12. I eat an apple every day. Apples
are good for you.
I eat rice every day. Rice is good for
you.
A computer= Computers are fun.
To make uncountable nouns countable
add a counting word, such as a unit of
measurement, or the general word piece.
We use the form "a ....... of ......."
An elephant=Elephants are large. Rice=a grain of rice
Water=a glass of water
Rain=a drop of rain
Music=a piece of music
You can use some and any with
countable nouns.
Some dogs can be dangerous.
I don't use any computers at work.
You can use some and any with
uncountable nouns.
I usually drink some wine with my meal.
I don't usually drink any water with my
wine.
You only use many and few with
plural countable nouns.
So many elephants have been hunted
that they are an endangered species.
There are few elephants in England.
You only use much and little with
uncountable nouns.
I don't usually drink much coffee.
Little wine is undrinkable though.
You can use a lot of and no with plural
countable nouns.
No computers were bought last week.
A lot of computers were reported broken
the week before.
You can use a lot of and no with
uncountable nouns.
A lot of wine is drunk in France.
No wine is drunk in Iran.
Some mass nouns refer to groups of specific things.
For example:-
Tables, chairs, cupboards etc. are grouped under the mass noun furniture.
Plates, saucers, cups and bowls are grouped under the mass noun crockery.
Knives, forks, spoons etc. are grouped under the collective noun cutlery.

13. When you are travelling suitcases, bags etc. are grouped under the mass
noun luggage / baggage.
Making uncountable nouns countable
You can make most uncountable noun countable by putting a countable expression in front
of the noun.
For example:-
 A piece of information.
 2 glasses of water.
 10 litres of coffee.
 Three grains of sand.
 A pane of glass.
Sources of confusion with countable and uncountable nouns
The notion of countable and uncountable can be confusing.
Some nouns can be countable or uncountable depending on their meaning. Usually a noun
is uncountable when used in a general, abstract meaning (when you don't think of it as a
separate object) and countable when used in a particular meaning (when you can think of it
as a separate object).
For example:-
glass - Two glasses of water. (Countable) | A window made of glass. (Uncountable)
glasses - I wear glasses. (Always plural)
Some supposedly uncountable nouns can behave like countable nouns if we think of them
as being in containers, or one of several types.
This is because 'containers' and 'types' can be counted.
Believe it or not each of these sentences is correct:-

14. Doctors recommend limiting consumption to two coffees a day.
(Here coffees refers to the number of cups of coffee)
You could write; "Doctors recommend limiting consumption to two cups of coffee a day."
The coffees I prefer are Arabica and Brazilian.
(Here coffees refers to different types of coffee)
You could write; "The types of coffee I prefer are Arabica and Brazilian."
!Note - In good monolingual dictionaries, uncountable nouns are identified by [U] and
countable nouns by [C].
http://www.learnenglish.de/grammar/noununcount.html
PLURAL FORMS OF COMPOUND NOUNS
In general we make the plural of a compound noun by adding -s to the "base word" (the
most "significant" word). Look at these examples:
singular Plural
a tennis shoe three tennis shoes
one assistant headmaster five assistant headmasters
the sergeant major some sergeants major
a mother-in-law two mothers-in-law
an assistant secretary of state three assistant secretaries of state

15. singular Plural
my toothbrush our toothbrushes
a woman-doctor four women-doctors
a doctor of philosophy two doctors of philosophy
a passerby, a passer-by two passersby, two passers-by
Note that there is some variation with words like spoonful or truckful. The old style was to
say spoonsful or trucksful for the plural. Today it is more usual to say spoonfuls or
truckfuls. Both the old style (spoonsful) and the new style (spoonfuls) are normally
acceptable, but you should be consistent in your choice. Here are some examples:
old style plural (very formal) new style plural
teaspoonful 3 teaspoonsful of sugar 3 teaspoonfuls of sugar
truckful 5 trucksful of sand 5 truckfuls of sand
bucketful 2 bucketsful of water 2 bucketfuls of wáter
cupful 4 cupsful of rice 4 cupfuls of rice

16. Some compound nouns have no obvious base word and you may need to consult a
dictionary to find the plural:
 higher-ups
 also-rans
 go-betweens
 has-beens
 good-for-nothings
 grown-ups
Note that with compound nouns made of [noun + noun] the first noun is like an adjective
and therefore does not usually take an -s. A tree that has apples has many apples, but we
say an apple tree, not apples tree;matchbox not matchesbox; toothbrush not teethbrush.
With compound nouns made of [noun + noun] the second noun takes an -s for plural. The
first noun acts like an adjective and as you know, adjectives in English are invariable. Look
at these examples:
long plural form becomes →
plural compound noun
[noun + noun]
100 trees with apples 100 apple trees
1,000 cables for telephones 1,000 telephone cables
20 boxes for tools 20 tool boxes
10 stops for buses 10 bus stops
4,000 wheels for cars 4,000 car wheels
https://www.englishclub.com/grammar/nouns-compound-plural.htm

17. Spelling compound words with or without hyphens
Have you ever wondered whether compound words such as “monthlong” should be spelled
as one word, as a hyphenated phrase, or as two separate words? I spent some time looking
up the commonly used compounds listed inThe Associated Press Stylebook and Libel
Manual and checking the recommended spellings there against the recommended spellings
in William Sabin’s The Gregg Reference Manual and The American Heritage Dictionary.
Here’s what I found. You’re welcome to print a copy for reference.
Solid compounds (whether used as adjectives, adverbs, or nouns):
afterthought; anytime; anywhere; awestruck; backup; backyard; beforehand; breakdown;
breathtaking; buildup (also build-up); burnout; byproduct (also by-product); cannot;
caregiver; carryover; checkout; churchgoer; citywide; cleanup; colorblind; cooperative (but
co-op in its shortened form); copyedit (also copy-edit); countryside; coworker (also co-
worker); bankcard; database (also data base); daycare (also day care); daylong; easygoing;
extracurricular; falloff; freelance; frontline (also front line); fundraiser (also fund-raiser);
fundraising (also fund-raising); ghostwrite; goodwill (also good will); grass roots; grownup
(also grown-up); groundwater; hardcore; holdup; homeowner (but home ownership);
hourlong; inpatient; kickoff; lifestyle (also life-style, life style); makeup (also make-up);
marketplace; meantime; monthlong; nationwide; nevertheless; noncompliance;
nonconforming; nonconformity; nonetheless; nonprofit; notwithstanding; nowhere;
officeholder; onboard (also on-board); ongoing; online; outpatient; overexposure;
overgeneralization; overgeneralize; paperwork (also paper work); percent; policymaker,
policymaking (also policy-making); postscript; preempt, preemptive; printout; proactive
(also pro-active);proofread; pothole; redheaded (but red-haired); rollout; schoolmate;
schoolroom; schoolteacher; schoolwork; schoolyard (but school day and school year);
somewhere; spreadsheet; springtime; startup; statewide; stockholder; stockroom (also stock
room); storyteller; summertime; tablecloth; thereof; timeline; timesaving; tossup; touch
point; turnaround; voicemail; waitperson; webpage (also web page and Web page); website
(also web site and Web site); weekday; weekend; weeklong; whiteout; wintertime;
workbench; workday; workflow (but paper flow); workforce; workgroup (also work
group); workload; workout; workplace (also work place); workroom; worksheet;
workstation; worktable; workweek; workwoman; wrongdoing; yearlong

18. Hyphenated compounds (when used as adjectives, adverbs, or nouns):
able-bodied; absent-minded; ad-lib; A-frame; check-in; child-care (as an adjective; also
childcare as an adjective; child care as a noun); clean-cut; clearing-house (also
clearinghouse); close-up; co-insurance (also coinsurance); co-op (but cooperative in its long
form, and cooperate as a verb); co-payment (also copayment); email (also e-mail); empty-
handed; fact-finding; father-in-law; far-flung; far-off; far-ranging; follow-through (also
followthrough); follow-up (also followup); front-runner (also frontrunner); frame-up; free-
for-all; get-together; get-tough; G-string; half-mast; half-staff; hand-picked; hanky-panky;
hi-fi; high-tech; ho-hum; hush-hush; in-depth; in-law; in-network; know-how; life-size;
mind-blowing; mind-boggling; mother-in-law; narrow-minded; nitty-gritty; not-for-profit;
on-site; one-sided; passer-by; pell-mell; pooh-pooh; red-haired (but redheaded); red-hot; re-
elect, re-election; roly-poly; second-rate; self-service; shrink-wrap; sign-in; sign-on; soft-
spoken; straight-laced; strong-arm; strong-willed; time-consuming; T-shirt; U-boat; U-turn;
V-neck; voice-over; vote-getter; walk-through (as a noun); warm-up; weak-kneed; well-
being; well-to-do; wheeler-dealer; word-of-mouth; worn-out; write-out; year-end
Spaced words:
African American (also African-American); after all (also afterall); cash flow; child care
(as a noun; child-care or childcare as an adjective);course work; every time; fact sheet;
food shelf; health care (alsohealthcare); help desk; life span; mind frame; more so; on site
(but on-site review); paper flow (but workflow); profit sharing (but profit-sharing
arrangement); pro forma; pro rata; school day; school year (but schoolmate; schoolroom;
schoolteacher; schoolwork; schoolyard); time frame (but timeline); time saver; vice
president (and similar terms--formerly hyphenated compounds); waiting room; word
processing (but word-processed material); work release
Words whose spelling changes
according to how they are used

19. Spaced words as noun phrases or adverbial phrases; hyphenated compounds as
compound adjectives (or unit modifiers) preceding nouns:
day to day (as in We worked day to day), day-to-day (as in our day-to-day routine); door to
door, door-to-door; eye to eye, eye-to-eye; long distance, long-distance (but always long-
distance in reference to telephone calls, as in I ran a long distance in a long-distance race
to call you long-distance); long term, long-term; one time, one-time; out of bounds, out-of-
bounds; out of court, out-of-court; out of network, out-of-network; out of pocket, out-of-
pocket; right to work, right-to-work; roll call, roll-call; note: second-rate (in all uses); side
by side, side-by-side; white collar, white-collar; working class, working-class
Solid compounds as indefinite pronouns; two words to single out a member of a
group:
anybody, any body (as in any body of water); anyone, any one (as in any one of you);
anyway, any way (as in any way you look at it); everyone, every one; nobody, no body
Spaced words as verbs with prepositions used as adverbs; solid compounds as nouns
or adjectives:
back up (as in Be sure to back up your files), backup (as in The sergeant called for backup);
build up (as in You need to build up a resistance to this bug), buildup (as in The military
buildup is worrisome); check off, checkoff; check out, checkout; check up, checkup; clean
up, cleanup; crack up, crackup; cut back, cutback; cut off, cutoff; hand off, handoff; hand
out, handout; hold out; holdout; make up, makeup; pick up, pickup; roll out, rollout; set up,
setup; shut down, shutdown; smash up, smashup; speed up, speedup; stand off, standoff;
stand out, standout; take off, takeoff; take out, takeout; take over, takeover, take up, takeup;
wind up, windup; work out, workout; work up, workup.
Spaced words as verbs with prepositions used as adverbs; hyphenated compounds as
nouns or adjectives:

20. call up (as in Let’s call up the reserves), call-up (as in The call-up came at a bad time);
check in, check-in; follow through, follow-through; follow up, follow-up; push up, push-
up; cover up, cover-up; hands off, hands-off; send off, send-off; shake up, shake-up; sign
in, sign-in; sign on, sign-on; start up, start-up; tie in, tie-in; tie up, tie-up; trade in, trade-in;
trade off, trade-off; walk up, walk-up; warm up, warm-up; write out, write-out
Spaced words as nouns; hyphenated compounds as verbs:
spot check (as in The spot check was a surprise), spot-check (as in If you can’t proofread
the document, at least spot-check it)
Spaced words as articles or adjectives with nouns; solid compounds as adjectives:
a while (as in for a while), awhile (as in awhile later); a long time, longtime; every day,
everyday; health care (healthcare); under water, underwater
Spaced words as adverbs with adjectives; hyphenated compounds as adjectives
preceding nouns:
so called (as in He was so called because he was foolish), so-called (as inThe so-called
leader of the group)
Spaced words as prepositions with adverbs; solid compounds as adjectives or adverbs:
over all (as in The coffee spilled over all my papers), overall (as inOverall, things aren’t so
bad)
Spaced words as adjectives following nouns; solid compounds as adjectives preceding
nouns:

21. under way (as in The remodeling is under way), underway (as inunderway refueling)
Spaced words as adjectives and nouns; solid compounds as adjectives:
every day (as in Read every day), everyday (as in my everyday routine)
Spaced words as adverbs; hyphenated compounds as adjectives:
upside down (as in The pizza landed upside down), upside-down (as inThe picture was
upside-down)
Solid compounds as nouns; hyphenated compounds as adjectives:
grownup (also grown-up), grown-up
Spaced words as adjectives with nouns; hyphenated compounds as adjectives or
nouns:
left hand, left-handed, left-hander; right hand, right-handed, right-hander
http://www.wilbers.com/part24.htm