Compound nouns

Do you like ice cream? Have you ever had problems with your computer keyboard? Words like ice cream and keyboard are compound nouns. These are nouns that are made up of... well, listen to this week's Vocabulary to find out. Finn and Alice are here to give you a helping hand!

• we'll help you understand the rules of using just, already and yet with the present perfect tense. See you then

• Finn   
  And me, Finn. Today we're looking at compound nouns.

  Alice  
  What are you eating, Finn??

  Finn   
  Popcorn. I've also got some ice cream - do you want some Alice?

  Alice  
  Well, maybe after the show.

  Finn   
  Sorry. In today's show, we're looking at compound nouns.

  Alice  
  We'll look at what they are, what they mean and how to use them.

  Finn   
  There'll be a quiz...

  Alice  
  And we'll leave you with a tasty top tip for learning vocabulary.

  Finn   
  So, first up: we're going to listen to Bill and his daughter-in-law talking about Bill's computer.

  Alice  
  And here's a question to think about while you listen: what's wrong with Bill's laptop?

  Finn   
  What's wrong with Bill's laptop? Let’s find out.

  INSERT
  Bill                 
  I'm having problems with this new software.

  Susan
  Where's Mike? He's good with computers.

  Bill     
  He's buying postcards at the post office, I think.

  Susan
  Let's have a look then. I think I can fix this.

  Bill
  Susan, you're my favourite daughter-in-law! But should I buy a new laptop?

  Susan
  I think you’ll have to Bill. This keyboard doesn’t work at all.

  Alice  
  So, that’s Bill and his daughter-in-law. And we asked you: what’s wrong with Bill’s laptop?

  Finn   
  And the answer is: the keyboard doesn't work.

  Alice  
  Now, keyboard is a key word in today's show because it's an example of a compound noun.

  Finn   
  That's right. In English vocabulary, we often put two or more nouns together to form a new noun, with a meaning that combines the meanings of the two original nouns. We call these words compound nouns.

  Alice  
  For example, keyboard. The second part - board - names the thing we are talking about.

  Finn   
  The first part tells us what type of thing it is – it's a board with keys.

  Alice  
  Now, we usually write keyboard as one word. Same with laptop, software and postcard. But we write others as two words.

  Finn   
  For example, post office - it's an office where we post things and we write it as two words.

  Alice  
  Unfortunately there aren't really any rules about when to write compound nouns as one word and when to write them as two words - so be sure to use a good dictionary!

  IDENT                      
  You're listening to bbclearningenglish.com.

  Alice  
  And we're talking about compound nouns. And if you were listening carefully earlier on you might have noticed a few compound nouns right at the start. Popcorn was one of them. We also heard ice cream - another compound noun!