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This is the BBC. This podcast is supported by advertising outside the UK. This is a download from BBC Learning English to find out more. Visit our website. Six minutes away from BBC Learning English dot com.

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Hello and welcome to Six Minute Vocabulary with me, Alex and me, Finn. And today we're we're looking at compound nouns.

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And what are you eating them? Popcorn.

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I've also got some ice cream. Do you want some, Alice?

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Well, maybe after the show. Oh, sorry.

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In today's show, we're looking at Compound Nans.

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

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There will be a quiz and we'll leave you with a tasty top tip for learning vocabulary.

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

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And here's a question to think about while you listen. What's wrong with Bill's laptop?

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

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I'm having problems with this new software. Where's my keys? Good. With computers.

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

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Let me have a look then. Uh huh. I think I can fix this.

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Susan, you're my favorite daughter in law, but should I buy a new laptop? I think you'll have to build this keyboard. Doesn't work at all.

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So that's Bill and his daughter in law. And we asked you what's wrong with Bill's laptop?

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And the answer is the keyboard doesn't work.

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

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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 compounds, for example, keyboard.

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The second part board names, the thing we are talking about, and the first part tells us what type of thing it is.

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It's a board with keys.

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

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

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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.

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You're listening to BBC Learning English dotcom, and we're talking about compound nouns, and if you are listening carefully, earlier on, you might have noticed a few compound nouns right at the start, popcorn with one of them. We also had ice cream, another compound noun.

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And you may also have noticed how these words are pronounced with compound nouns.

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The stress usually goes on the first part, like this popcorn ice cream keyboard. Now, what's our final example? Ali's daughter in law.

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This compound noun is made of a noun and a prepositional phrase.

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Now, when we write three word compounds, we usually use hyphens, little dashes between the words.

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This shows the three words go together and the plural is daughters in law, not daughter in laws. We are talking about two daughters, so we add the plural s to this word. Do you have any daughters in law, Alison?

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No, I don't. Think I'm far too young to have any. Course you are. Yes, but I do have a sister in law and she's a lovely woman. Lovely. Very nice. Let's hear about compound nouns again.

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Their fixed expressions formed from two or three words linked together in different ways.

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There are compounds we write as one word like keyboard software and popcorn, but we write some of them as two separate words like post office and ice cream.

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That's right. Now it's time for a quiz.

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I'm going to say a compound noun. And I'm also going to say whether we write it as one word, two words or with hyphens and you decide if this is true or false.

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Ready? Yes.

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Number one, popcorn, two words. And that's false. It's one word. No.

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Two ice cream, one word false. It's two words.

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And number three, daughters in law with hyphens. True.

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That's right. It has hyphens well done if you got those right.

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And that brings us almost to the end of the program.

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But before we finish, here's today's top tip for learning vocabulary. Practice the pronunciation of compound nouns. The stress is on the first word.

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So try saying hot dog with an equal stress on both words. Hot dog. This means a dog that is hot.

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Then say it again with the stress on the first word. Hot dog. That's a type of sausage snack. Oh great. Thank you.

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And that's wonderful. There's more about this that busy learning English dotcom. Join us again for more six minute vocabulary by.