NOUN PHRASES

NOUN + NOUN

WHAT THINGS ARE MADE OF

a cardboard box, lavender soap, a girl band

ORIGIN

a Government official, a city guy / girl,

OTHER CONNECTIONS

a child prodigy, a control freak, a Facebook friend, a tea break, a computer technician, a health issue, a design flaw

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NOUN +'S/S' + NOUN

AN ACTION DONE TO / BY SOMEBODY

the employee's dismissal / hiring

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PARTS OF PEOPLE'S / ANIMALS' BODIES

the boy's bangs, the girl's braids

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NOUN + PREPOSITION + NOUN

• NO COMPOUND NOUN EXISTS

a book about the 3rd Reich, a guy on TV

• PHRASE BECOMES TOO LONG

The technician's dismissal, but...

The dismissal of the technician who had been hired just a few months before.

• SOME COLLOCATIONS

the girlfriend from hell, on the tip of my tongue, an invasion of privacy

PRODUCTS FROM ANIMALS

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IF DEAD: NOUN + NOUN

pork fat, chicken breast

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IF ALIVE: NOUN'S / S' + NOUN

goat's cheese, hen's eggs

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THINGS THAT OCCUR ...

• REGULARLY: NOUN + NOUN

the morning shift, the Monday morning blues, the Christmas dinner

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• AT A SPECIFIC TIME: NOUN'S/S' + NOUN

last night's pub crawl, this morning's hangover

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DURATION & LENGTH

It can be expressed ...

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• NOUN + NOUN

a two-hour lecture, a three-kilometre stretch, a 30-page (university) paper

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• NOUN'S / 'S + NOUN

a day's work, an hour's delay

CONTAINERS

JUST CONTAINERS: NOUN + NOUN

a beer glass, a tea cup

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CONTAINERS + CONTENTS

a glass of wine, a cup of coffee

THINGS...

POSSESSION BY A PARTICULAR PERSON OR ANIMAL

the dog's toy, Paris Hilton's poodle's new* toy,

my children's trendy trainers.

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SOMETHING USED IN GENERAL

a glossy* women's magazine, men's shoes, trendy children's trainers.

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(*) notice the position of the adjective

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