Module 1

Module 2: Formation of Words

2.3 Nouns

Day 2: Gerunds and Compound Nouns 動名詞和複合名詞

Yesterday, we came across countable and uncountable nouns. Do you know that English also has nouns that are built from verbs?

昨天我們學了一些可數和不可數名詞. 你知道還有一些名詞是由動詞繁衍出來嗎?

At first glimpse, you might not be aware that a verbal noun is a noun. Indeed, verbal nouns can also be used at the start of noun phrases and occur with many of the usual modifiers in a sentence. 驟眼看, 那些動名詞或許不像名詞. 但事實上,它們都可以作為名詞短句的開首, 更可與其他一些常用修飾語一並用在句子中.

In this chapter, we will come across (1) Gerunds 動名詞 (2) Infinitives 原形動詞 and (3) Compound Nouns 複合名詞

1. Gerunds動名詞

A gerund is a noun that created from a verb. In order to make a ‘gerund’, you must add ‘ing’ to the verb. A gerund is identical in form to the present participle but it is a noun, while a participle is an adjective:

動名詞是一個由動詞所產生出來的名詞. 要做一個動名詞, 我們要在動詞後面加上 ‘ing’. 但是, 這是跟現在分詞完全不一樣的(雖然它亦是在動詞後面加上‘ing’)!! 動名詞是一個名詞, 但現在分詞則是一個形容詞.

Gerund: I enjoy swimming in summer

Adjective: Rinse the wound under cold running water

2. Infinitives原形動詞

The infinitive form of the verb is a compound verb, which is made up of "to" and the basic form of the verb.

原形動詞是個複合動詞, 是由"to"和最基本的動詞形式

 to buzz

 to believe

 to develop

 to dip

 to stride

For example,

1.	To become a successful singer					was her lifelong dream.
2.	To go back to New York				was her dream.
3.	To wait	seemed stupid when decisive action was required.
4.	Everybody wanted			to go.
5.	Her dream is		to fly.

3. Compound Nouns 複合名詞

Compound Nouns are formed when words are combined to form a unit. A compound noun normally has two elements. These two parts of the Compound Noun can be written as one word, like ‘fireman’ ‘girlfriend’; or as two words joined with a hyphen, e.g. ‘ice-cream’ ‘dinning-table’; or two separate words, e.g. ‘water tank’ ‘emergency room’ etc.

Compound Nouns can be formed by combining…

1. Noun and Noun e.g. headquarter, policeman

2. Noun and Verb e.g. haircut, Stamp collecting

3. Noun and Adverb e.g. passer-by,

4. Verb and Noun e.g. shopping cart, waiting list

5. Verb and Adverb e.g. flyover

6. Adjective and Noun e.g. hothead, bad debt

7. Adjective and Verb e.g. whitewash

8. Adverb and Noun e.g. underclass

9. Adverb and Verb e.g. input

From the above example, you might be able to notice that, generally, the second part identifies the object or person (man, friend, tank, table, room) while the first component gives us information of what kind of object or person it is, or what its purpose is (police, boy, water, dining, bed).

For instance,

“Fireman” refers to the person who puts out fire

“Shopping cart” refers to the equipment (i.e. a cart) that is used for shopping

“Underclass” refers to the social class of the society that is under privileged.