noun modifiers

◊ GRAMMAR

A noun modifier is a noun that is used in front of another noun to give more specific information about someone or something. It is nearly always singular.

...the car door.

...a football player.

...a surprise announcement.

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A few plural nouns remain plural when used as modifiers. See section on plural nouns in entry at ↑ Nouns.

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The use of noun modifiers is very common in English. You can use noun modifiers to indicate a wide range of relationships between two nouns. For example, you can indicate:

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• what something is made of, as in `cotton socks'

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• what is made in a particular place, as in `a glass factory'

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• what someone does, as in `a football player'

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• where something is, as in `my bedroom curtains' and `Brighton Technical College'

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• when something happens, as in `the morning mist' and `her wartime activities'

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• the nature or size of something, as in `a surprise attack' and `a pocket chess-set'

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See also entry at ↑ Possession and other relationships.

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Noun modifiers can be used together.

...car body repair kits.

...a family dinner party.

...a Careers Information Officer.

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Adjectives can be put in front of a noun modifier.

...a long car journey.

...a new scarlet silk handkerchief.

...complex business deals.

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