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Anonymous Posted 11 years ago
Grammar

Compound nouns

Hi,
I understand that a compound noun can be formulated by two names, i.e., noun + noun.
Now, may anyone helps me to understand why saying “coins collection” instead of “coin collection” is grammatically incorrect, however saying “communications network” is a correct one?

Thanks!
  

Top answer

The semantics is different. A brick wall -> a wall made of bricks. " A rose garden -> a garden made of roses.

— AlpheccaStars

  • The semantics is different.
  • A brick wall -> a wall made of bricks.
  • " A rose garden -> a garden made of roses.
  • " A coin collection -> a collection of coins.
  • ) A tree house -> a house built in a tree.
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4 Answers
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The semantics is different.

A brick wall -> a wall made of bricks. We never say a "bricks wall."
A rose garden -> a garden made of roses. We never say a "roses garden."
A coin collection -> a collection of coins. (The same goes with stamp collection, record collection, book collection, and doll collection.)
A tree house -> a house built in a tree.

Th
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"noun + noun" compounds with a plural first noun are fairly uncommon. One reason why "communications network" works and "coins collection" does not is that "communications" is "not as plural" as "coins". That is, "communications" can be viewed as a singular concept in a way that "coins" cannot.
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AnonymousNow, may can anyone helps help me to understand why ...
You're usually safe with the singular for the first of two nouns, so use that if you have to guess. Nevertheless, a minority of cases have to be memorized as exceptions. Probably the most common except
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Interesting. Three slightly different answers to that question, and all three make sense to me.
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