Compound or phrase?
Hi!
I’m new to compounds and phrases and I’m trying to understand the difference. What kind of tests can one do to identify if this example is a phrase and compound?
‘strong opposition’
I think it's a phrase but not sure.
Thanks for the help!
Top answer
Yes, it's a phrase. Compounds are single words, sometimes hyphenated: greenhouse, newspaper, pillow-case, city-dweller, headstrong, ankle-deep and so on. The two bases in a compound cannot be separated; they work as a single unit of meaning.
- Yes, it's a phrase.
- Compounds are single words, sometimes hyphenated: greenhouse, newspaper, pillow-case, city-dweller, headstrong, ankle-deep and so on.
- The two bases in a compound cannot be separated; they work as a single unit of meaning.
- Compare greenhouse and green house , which have very different meanings.
- Your example, strong opposition , is not a compound but a syntactic construction, more precisely a noun phrase consisting of modifier ( strong ) + head ( opposition ).
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Yes, it's a phrase.
Compounds are single words, sometimes hyphenated:
greenhouse, newspaper, pillow-case, city-dweller, headstrong, ankle-deep and so on.
The two bases in a compound cannot be separated; they work as a single unit of meaning. Compare greenhouse and green house, which have very different meanings.
Your example, strong opposition
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