mystery unraveled

Question

I think a thread or two might have touched on this but since I am not sure and some responses, as I can recall, weren't clear, so, if I may, can I ask you how it is that a noun can function both as a noun and adjective? To know whether a noun can function both ways, do l have to rely on the dictionary and that book is the only source to know about it? If the word is listed as both a noun and an adjective, then it can be used both ways?

e.g.

He is Hindu.

Cool Breeze · Accepted Answer

Your reasoning about relying on dictionaries makes sense. In addition to that, many proper nouns can be used adjectivally.
Some examples:

a Marlon Brando movie, a London theatre, a Liverpool train.

Cheers
CB

Clive · Answer

Hi guys,

It's not just proper nouns. eg a car wash, a car door, a book club, a kitchen table.

You might refer to a grammar book for details/guidelines on doing this, eg Michael Swan's Practical English Usage, Section 21 on 'nouns used as adjectives' and Secton 424 on 'nouns in groups'.

Best wishes, Clive

Cool Breeze · Answer

CliveHi guys,

It's not just proper nouns. eg a car wash, a car door, a book club, a kitchen table.

You might refer to a grammar book for details/guidelines on doing this, eg Michael Swan's Practical English Usage, Section 21 on 'nouns used as adjectives' and Secton 424 on 'nouns in groups'.

Best wishes, Clive

Hi Clive

You're absolutely right (as usual). I suppose the reason these didn't come to my mind is the fact that in many other languages, like my mother tongue, there are a lot more compounds and because of that I tend to think of these English two-word expressions as words that in English are just not compounds, although they really should be! I am wrong, of course.

Cheers
CB

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