Word order in premodification

"two-year" and "teenage" are not nouns.

EnglishGirlI read in some grammar that nouns in premodification come closer to the head. ... Why is that so?

Adjective order lists are guidelines, not set in stone, and much depends on the relations between the modifiers. However, in your examples, while 'year' may be a noun, 'two-year' certainly seem to me to be an adjective, and the '-ing' verb form there i

Thank you. I have just checked in the dictionary and it says that teenage is an adjective. But in my workbook it says that teenage and two-year are noun phrases. It must be an error.

Also I have this example

a dancing girl
dancing classes

It says that the first dancing is a participle and the second dancing is a NP. Is it correct? It is rather confusing...espc. when

EnglishGirlAlso I have this examplea dancing girl dancing classesIt says that the first dancing is a participle and the second dancing is a NP. Is it correct? It is rather confusing...espc. when there are so much incorrect information.

I have been speaking English for over 66 years, studying it (not too seriously at first) for nearly as long, and teaching it f

EnglishGirla dancing girl
dancing classes
It says that the first dancing is a participle and the second dancing is an NP. Is that correct?

I agree. I’d also call dancing in a dancing girl a VP.

EnglishGirlIt says that the first dancing is a participle and the second dancing is a NP.

I can go along with that too. A girl who is dancing vs classes [for dancing / to learn dancing].

CJ

Thank you.