English Advanced Grammar Exercises – Compounding

A. Complete the sentences with compound nouns made from the underlined words.

1   I swim in this pool. It’s a …………………………… .

2   We play pool on this table. It’s a …………………………… .

3   This is the top part o f a table. It’s a …………………………… .

4   You can buy hats in this shop. It’s a …………………………… .

5   There are two assistants in the shop. They’re both …………………………… .

6   He is a manager who is the main manager’s assistant. He’s the …………………………… .

7   This is a small hill made by a mole. It’s a …………………………… .

8   I love walking in the hills. My hobby is …………………………… .

9   In this race, you have to walk fast. It’s a …………………………… .

10   This horse takes part in races. It’s a …………………………… .

B. Make compound nouns and adjectives from the underlined words. Be careful with plurals.

1   This shop sells toys.   a …………………

2   This hotel has five stars.   a ………………… hotel

3   We were on holiday for two weeks.   a ………………… holiday

4   This hall is used for sports.   a …………………

5   This is a place where cars park.   a …………………

6   This person is an expert in art.   an …………………

7   This person is manager of the sales department.   a …………………

8   This man is 20 years old.   a ………………… man

9   You wear these bands on your arms when you’re learning to swim.   …………………

10   We’ll go there for two days.   a ………………… visit

C. Match the sentence beginnings to the correct endings.

a   skinned if you want to be a politician.

b   matched couple.

c   spoken.

d   hearted effort to help.

e   table discussion.

f   breaking story.

g   mannered.

h   sided shape.

i   standing agreement to help each other.

j   haired boy.

D. Circle the correct option. Use a dictionary if necessary.

1   You shouldn’t wake someone up when they’re ……..walking.

      a sleep     b night     c dream

2   It used to be an ……..day experience to go to the post office, but these days people do it much less often.

      a each     b every     c all

3   I often sit and day…….. instead of concentrating on what people are saying,

      a nap     b sleep     c dream

4   She told me she comes from a hard-…….. family, but they’re actually very well-off.

      a up     b off     c away

5   After a half-hour workout in the gym, I always have a ……..-earned break.

      a good     b nicely     c well

6   He’s such a know-…….. . He thinks he’s an expert on everything!

      a it     b all     c everything

7   He did a lot of pains…….. research for this book, but it was worth the effort.

      a giving     b making     c taking

8   Don’t pay any attention to her – there’s nothing wrong with her, she’s just …….. -acting.

      a play     b game     c drama

9   We stopped at a drive-…….. restaurant on the way, but we didn’t go inside – we wanted to keep driving.

      a by     b away     c through

10   She played her guitar in the street, and soon there was a large group of by-…….. watching her.

      a watchers     b standers     c lookers

E. Complete the sentences, using compound nouns made from the words in the box.

1   I can’t write with this – it’s too blunt. Have you got a …………………… that I can borrow?

2   Phew – it smells terrible in here! Have we got any ……………………?

3   Mmm! My brother gave me this home-made honey – he’s an amateur …………………… .

4   Before turning the washing machine on, remember to add some …………………… as well as detergent.

5   My new multi-tool has got everything: a knife, scissors, a screwdriver, and even a ……………………!

6   I can’t believe how dirty your carpet is! Haven’t you got a ……………………?

7   My little brother loves the Internet and he’s very artistic, so he wants to be a …………………… .

8   My sister is a …………………… in her free time; last year she went on an expedition to Mount Everest, but unfortunately she didn’t get all the way to the top.

9   You seem to spend hours lying on the sofa and you never seem to do anything! I don’t understand how you can be such a ……………………!

10   Julie’s a really keen …………………… . Ever since she first picked up a racket when she was about five, it’s as if she’s always been holding one!

F. Circle the correct option.

1   He works in a ………. . They make the screens for computers.

      a screen computer factory

      b factory screen computer

      c computer screen factory

2   Eating too many sweets can give you really bad ………. .

      a toothache

      b teethache

      c tooth-pain

3   His hobby is ………. .

      a climbing mountain

      b mountains climbing

      c mountain climbing

4   They’ve got an ………. baby.

      a eight-week-old

      b eight weeks old

      c eight-weeks-old

5   I used to love ice cream but I got fed with getting headaches!

      a off     b up     c out