ABSTRACT
Nouns can be compounded from the stem of a verb, an adjective, adverb or preposition, but most frequently they are simply two or more nouns joined into one. The basic element of such a word is always the last one and, hence, the gender of a compound is always decided by the last element. The stress is regularly on the first element, although there are a few exceptions, which we will mark with a stress sign. Following are some examples of compounds:
noun + noun het bad + de kamer = de badkamer bathroom
adverb + noun buiten + de wereld = de buitenwereld outside world
adjective + noun klein + het kind = het kleinkind grandchild
verb + noun blussen + het apparaat = het blusapparaat fire extinguisher
preposition + noun het voorbeeld example
4 5 6 7 8 9 1011 1 12111 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 20111 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 30111 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
adjective + verb hard + lopen = hardlopen to run
preposition + verb uit + gaan = uitgaan to go out
Let’s try it
Look at the compound noun and name the basic elements. What do you think each one means?
