English Grammar Understanding the Basics - Evelyn P. Altenberg, Robert M. Vago 2010

Lesson 43: Compound noun phrases
Unit 14: Compound phrases
Part II: Kinds of phrases

Coordinating conjunctions, such as and, or, and but, are very powerful. As we discussed in Lesson 18, they can join any two units of the same type. Here are some examples with and, the most common coordinating conjunction:

1. He gave tennis lessons to the girl and her brother. (two noun phrases joined)

2. I cooked dinner and washed the laundry. (two verb phrases joined)

3. Their beautiful and charming hostess soon put them at ease. (two adjectives joined)

4. My mother listened to me seriously and patiently. (two adverbs joined)

5. The monkey ran up the tree and around its trunk. (two prepositional phrases joined)

6. I rode my bike and Teresa walked. (two sentences joined)

In this unit, we’ll take a closer look at joined noun phrases and joined verb phrases.

Lesson 43: Compound noun phrases

What do you notice about this next sentence?

1. My friend worked at the diner and his cousin worked at the diner.

While it’s a perfectly grammatical sentence, we often choose to make it less repetitious and say instead:

2. My friend and his cousin worked at the diner.

Since and, a coordinating conjunction, is joining two noun phrases here, my friend and his cousin is called a compound noun phrase.

Quick tip 43.1

Two noun phrases joined by a coordinating conjunction is called a compound noun phrase.

Here are some more examples, with the compound noun phrases underlined.

3. She slipped the photograph and both letters into her pocket.

4. The senator or his assistant will attend the event.

5. I’ll be traveling to Kansas and Missouri next week on business.

Test yourself 43.1

Underline the compound noun phrases in each of the sentences below.

Sample: The public discovered that the company and its subsidiaries were cheating customers.

Getting started (answers on p. 197)

1. They had walked for miles and miles.

2. Henry felt guilt and shame for what he had done.

3. Vermont has lots of old houses and rustic barns.

4. The young bride is going shopping with her mother or mother-in-law.

5. Paying for gas and electricity costs a lot more this year than last.

More practice (answers on the website)

6. Michael and I have been best friends for years.

7. Delta Airlines and Air France have flights to Paris from the U.S.

8. The lead actress or director will likely win Oscars.

9. Audi and BMW are owned by German companies.

10. The president and his foreign visitor held a joint press conference.