Day 14 Compound nouns and Present perfect with just, already and yet

1.Compound nouns

Compound nouns are nouns that are made up of a combination of two (or sometimes more) nouns or a combination of a noun and a prepositional phrase. Some examples of these are:

popcorn
keyboard
hot dog
ice cream
daughter-in-law
father-in-law
There are three ways that compound nouns can be written: with the two nouns making up the compound noun placed together without a space between them, with the two nouns separated by a space, and with the words connected by hyphens (a hyphen is this punctuation mark - )

There are no rules for the first two ways of writing compound nouns (with or without a space between the two nouns), so it is a good idea to check in a good dictionary. You can also check whether you can write plural forms of these compound nouns (e.g. keyboards)

Form

Without a space:

pop + corn = popcorn
key + board = keyboard
post + card = postcard
With a space:

hot + dog = hot dog
ice + cream = ice cream
alarm + clock = alarm clock
The third way of writing compounds here is a combination of a noun (daughter) and a prepositional phrase (-in-law). When we write these the form is:

daughter + -in-law = daughter-in-law
father + -in-law = father-in-law
Pronunciation

We pronounce most compound nouns, especially those made up of two nouns, with the stress on the first syllable. This is important as it can change the meaning.

hot dog (the same stress on each word) = a dog that is hot

hot dog (more stress on the first word) = a snack made from a bread bun and a sausage

2.Present perfect with just, already and yet

Meaning and use
The present perfect is often used to say whether an action has happened or not at the present time. The action might be necessary or expected by someone, and we want to say if it is complete or not.

I’ve done the washing up, so come and sit down.
The words just, already and yet are very common with this use of the present perfect.

Nell’s just phoned with her exam results.
‘Can you lock the back door?’ ‘I’ve already locked it.’
We can still catch the bus. It hasn’t left yet.
Just = a very short time ago

Already = before now or earlier than you/I expected

Yet = before now / until now

We use just and already mainly in positive sentences.

She’s just finished her second year at university.
‘I’ve already done that module.’ ‘Wow, that’s quick!’
We use yet in negative sentences and in questions.

Steve hasn’t decided which course to apply for yet.
Has your tutor approved your research topic yet?
Form
The present perfect is made with subject + have/has/haven’t/hasn’t + past participle. We put just and already between have/has and the past participle.

We usually put yet at the end of a negative sentence or question.

Positive
‘I think the lecture has just started so we haven’t missed much.’
‘No, it’s already finished. It was an hour earlier than usual.’
Negative
I haven’t started the final assignment yet.
Question
Have you handed in your end-of-year assignment yet?
Take note: already
It is possible to put already at the end of a positive sentence. This is more common in American English.

The lecture has already finished!
The lecture has finished already.
Spoken English
In sentences with just and already, there is usually no stress on has/have or on just/already. The stress is on the subject and the past participle.

The lecture has already finished.
Nell has just phoned.
But we can put stress on just/already if we want to emphasise how recently or early something happened.

‘Has Nell phoned?’ ‘Yes, you’ve just missed her.’
‘Call me back when the lecture finishes.’ ‘It’s already finished.’
We can also put already at the end of a question and stress it to show surprise.

Wow! Has the lecture finished already?
In sentences and questions with yet, there is stress on the past participle and also some stress on yet.

I haven’t missed a lecture yet this year.
Have you handed in your end-of-year assignment yet?

3.Vocabulary Reference

to sign up
(here) to join a course or organisation

fibs
lies about things that aren’t important

hot dog
a sausage in a bread bun

software
programmes you use on your computer to do different tasks

daughter-in-law
your son’s wife

agenda
the subject you plan to talk about in a meeting

item
(here) one subject you talk about in a meeting

deliver
finish a project

competitors
people or companies who are trying to be more successful than you

updates
information about progress of a project

prototype
the first example of a product

budget
the amount of money you have to spend on something

marketing
the things companies do, for example advertising, to persuade people to buy things

market research
collecting and studying information about what people buy and why

sell like hot cakes
to sell very quickly

architecture
making and designing buildings

attracts
makes people interested so that they move closer

masterwork
a work of art made with great skill

interrupted
stopped something from happening for a period of time

facade
the front of a building

spires
the pointed tops of buildings like churches

laid
(here) put carefully into position

graduate (noun)

a person who has a degree from a university

unemployment
the situation of not having a job

underemployment
the situation of not having enough work, or not having work which uses your skills

social
related to society

graduate (verb)

to finish a university degree course successfully

steadily
at a continuous rate, without stopping

willing
ready and enthusiastic to do something

leadership
(here) the group of people who are the leaders of an organisation

expert
a person with special knowledge on a particular subject

hostile
unfriendly, and ready to fight

state
a country, and especially the government

prestigious
admired and respected

calm
peaceful; not worried or excited

optimistic
believing that good things will happen in the future

evil
bad, cruel and unpleasant

duty
things that you have to do, often for a job or because of moral obligation

coward
someone who is afraid of everything

suffered
felt bad because life has been very hard

hostile
someone or something unfriendly

rejected
not accepted and loved by others; not included in tasks or activities

disgusting
very unpleasant

hut
a very small wooden building, usually for keeping things in not for living in