Attributive Nouns in English Grammar
GARDEN ROSE
vs
ROSE GARDEN
The word “attributive” means “having the quality of an adjective”.
A noun is a noun and cannot be an adjective unless it occupies the place of an adjective to modify another noun.
Adjectives, as a part of speech, are modifiers that describe nouns only.
Usually, an adjective is grammatically placed either before a noun (premodifier) or after a noun (postmodifier).
There is no hard and first rule regarding the identification of a part of speech.
Which kind of part of speech a word belongs to depends on its position in a sentence.
Suppose that a noun occupies the place of an adjective.
Can you any longer call it a noun?
Absolutely not.
When a noun occupies the position of an adjective, it becomes a new adjective by grammatical function.
In that case, the noun is said to be “attributive”.
We can have the opposite idea as well.
An adjective can also occupy the position of a noun, and in this case, that particular adjective is said to be “nominalized”.
“Nominalisation” is the grammatical concept of how we convert a verb to a noun (nominalized verb or gerund) and how we convert an adjective to a noun (nominalized adjective).
Eg.
Walking is a good exercise.
( “Walking” is nominalised verb or gerund )
■ The French are noted for their fashion.
■ The rich are not always happy.
(“French” and “rich” are nominalised adjectives since they both occupy the position of a noun as the subject of a sentence)
……………………………………….
GARDEN ROSE vs ROSE GARDEN
In the first expression “garden rose“, the first noun (garden) acts as an adjective to modify the second base noun (rose).
So, “garden” is an attributive noun that describes where the “rose” is growing.
In the second expression “rose garden“, the first noun (rose) acts as an adjective to modify the second base noun (garden).
So in this case, “rose” is an attributive noun that describes what kind of “garden” it is.
……………………………………
More examples :
■ What kind of boy is he ?
Hostel boy
Hotel boy
Delivery boy
Ward boy
In the above-mentioned phrases, all the first nouns attribute to the base noun “boy”.
■ What kind of girl is she?
College girl
Bar girl
Call girl
All the first nouns are attributive describing the girl.
More examples :
Lunch box
Lunch table
Lunchtime
Lunch menu
The same attributive noun “lunch” describes different base nouns.
More examples :
● An attributive noun can be a gerund with a (verb+ing) form.
■ GERUND (ATTRIBUTIVE) + NOUN
Driving license
Swimming pool
Calling bell
Talking device
Walking stick
● Remember that in certain cases the (verb+ing) forms might be a participial adjective (original) rather than an attributive gerund noun (modified).
Eg.
■ PARTICIPLE + NOUN
Driving motorist
Swimming children
Calling bird
Talking doll
Walking man
------ Somranjan Pal🅵🅰🆀
Q.1: What are attributive nouns?
Ans: Attributive nouns are regular nouns that take on the role of adjectives to modify another noun. They describe a specific characteristic of the following noun, like in “garden rose” or “rose garden”.
Q.2: What does the term “attributive” mean?
Ans: The word “attributive” means “having the quality of an adjective”. It refers to how a noun, when placed before another noun, functions like an adjective.
Q.3: Can a noun become an adjective?
Ans: Yes, a noun can act as an adjective when it occupies the position of an adjective in a sentence. For example, in “garden rose”, the noun “garden” is used to describe “rose”, making “garden” an attributive noun.
Q.4: Is there a strict rule for identifying parts of speech?
Ans: No, there isn’t a strict rule. The role of a word as a noun, adjective, or other part of speech depends on its position in a sentence and how it’s used.
Q.5: Can adjectives become nouns?
Ans: Yes, adjectives can become nouns in certain situations. This process is called “nominalization”. For example, in the sentence “The rich are not always happy,” the word “rich” acts as a noun and is referred to as a nominalized adjective.
Q.6: What’s the difference between “garden rose” and “rose garden”?
Ans: In “garden rose,” the word “garden” is an attributive noun modifying the base noun “rose,” indicating where the rose is grown. In “rose garden,” the word “rose” modifies “garden,” describing the type of garden it is.
Q.7: Can you give more examples of attributive nouns?
Ans: Sure!
Hostel boy: “Hostel” describes the type of boy.
Lunch box: “Lunch” describes the type of box.
Driving license: “Driving” describes the type of license.
Q.8: What’s the difference between a gerund and a participial adjective?
Ans: A gerund is a verb in its “-ing” form that functions as a noun. When it modifies another noun, it can be an attributive noun, like “driving license.” A participial adjective, on the other hand, is a verb in its “-ing” form that directly describes a noun, like “swimming children.”
Q.9: Can you give more examples of attributive nouns using gerunds?
Ans: Sure!
Driving license
Swimming pool
Calling bell
These are gerunds acting as attributive nouns to describe the following noun.
Q.10: How do I know if a word is an attributive noun or not?
Ans: Look at its position in the sentence. If a noun is placed before another noun and describes it, then it’s an attributive noun. For example, in “lunch menu,” “lunch” is an attributive noun describing “menu”
আরোও দেখো :-
আরোও দেখো :-
আরোও দেখো :-
আরোও দেখো:-
আরোও দেখো:-
অসংখ্য ধন্যবাদ সময় করে আমাদের এই ” Attributive Nouns in English Grammar” পােস্টটি পড়ার জন্য। WBBSE Solutions For Class 10, Attributive Nouns in English Grammar IN ENGLISH GRAMMAR এই ভাবেই ওয়েবসাইটের পাশে থাকো । যেকোনো প্ৰশ্ন উত্তর জানতে এই ওয়েবসাইট টি ফলাে করো এবং নিজেকে তথ্য সমৃদ্ধ করে তোলো , ধন্যবাদ।