A note on hyphens

There are no precise rules, so the following are brief guidelines

1 When two short nouns are joined together, they form one word without a hyphen (a teacup) We do not join two short nouns if this leads to problems of recognition bus stop (Not "busstop*)

2 Hyphens are often used for verb + particle combinations (make up) [> App 31.35] and self combinations (self-respect)

3 When a compound is accepted as a single word (e g it has an entry in a dictionary) the tendency is to write it as one word (sunbathing) In other cases, the use of the hyphen is at the discretion of the writer (writing paper or writing paper), but the tendency is to avoid hyphens where possible

2 Nouns

Countable and uncountable nouns 2.12 Types of nouns

proper India

concrete a book countable noun

abstract an idea common

concrete clothing uncountable

abstract courage

Proper nouns and common nouns

All nouns fall into one of two classes They may be either proper nouns or common nouns

Proper nouns

A proper noun (sometimes called a 'proper name') is used for a particular person, place, thing or idea which is, or is imagined to be unique It is generally spelt with a capital letter Articles are not normally used in front of proper nouns, but [> 3.9.4 3.31] Proper nouns include for example Personal names (with or without titles) Andrew Andrew Smith

Mr Andrew Smith President Kennedy
Forms of address Mum Dad Auntie Uncle Fred

Geographical names Asia Berkshire India Wisconsin

Place names Madison Avenue Regent Street

Months, days of the e g April Monday Easter Christmas

week festivals and Seasons are usually spelt with a small

seasons [> Apps 24 48] letter but sometimes with a capital

spring or Spring For other names [> 3.22 3.27 3.31]

First names commonly used in other languages often have their English equivalents (e g Charles for Carlos, Karl, etc) Well-known foreign place names are normally anglicized e g Cologne for Koln, Prague for Praha Rome for Roma, Vienna for Wien

Common nouns

Any noun that is not the name of a particular person, place, thing or idea is a common noun We can use a/an the or the zero article in front of common nouns [> Chapter 3]