Infer Meaning of Unfamiliar Compound Words Using Antonyms |Chalk Talk PH

Compound Words

When two words are used together to yield a new meaning, a compound is formed. Compound words can be written in three ways: as open compounds (spelled as two words, e.g., ice cream), closed compounds (joined to form a single word, e.g., doorknob), or hyphenated compounds (two words joined by a hyphen, e.g., long-term). Sometimes, more than two words can form a compound (e.g., mother-in-law).

The most common spelling difficulty writers face is whether to write compounds as separate words, one word, or hyphenated words.

1. Open Compound Words

An open compound word is created in cases when the modifying adjective is used with its noun to create a new noun. This isn’t quite the same as a noun with a modifying adjective. We just use a space between the adjective and the noun, so sometimes it can be hard to identify as a compound; however, if the two words are commonly used together, it’s considered to be a compound word.

Examples

living room                                                      full moon

real estate                                                       dinner table

coffee mug

When adverbs ending in -ly combine with another word, the resulting compound is always spelled as two separate words.

Example:

largely irrelevant                                newly formed

2. Closed Compound Words

Closed compound words look like one word. At one point, these words weren’t used together, but they’re now accepted as a “real word” in the English language. Closed compound words are usually made up of only two words. Here are some closed compound examples:

notebook                     superman                    waistcoat

bookstore                     fireman

3. Hyphenated Compound Words

There are a great many grammar rules regarding hyphens in compound words. One important rule of thumb to remember is that in most cases, a compound adjective is hyphenated if placed before the noun it modifies, but not if placed after the noun.

Example:

a long-term solution

an up-to-date user guide

But…

This is not a good solution for the long term.

This user guide is not up to date.

This is just one of many rules concerning hyphens in compound words and it is often necessary to consult the dictionary to determine whether these terms should be hyphenated or not.

 

Using Antonyms to Get the Meaning of Compound Words

Antonyms are words with opposite meanings. An opposite meaning context clue contrasts the meaning of an unfamiliar word with the meaning of a familiar term. Words like “although,” “however,” and “but” may signal contrast clues.

Like synonym context clues, an antonym context clue uses the opposite meaning of other words to help readers understand the meaning of the unfamiliar word. This, however, uses opposite meanings instead of similar meanings. Look at this example:

 

The need for a long-term solution to the crisis is growing but it won’t take effect in the shortest possible time.

 

The reader can conclude that long-term must mean not taking short period of time.

 

Likewise, the word but may signal a contrast, which can help you define a word by its antonym.

 

If you want continued support with up-to-date information you will pay for a Gold Member account, but old free information is easy to access.

 

The word up-to-date is contrasted with its opposite: old. From this context, the reader can guess that up-to-date means to extending to the present time.

Sources: Retrieved at https://www.grammarly.com/blog/open-and-closed-compound-words/

Retrieved at https://study.com/academy/lesson/using-context-clues-to-complete-a-sentence.html

Retrieved at https://saylordotorg.github.io/text_business-english-for-success/s07-06-using-context-clues.html