Compound Nouns Exercise (40)
In this exercise, decide whether each compound noun should be styled as open, hyphenated or closed compound, according to Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary:
Answers and Explanations
Logic is not a reliable factor in how a compound noun is styled; it's best to always look a term up to be sure that you are treating it correctly. Compound nouns often evolve from open to hyphenated to closed, but sometimes the intermediate stage is skipped, and sometimes a term remains open or hyphenated (so far).
1. light-year
2. makeup
3. paper clip
4. pickpocket
5. swan song
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