Strings like 'manager of football' won't appear (as independent expressions). Expressions like 'fear of death' will appear readily in Google searches. Where the noun + noun pairings are fixed expressions – perhaps even compound nouns - they will appear in most dictionaries and certainly dictionaries of collocations. Return of taxes v tax return cup of tea v teacup tin of biscuits v biscuit tinĤ) both are allowed and have virtually the same meaning:Ĭonsumption of energy v energy consumption

Possible permutations are:ġ) the attributive usage is allowed but the of-phrase is not:ĭeath wish v */?wish of death football manager v *manager of footballĢ) the of-phrase is allowed but the attributive usage is not:įear of death v *death fear Ides of March v *March Idesģ) both are allowed but have different meanings: There seems little obvious rhyme or reason. I don't think anyone has covered which construction/s may be used in various cases, though. Abstract Nouns An Abstract noun represents things that are concepts or ideas such as love, friendship, knowledge, and beauty. An example of a sentence that uses concrete nouns is: Jamie has a dog called Terry, who loves playing catch with a ball. Using a noun as a pre-modifier of a noun is using the modifying noun as an attributive noun or noun adjunct, whereas the other construction simply uses a prepositional phrase as a postnominal modifier. Examples include: Jamie smell taste pebble cow.

What is a noun with example