Genitive is Not Always Possessive

by Bob Cunningham

Equivalence/Resemblance

fonte: http://www.signiform.com

2-que é-1 (tipo)
`insect pests`	`pests que-são insects`
`antenna rods`	`rods que-são antennas`
`alpha particle`	`particle que-é an alpha`
`tuna fish`	`fish que-é a tuna`

1-and-2 (necessidade do gênero)
`lady doctor`	`lady and doctor`
`woman athlete`	`woman and athlete`
`actor-producer`	`actor and producer`

2-que-lembra-1 (tipo)
`kettle drum`	`drum` que-lembra`a kettle`
`marble cake`	`cake` que-lembra `marble`
`rock candy`	`candy` que-lembra `rock`

2-que-é-realmente-1 (tipo)
`RAM disk`	`disk` que-é-realmente `RAM`
`toy soldier`	`soldier` que-é-realmente`a toy`

Nominalization

2-that-1
`falling star`	`star that falls`
`running water`	`water that runs`
`monitoring system`	`system that monitors`

one-who-2-1
`bus driver`	`one who drives buses`
`sushi lover`	`one who loves sushi`
`guerrilla leaders`	`those who lead guerrillas`

that-which-2-1
`can opener`	`that which opens cans`
`clothes brush`	`that which brushes clothes`
`life insurance`	`that which insures lives`

2ing-1
`auto sales`	`selling autos`
`computer maintenance`	`maintaining computers`
`technology exports`	`exporting technology`

2-by-1
`NATO intervention`	`intervention by NATO`
`computer vision`	`vision by computer`

Cause/Effect/Production

2-that-produces-1
`car factory`	`factory that produces cars`
`oil well`	`well that produces oil`
`peach tree`	`tree that produces peaches`
`uranium mills`	`mills that produce uranium`

2-that-results-from-1
`census data`	`data that results from the census`
`insect bite`	`bite that results from an insect`

Purpose/Instrumentality

2-that-is-for-1
`dog food`	`food that is for dogs`
`orchestra pit`	`pit that is for an orchestra`
`birthday present`	`present that is for a birthday`
`running shoes`	`shoes that are for running`
`ankle ring`	`ring that is for the ankle`

2-that-uses-1
`power saw`	`saw that uses power`
`gas boiler`	`boiler that uses gas`
`pressure cooker`	`cooker that uses pressure`
`vacuum cleaner`	`cleaner that uses a vacuum`

2-who-uses-1
`bike messenger`	`messenger who uses a bike`

2-that-is-used-in-1
`evening dress`	`dress that is used in the evening`
`summer house`	`house that is used in the summer`

Spatial

2-that-contains-1
`sugar bowl`	`bowl that contains sugar`
`tea cup`	`cup that contains tea`
`turpentine jar`	`jar that contains turpentine`
`photo album`	`album that contains photos`

2-that-fits-in-1
`pocket computer`	`computer that fits in the pocket`

2-that-has-1
`jet plane`	`plane that has jets`
`diamond ring`	`ring that has a diamond`

2-that-is-part-of-1
`table leg`	`leg that is part of a table`
`coat pocket`	`pocket that is part of a coat`
`typewriter key`	`key that is part of a typewriter`

2-that-is-made-of-1
`cardboard box`	`box that is made of cardboard`
`gold coin`	`coin that is made of gold`
`mud mask`	`mask that is made of mud`

Location

2-that-is-from-1
`ocean water`	`water that is from the ocean`
`college degree`	`degree that is from a college`
`Florida orange`	`orange that is from Florida`

2-who-is-from-1
`city doctor`	`doctor who is from the city`
`California people`	`people who are from California`
`Brandeis professor`	`professor who is from Brandeis`

2-whose-source-is-1
`London bus`	`bus whose source is London`

2-whose-destination-is-1
`London bus`	`bus whose destination is London`

2-that-is-located-in-1
`kitchen clock`	`clock that is located in the kitchen`
`garden flower`	`flower that is located in the garden`
`London Airport`	`Airport that is located in London`

Time

2-AT-TIME-1
`day nurse`	`nurse during the day`
`night lawyer`	`lawyer at night`
`afternoon tea`	`tea in the afternoon`
`Tuesday watchman`	`watchman on Tuesday`
`Saturday meeting`	`meeting on Saturday`

Other

2-that-is-owned-by-1
`State TV`	`TV that is owned by the State`

2-that-concerns-1
`love story`	`story that concerns love`
`arms race`	`race that concerns arms`
`family history`	`history that concerns family`
`California law`	`law that concerns California`
`lending practices`	`practices that concern lending`

2-who-likes-1
`water bird`	`bird who likes water`

2-whose-value-is-1
`dollar bill`	`bill whose value is one dollar`
`pula note`	`note whose value is one pula`

While there are different ways that compound nouns can be formed (using adjectives, prepositions, apostrophes, etc.), we are going to concentrate here on the noun + noun form:

bed + room = bedroom; police + officer = police officer, etc.

There are three different ways to form this type of compound noun:

"the closed form, in which the words are melded together, such as firefly …keyboard …notebook;

the hyphenated form, such as sky-scraper … ski-boot … girl-friend;

and the open form, such as post office … history book … mineral water."

Just exactly how and why these three forms exist is not exactly clear, but it seems likely that the process will begin with two words, become hyphenated after a time, and then eventually end up as just one word. It is curious that even good dictionaries sometimes disagree with how compound nouns should be spelt!

In these noun + noun structures, the first noun behaves similarly to an adjective, in that it describes or modifies the second noun:

A car park is a place for parking cars;
A history book is a book of history.

Another issue to consider is pronunciation. Most noun + noun structures have the main stress on the first word:

post office; car park; fruit juice.

There are, however, quite a few exceptions to this rule:

meat pie; garden table.

This type of compound noun is commonly used to classify particular types of things, and especially for well-known "classes" of things:

Compare a maths book; a geography book; a physics book, which are all books commonly found in schools, to a book about pollution, NOT a pollution book.

We have provided a very basic explanation of this use of compound nouns, an area of grammar that many people consider to be amongst the most difficult.

fonte: http://www.nwfsc.noaa.gov/style/complist.htm

12-meter/12-m	modifier
near shore	noun
1-year-old, 2- to 5-year-old fish	modifier
age group (not age class)	noun
age-2 fish	noun/modifier
beach seine	noun
broodstock	noun/modifier
brood-year	modifier
chi-square	noun/modifier
database	noun/modifier
dip basket	noun
deep sea	noun
deep water	noun
dip net	noun
dipnet	verb
ex-vessel	noun/modifier
fork length	noun
freeze brand	noun
fresh water	noun
frontroll	noun
gate-slot	modifier
gill-netter	noun/modifier
gillnetting	noun/modifier
haul-out	modifier
inriver	modifier
knotted, variable-mesh purse seine
main stem	noun
mid-May	noun/modifier
midriver	noun/modifier
nearshore	modifier

offshore	noun/modifier
outmigrating	noun/modifier
PIT-tag	modifier
purse seine	noun
radio tagged	v.
salt water	noun
seawater	noun/modifier
shallow water	noun
slide gate	noun
spillbay	noun
sport fisheries	noun/modifier
sportfishing	noun
surface water	noun
tailrace
under way	modifier
year-round	noun/modifier
year-class	modifier
yolk-sac	modifier

12 meters	noun
nearshore	modifier
age group	modifier
age-0 chinook salmon	noun/modifier
age-2-ocean adult (not two-ocean adult)	modifier/noun
beach-seine	modifier
brood year	noun
by-catch or bycatch	noun/modifier
coded-wire tag	noun/modifier
data set	noun/modifier
dip-basket	modifier
deep-sea	modifier
deepwater	modifier
dip-net	modifier
driftnet	noun/modifier
fall back	noun
fork-length	modifier
freeze-brand	modifier
freshwater	modifier
gate slot	noun
gill-net	modifier
gillnet	verb
groundfish
haul out	verb
joint venture	noun/modifier
longline	noun/modifier
mainstem	modifier
midstream	noun/modifier
modified balanced-flow vertical barrier screen	noun/modifier
net-pen	noun/modifier
nonsalmonid	noun/modifier
onshore	noun/modifier
PIT tag	noun
post-release	modifier
purse-seine	modifier
radio-tagged	modifier
saltwater	modifier
setnet	noun/modifier
shallow-water	modifier
slide-gate	modifier
spillbay	modifier
sport fish	noun
surf line	noun
surface-water	modifier
tailwater
upriver	modifier
year class	noun
yolk sac	noun