Learn how you can use an English noun as an adjective
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Chihiro: Hey, everyone! I’m Chihiro and I’m joined here by Ryan! |
| Ryan: Hello, everyone, and welcome back to EnglishClass101.com. Can You Equate Price with Quality in America? |
| Chihiro: So Ryan, what are we learning today? |
| Ryan: In this lesson, you'll learn about shoe sizes. |
| Chihiro: This conversation takes place at a shoe store. |
| Ryan: This conversation is between Drew and the sales representative. |
| Chihiro: Drew will be speaking casually, and the sales representative will be speaking formally. Okay, let’s listen to the conversation. |
Lesson conversation |
|---|
| Sales Rep: Can I help you today sir? |
| Drew: Umm…yeah, I'm looking for a black pair of shoes for work. |
| Sales Rep: What size are you sir? |
| Drew: I'm a size ten. |
| Sales Rep: Okay, would you like shoes with laces or no laces? |
| Drew: Umm…ones with laces. |
| Sales Rep: Well, here are some shoes here…umm...how about this pair? |
| Drew: Hey, they're nice! How much are they? |
| Sales Rep: $527.00. |
| Drew: $527.00? Whoa! That's not exactly a bargain! What are they, Prada? |
| Sales Rep: No, Dolce &Gabbana. |
| Drew: Well, tell both of them that I can't afford their shoes. |
| Sales Rep: Mmm... how about this pair sir? They're only $109.95. But you have to remember, a lower price means quality compromised. |
| Drew: I think a $110-quality shoe is a compromise I'm willing to make. |
| English Host: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly. |
| Sales Rep: Can I help you today sir? |
| Drew: Umm…yeah, I'm looking for a black pair of shoes for work. |
| Sales Rep: What size are you sir? |
| Drew: I'm a size ten. |
| Sales Rep: Okay, would you like shoes with laces or no laces? |
| Drew: Umm…ones with laces. |
| Sales Rep: Well, here are some shoes here…umm...how about this pair? |
| Drew: Hey, they're nice! How much are they? |
| Sales Rep: $527.00. |
| Drew: $527.00? Whoa! That's not exactly a bargain! What are they, Prada? |
| Sales Rep: No, Dolce &Gabbana. |
| Drew: Well, tell both of them that I can't afford their shoes. |
| Sales Rep: Mmm... how about this pair sir? They're only $109.95. But you have to remember, a lower price means quality compromised. |
| Drew: I think a $110-quality shoe is a compromise I'm willing to make. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Chihiro: So, Ryan, have you ever gone shopping for shoes in a different country and been confused about the sizes? |
| Ryan: All the time, you Chihiro? |
| Chihiro: I have, I remember feeling weird when I told them that I didn't know my shoe size! |
| Ryan: Shoe size readings are different for different countries, so make sure you look at the shoe chart before you buy shoes online. |
| Chihiro: Shoe stores will have a measuring device so you can measure the length and sometimes the width of your foot. Drew's shoe size is a ten in men's, which is a nine and a half in England, a forty-four in Europe, and a twenty-eight in Japan. |
| Ryan: There are different types of shoes stores in the United States, but the common way is that you tell the sales representative what size you want from a shoe on display, and they bring it out for you. Other shops just have shoes in boxes, and it's more of a self-serving style. |
| Chihiro: And you know what? Some shoes tell you the sizes in different countries, if you flip the tongue oo some shoes, especially for running shoes, you might have the whole range of sizes for different countries. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Ryan: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| : The first word we shall see is: |
| Chihiro: lace [natural native speed] |
| Ryan: string used to tie things |
| Chihiro: lace [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Chihiro: lace [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Chihiro: exactly [natural native speed] |
| Ryan: perfectly, not more or less |
| Chihiro: exactly [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Chihiro: exactly [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Chihiro: bargain [natural native speed] |
| Ryan: buy or sell something at a price that is lower than the value |
| Chihiro: bargain [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Chihiro: bargain [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Chihiro: Prada, Dolce &Gabbana [natural native speed] |
| Ryan: names of high-end fashion brands |
| Chihiro: Prada, Dolce &Gabbana [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Chihiro: Prada, Dolce &Gabbana [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Chihiro: to afford [natural native speed] |
| Ryan: to be capable of paying |
| Chihiro: to afford [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Chihiro: to afford [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Chihiro: quality [natural native speed] |
| Ryan: good or bad character or nature of something |
| Chihiro: quality [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Chihiro: quality [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Chihiro: to compromise [natural native speed] |
| Ryan: to come to an agreement in which both parties are satisfied |
| Chihiro: to compromise [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Chihiro: to compromise [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Chihiro: pair [natural native speed] |
| Ryan: two things that are usually together |
| Chihiro: pair [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Chihiro: pair [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCABULARY AND PHRASES |
| Ryan: Let’s have a closer look at the usage for some of the phrases used in this lesson. |
| Chihiro: The first phrase is, "That's not exactly a bargain" |
| Ryan: Drew says this when the sales representative mentions the price of the pair of shoes. What Drew means to say with the phrase is simply "that's expensive." This kind of expression using "not" + noun/adjective is common, so the statement is softened. By adding the word "exactly," the statement even has a tint of humor to it. |
| Chihiro: Here are some other examples using this construction. "He wasn't exactly happy about it." |
| Ryan: Which means "he is upset or dissatisfied." |
| Chihiro: "They weren't exactly quiet." |
| Ryan: Which means "They were causing some noise." |
| Chihiro: "I wasn't exactly polite." |
| Ryan: means "I was rude." |
| Chihiro: This way of saying something is very common, and is used when the direct statement seems too straight forward. That's why it's used often with negative ideas. So you don't have to say the negative idea so directly. |
Lesson focus |
| Ryan: The focus of this lesson is nouns used as adjectives. In a previous lesson of the first Lower Intermediate Series, we talked about nouns we use as adjectives. In this lesson, we will review the subject by taking a look at more examples. |
| Chihiro: We can use nouns as adjectives to describe other nouns. You may find some standard combinations, such as "paper airplane," in which "paper" modifies "airplane." |
| Ryan: In that particular example the two nouns are separate, but there are common noun combinations that are written as one word. For example... |
| Chihiro: "headache" and "haircut" |
| Ryan: But be careful, because a word like "stomach ache" is written separately. |
| Chihiro: Good point, there's seems to be no clear rule for this, so remember them one by one. |
| Ryan: Starting with those two. |
| Chihiro: It is also common to make up a noun combination yourself to add description to the thing you're talking about. |
| Ryan: Drew says the phrase, |
| Chihiro: "$110-quality shoe," |
| Ryan: in which he uses the price of the shoe to describe it. Note that he doesn't say "dollars" but rather just "dollar." When we use a noun as an adjective, we drop the "-s" in plural forms. Here are some other examples. |
| Chihiro: "The course is three years long" this becomes "a three-year course." |
| Ryan: "She hunted the Easter eggs" becomes "an Easter egg hunt." |
| Chihiro: "A wave that is twenty feet high" this becomes "a twenty-foot wave." |
| Ryan: In all of these, we change the noun back to its singular form by dropping the "-s." This is a very simple concept; however, it's also a common error because it's sometimes hard to switch to a singular form after using the plural form so often! |
| Chihiro: Yes, that's true, so you have to be flexible when you're learning English. Also, these nouns are usually written with a hyphen in the middle. |
| Ryan: A hyphen is the small horizontal line. |
| Chihiro: What kinds of compound words do you find around you? |
| Ryan: let us know by leaving us a comment! |
Outro |
| Ryan: That just about does it for today. Bye for now! |
| Chihiro: See you all soon! |
Comments
HideHello Manabu,
I'm glad to hear that you found my explanation easy to understand! It's always great to know when I've been able to help a student. If you have any more questions, don't hesitate to ask. 😄👍
Just a couple of quick notes about your message:
1. "Your explanation was understandable easily." - This sentence should be "Your explanation was easily understandable." In English, we usually put the adverb (easily) before the adjective (understandable).
2. "Thanks a lot." - This is perfectly correct, but you might want to try using "Thank you very much." It's a little more formal and is often used in written English.
Keep up the good work! 😄
Thank you!
Éva
Team EnglishClass101.com
Dear Éva,
Thank you for your answer.
Your explanation was understandable easily.
Thanks a lot.
Hello Manabu,
Thank you for your message and your kind words. I'm always here to help you! 👍😄
Nouns used as adjectives, also known as attributive nouns or noun modifiers, are quite common in English. They're simply nouns that modify other nouns. Here are a few examples:
1. "Football team" - Here, "football" is a noun used as an adjective to describe the type of team.
2. "Chicken soup" - "Chicken" is a noun used as an adjective to describe the type of soup.
3. "Book cover" - "Book" is a noun modifying "cover". It specifies what kind of cover we're talking about.
Remember, the noun that's being used as an adjective is always in its singular form and it comes before the noun it's modifying.
I hope this helps you understand nouns used as adjectives better. Keep practicing, and don't hesitate to ask if you have more questions.
Thank you!
Éva
Team EnglishClass101.com
Thank you for your usual help.
I am not yet familiar with nouns used as adjectives.
Could you show me a few more examples of them?
Sincerely.
Hello Abdoulaye,
Thank you for your kind words about the lesson! I'm glad to hear that you found it useful. 👍👍
Now, let's look at your phrases:
1. "A twenty year old man" - This is correct! Well done!
2. "A toothbrush" - This is also correct! Great job!
Your English is improving. Keep up the good work!
If you have any more questions or need further clarification, please don't hesitate to ask. Remember, practice makes perfect!
Thank you!
Éva
Team EnglishClass101.com
Good lesson. 👍🏼
. A twenty year old man
. A toothbrush
Hello Marcel,
Thanks for sharing your list of compound words and for the positive feedback! 😄😄😄
We appreciate you taking the time to share them with us.
If you ever have any questions regarding your studies, please let me know.
Sincerely,
Éva
Team EnglishClass101.com
Hi,
I found these compound words:
sugar-free,
daughter-in-law, father-in-law,
bad-tempered,
easy-going, (It's about Mike's wife, Susan.)
down-to-earth,
These words were not all around me, but I heard them.
Great job with this lesson. Thanks.
Regards.
Hello Soso,
Thanks for the great feedback!! We hope you’re all enjoying studying English with us.
If you ever have any questions, please feel free to shoot them through here. 😉
Kindly,
Éva
Team EnglishClass101.com
Fun conversation
Hello Hamza Talat,
Thank you so much for your heart! ❤️️❤️️
We are very happy that you like to study with us.
Feel free to contact us if you have any questions.
Kind regards,
Levente
Team EnglishClass101.com
❤️️
Hello sina,
You are very welcome. 😇
Feel free to contact us if you have any questions.
We wish you good luck with your language studies.
Kind regards,
Levente
Team EnglishClass101.com
Thank you so much for the lessons.
Kindly,
sina
Hello Az Ho,
Thank you so much for your heart! ❤️️❤️️
We are very happy that you like to study with us.
Feel free to contact us if you have any questions.
Kind regards,
Levente
Team EnglishClass101.com
❤️️❤️️❤️️❤️️
Hello Willinton,
Thanks for taking the time to share with us!
This is written as a kind of joke. There isn’t normally so many hyphens in written English. You would normally only add a hyphen between two words. It becomes comical to have so many hyphens to describe this film.
Let us know if we can help in any other way!
Kindly,
Eva
Team EnglishClass101.com
Just today morning I found on IG a phrase that said ''Critics says #ChristopherNolan's-007 meets-minority report sci-fi thriller is tricky to decipher but full of mind-blowing action'' I went to Google to know exactly what said there because many hyphens in one single phrase
Hi there Saúl,
Thanks for getting in touch. I can't see exactly where it says that but I am assuming it is in relation to laces that are on footballs. They are not laced like you would lace a shoe, they are generally bulging outwards from the football.
I hope this is helpful to you! 😄Please feel free to shoot through any questions you have throughout your studies.
Kindly,
Éva
Team EnglishClass101.com
Could you me explain me the meaning of "The laces on the football were facing out". Thanks.