Spelling of compound nouns

The spelling of compound nouns and especially adjectives is one of the tense points of modern orthography. This guide in this matter is based on the "Rules of Russian Spelling and Punctuation of 1956", as well as on the normative "Spelling Dictionary of the Russian Language". There is a slightly different approach to writing these words, for example, in the book “Together or Separate?” (experience of the reference dictionary) B.3. Bukchina and L.P. Kalakutskaya (see appendix at the end of the book).

Consolidated spelling

1. Complex nouns are written together with elements of auto-, agro-, aero-, bio-, bicycle-, helio-, geo-, hydro-, zoo-, iso-, cinema-, macro-, meteo-, micro- , mono-, moto-, neo-, paleo-, radio-, stereo-, tele-, photo-, electro-, etc. regardless of the number of named elements or other words in the stem. For example: car business, automotobicycle racing, agricultural technology, snowmobiles, biostation, cycling, heliotherapy, geobotany, hydromechanics, hydropower resources, zoo veterinary station, zoohygiene, isophoto reportage, film script, macroworld, weather report, microradio waves, monoculture, motor parts, neopositivism, Paleo-Asians, radio show, stereo cinema, TV movie, combined heat and power plant, thermohydrodynamics, photographic art, electrical wire, electric light therapy facility.

Note 1. When fluctuating between hyphenated and continuous spelling of words of foreign origin, the second is preferred, if in the Russian language the components with their inherent meaning are not distinguished in the word, for example: blitz krieg - blitzkrieg, water machine - water machine, water polo - water polo, gummi- arabic - gum arabic, maitre "o-tel - maitre d', tabld" from - tabldot. Wed also: crepe de chine, fide chine, fildekos, fildepers (two components with a French preposition between them are not distinguished in the words) - crepe georgette, crepe maroquin, crepe satin, crepe chiffon. Or the continuous spelling of inflected words padegras, padekatre, padepatiner, padespan and hyphenated spelling of non-inclined words of the same semantic group pas de deux, pas de trois.

2. Complex nouns are written together with the verb first part on -and, for example: spinner, adonis, dzhimorda, hoarder, daredevil, noise head. Exception: tumbleweed.

3. Compound abbreviated words of all types are written together, for example, state committee, trade union committee, Uralmash, Central Bank.

Hyphen

4. As a rule, complex nouns are written with a hyphen without a connecting vowel, denoting the names of mechanisms, as well as scientific, technical, socio-political terms, for example: automatic stacker, automatic leveler, vacuum apparatus (vacuum pump, vacuum dryer, vacuum shield, etc.), diesel-electric ship, dynamo, cable crane, beam crane, motor generator, stop valve, filter press, syringe machine; chair-bed, raincoat-tent; saw-fish; prime minister, lieutenant general, captain engineer, lord chancellor.

Note 1. Compound words are written together:

• a) with the first part board-: flight engineer, flight mechanic;

b) with the second part -meter: vacuum gauge, dosimeter, millivoltmeter.

Note 2. Words with the first part are written through a hyphen block- and press-: block apparatus, block diagram, block mechanism, block signal, block system (but notepad, blockhouse); press attache, press secretary, press conference, press center; press cliché, press conveyor, paperweight.

5. Complex units of measurement are written with a hyphen, for example: gram-atom (gram-calorie, gram-molecule, etc.), kilogram-hour, ton-kilometer, man-day, man-bed.

Exceptions: workday, labor hour.

6. Compound names of political movements, as well as their supporters, are written with a hyphen, for example: anarcho-syndicalism, national socialism, radical socialist, social revolutionaries, social democrats.

7. The names of intermediate countries of the world are written with a hyphen, for example: southeast, northwest, south-southeast.

8. Hyphenated words with foreign language elements vice-, life-, chief-, non-commissioned, headquarters, ex- in the first part, for example: vice admiral, life guard, chief conductor, non-commissioned officer, staff doctor, ex-champion, ex-deputy prime minister (with two hyphens).

9. Complex plant names are written with a hyphen that have a verb in a personal form or a conjunction, for example: love-don't-love, don't-touch-me, Ivan-da-Marya, mother-and-stepmother.

10. Compound words are written with a hyphen, in which a word with an estimated value is added to the main word, for example: boy-woman, gop-company, unfortunate leader, good boy, miracle fish, cheers-patriotism.

11. Scientific and technical terms are written with a hyphen, which include the names of letters or letters (most often the Greek and Latin alphabets), for example: alpha particle, gamma radiation, x-rays (x-rays), k-particle, pi meson.

12. Adjectives formed from geographical names with hyphenated writing retain a hyphen in their spelling, for example: Alma-Ata - Alma-Ata, Orekhovo-Zuyevo - Orekhovo-Zuevsky, Los Angeles - Los Angeles. Puerto Rico is Puerto Rican, and nouns formed from this chain are written together, for example: New York - New York, New Yorkers, Costa Rica - Costa Rican, Costa Ricans, Kurgan-Tyube - Kurgan-Tube, Kurgan-Tube . The chain Ku Klux Klan - Ku Klux Klan - Ku Klux Klan is subject to the same rule.

13. When combined with the help of a union and two or more complex nouns with the same second part, this part can only be given with the last word, and with the preceding words, the so-called hanging hyphen is written instead. For example: gas and electric welding (cf. gas welding and electric welding); water and gas supply; radio and television broadcasts; auto, motorcycle and bicycle races (but in the absence of a union and- continuous spelling, see above, paragraph 1).

The Russian language is great and rich, it has great potential for changing various word forms and forming new parts of speech. Perhaps no other language contains such an extensive vocabulary, taking into account the different shades of meaning of each word. One of the ways of word formation is the combination of two or more stems into one combined word, which can be both an adjective and a noun.

Definition

The basics of continuous writing

Writing through a dash

Consider first the basics of hyphen writing, and then we will study the rest of the nuances.

Proper spelling of multi-part proper names

Let's figure out how to write compound nouns correctly, which are proper names.

Double surnames

Complex surnames from a number of components are written through a dash, and each part must be capitalized.

Examples: Petrov-Sidorov, Andersen-Nexe.

foreign names

There are rules for multi-part non-Russian names.

1. If in a double or triple name the first word does not change during declension, then its parts are connected by a hyphen. Examples: Jean-Paul Belmondo.
2. Combined names and surnames are distinguished by separate spelling, including Latin names, which are complex nouns. Examples: Arthur Conan Doyle .
3. If parts of a given name without a surname serve as a means of naming, then they use a dash when writing. Examples: Maria Theresa .

Service parts of speech in foreign names

The spelling of service words in foreign names is also carried out according to certain rules.

1. Service words in a non-Russian name are written separately with a small letter. Examples: von der Stolz, le Chapelier.
2. In Eastern languages, the component of the name, which carries a certain semantic load, is written with a small letter and is attached through a dash to the next part of the word or, in its absence, to the previous one. Examples: Alif ed-Din, Imran el-Kuni.
3. Sometimes, if a function word is capitalized in the parent language, it retains its spelling in the Russian version. Examples: François De Morel, Andrea De Fournier.
4. The links of the names O ", Mac-, Saint-, San-, Saint- are written in front of the surname with a capital letter. The letter O- is detached with an apostrophe, the remaining elements with a hyphen. Examples: O" Neill, McClain, Saint-Vincent, Saint- Laurent.
5. The word "don", if "master" is meant, is written separately with a small letter. Examples: Don José, Don Nicholas. (When using this word as an element of a proper name, it is written with a capital letter and uses a dash in its outline. Examples: Don Quixote, Don Juan).
   

The use of the above words in a common sense determines their continuous spelling with a small letter. Examples: Don Juan, Don Quixote.

Asian names and surnames

In Asian proper names of such countries as Korea, Japan, China and others, all components are capitalized and separated. The element -san, used as an address in Japanese names, is written with a small letter separated by a dash. Examples: Ban Ki-moon, Otoyama-san, Wu Tan.

Rules for writing geographical names

The constituent parts of toponyms are written with a capital letter and connected with a dash in the following cases:

1. If two nouns are combined that have the meaning of the whole object or its parts. Examples: Ulan-Ude, Spas-Demensk.
2. If the city name consists of a noun at the beginning and an adjective at the end. Examples: Leninsk-Kuznetsky, Gus-Khrustalny.
3. When combining the component salt-, ust-, top- with the name of a geographical point. Examples: Verkh-Narym, Ust-Ilimsk . Exception: Solvychegodsk .
4. When combining foreign language components. Examples: Sierra Leone, Monte Carlo.

Please note: despite the fact that toponyms are written with a hyphen, the name of the inhabitants living in this settlement is written together. As an example, consider a sentence with two compound nouns: "Ulaanbaatar residents live in the city of Ulaanbaatar."

Additionally

Usually homogeneous members of a sentence are separated from each other by a comma. However, there are exceptions to this rule as well. The following pair combinations are written through a dash, eventually becoming part of a sentence with complex nouns:

1. Pair combinations are synonyms. Examples: the end is not visible, learn about life, determine the benefit-benefit .
2. Antonyms that form complex nouns. Examples: a contract of sale, acceptance and issuance of money, collect questions and answers.
3. Combinations with associative links. Examples: there are all sorts of birds, fish, go to the forest for mushrooms, berries, treat with bread and salt.

Summarizing

Of course, it is impossible to cover all the variety of compound words and the rules for their spelling in one article, but the main provisions have been considered here. Compound nouns can differ in the way they are formed, gender, spelling, meaning, etc.

The formation of compound words by adding them together is one of the rather interesting functions of the Russian language, which helps to increase its vocabulary, and is also used to more accurately display certain meanings of certain objects.

Russian Spelling and Punctuation Rules (1956)

Spelling

II. Nouns

§ 78. Written together:

1. Compound nouns formed with connecting vowels, as well as all formations with aero-, air-, auto-, moto-, bicycle-, cinema-, photo-, stereo-, meteo-, electro-, hydro-, agro-, zoo-, bio-, micro-, macro-, neo-, for example: plumbing, farmer, flax harvesting, locomotive repair, airport, aircraft carrier, car race, motor race, velodrome, film director, photo reportage, stereo tube, weather report, electric motor, hydraulic structures, agricultural engineering, livestock specialist, biostation, microreduction, macroworld, neolamarckism, bike racing, aerial photography.

For hyphenated nouns formed with connecting vowels, see § 79, paras. 3, 4.

2. Names of cities, the second component of which is -grad or -city , for example: Leningrad, Kaliningrad, Belgorod, Uzhgorod, Ivangorod.

15. Graphic abbreviations of nouns, consisting of the beginning and end of a word, for example: island(society), dr(doctor), t-in(partnership), b-ka(library).

16. A hyphen is written after the first part of a compound noun when combining two compound nouns with the same second part, if this common part is omitted in the first of the nouns, for example: ball and roller bearings(instead of ball bearings and roller bearings), steam, electric and diesel locomotives(instead of locomotives, electric locomotives and diesel locomotives), party and trade union organizations, north- and south-east.

Has its own rules.

What are compound words?

Such words are formed in two ways - improper and own. The spelling of complex words here depends on many factors. Proper addition - when parts are connected by vowels "e" or "o", vowels "i" or "a" do not occur, for example: earthquake, waterfall, chant, songwriting.

Improper addition does without connecting vowels. For example: crazy,(and the letter "a" is not connecting here!) selfishness, Tsargrad. Also, words have an improper way of adding, where one part is not-, neither-, most-. For example: never, once, failure, best.

Spelling of fused and compound compound words

It is customary for philologists to divide compound words into several types, where the principle of separation is the way they are written: fused words and compound words. Of course, merged ones are written together, and compound ones are hyphenated. For example: sofa bed and natural history.

The general rules for spelling compound words also provide for the following.

In compound words, both parts of the composition are usually declined, but here not without exceptions: with house-museum, for example, nothing bad happens from declination, but major general offended if he is declined in all parts, and it is impossible to hear that he was, for example, in raincoat-tent, here the declension of the first part of the compound word is clearly superfluous: in raincoat tent he was. The spelling rules for compound words are exactly this: there are always a sufficient number of exceptions.

Complex and complex abbreviations

If the stem of the first part of the word ends in a hard consonant, then the letter "o" is used for the link, but if the ending is soft, hissing or "c", then the connecting vowel is "e". For example: breakwater, amphibians, locomotive and birder, vegetable store, travel. There are times when this rule is violated: Dalnerechensk - exception, Gornozavodsk - rule.

The spelling of complex and compound words is not limited to this. Words in which there is no connecting vowel are also written together, this can be observed in a word with the original first part: pastime, cotyledons. Words - former phrases that have formed into one word, are also written together: feeble-minded, insane, complexly abbreviated, gold-bearing.

Numerals

The spelling of compound words requires a separate rule about numerals and the genitive case. If they form the first part of a compound word, then they are certainly written together. Examples: five-star, six-winged. Here, some numbers will be exceptions. - more precisely, derivatives of "thousand", "hundred", "ninety", "one". For example: homogeneous, thousandfold, costly, ninety-year-old.

The numerals that make up the compound word ("two" and "three") have different forms of use. For example, from the numeral "two" is formed and two-, and two-, and from the numeral "three" - three-, three- and tre-, for example: two-phase, three-kilometer, two-legged, trident, distant. The numeral "one and a half" has the form one and a half-, for example: one and a half kilogram. The nominative case is characteristic of the numeral "quarter" - quarterfinal.

Photo, film, radio, stereo and more

It is always necessary to write compound nouns together, where the part is one of the following elements: agro-, auto-, aero-, bicycle-, bio-, helio-, hydro-, geo-, zoo-, cinema-, iso-, weather, macro, micro, mono, moto, paleo, neo, stereo, radio, photo, television, electro and many others. Examples: TV program, microbiology, macro photography. The air element retains the ending: air mail, air service.

Compound abbreviation and verb stem

If you always follow the basic rule that dictates the assignment of compound words (the connecting vowels "o" and "e"), then some words could be an exception, but there are too many of them. Therefore, the rule is separate. If a compound noun has the first part of a verb ending in a vowel, then the letter "and" is not a connective, it is part of this verb. For example: redstart, dzhimorda, daredevil. And there are not without exceptions. Tumbleweed written with a hyphen. A lot of rules have to be memorized, for example, by a foreigner. This, among other things, is rich in the Russian language. The spelling of complex words demonstrates this quite clearly.

Compound abbreviated words are always written together, except for the cases, which are discussed below. The bulk of complex words are written like this: fizkultprivet, district executive committee, social security, trade union committee, deputy dean, mostostroy and so on. But the hyphen is used by complex nouns in which there is no connecting vowel, denoting political, technical, scientific terms. Diesel power plant, major general, sofa bed, emergency brake and others. However, if the first part is board- or the last graph-, then the unambiguously continuous spelling: flight engineer, topographer.

Hyphen

With the help of a hyphen, you need to write complex nouns in which there is no connecting vowel and which have block-, press- in the first part, for example: press conference, block mechanism. If the constituent parts denote the names of supporters of political parties: national democrat, radical liberalism. If compound nouns denote cardinal points: southwest, northeast.

But foreign words are recommended to be checked in dictionaries, because: yacht Club, but yachtsman. P pas de quatre, for example, it can be padekatrom, even dictionaries get confused in the readings. In such cases, the rules for spelling compound words rely on the taste of the user. Hyphens are used when precise measurements are needed: ton-kilometer, man-day(exceptions workday, workday).

More hyphen references

Complex nouns also use a hyphen if the first part of them is vice-, ober-, life-, staff-, unter-, ex-, for example: ex-president, lieutenant. Compound names containing a conjunction or a verb are also written with a hyphen: coltsfoot, tumbleweed. Synonyms or antonyms used for the emotional coloring of speech or containing an assessment of the phenomenon also resort to the help of a hyphen: buy-sell, sadness-longing, miracle squirrel, house-dump, unfortunate mechanic.

Also, words that are repeated to enhance the emotional load are written with a hyphen: strongly, strongly, barely, just about, they go, they go, ah-ah, well-well. The same applies to phrases. zero zero, as well as purely pronominal words, again increasing the emotional load: someone who, but not you; where, where, but in this country it is always warm. Of an expressive nature, there are also such repetitions written with a hyphen: terem-teremok, day-to-day, darkness-darkness, one-alone, clever-reason, torment-martyr, willy-nilly, hocus-pocus, things-dryuchki.

Pair constructions

If the first part of a compound word is a fragment of a semi-, the word is written together, but if a paired construction is composed, a hyphen is required: half-Russian-half-German, half-dream-half-awake, half-city-half-village, half-jokingly-half-seriously, half-military-half-civilian, half-lying-half-sitting. However, a comma is also possible between fragments of these constructions: half smile, half cry.

Correlative combinations or words close in meaning are also written through a hyphen: bread and salt, cat and mouse, path-road, one and only, alive and well. And if you need to specify the amount or time, a hyphen is also put: a week or two, two or three times, in March-April, five or six days, eighteen to twenty people.

A hyphen is needed if a letter is used in the first part of a compound noun, for example, Greek: gamma rays, alpha male. You can use several parts of the first fragment to one part of the last in compound words: photo and film documents; bicycle, motorcycle and car racing. In these cases, a trailing hyphen is used.

Here are the basic rules that the spelling of compound words uses. The table above sorts them.