Create

 “The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul.” (Dieter F. Uchtdorf)

Imagine a feast of cheesecake, jellybeans, pancakes, watermelon, cupcakes, meatballs, and strawberries. What do all of these foods have in common besides being delicious? The names for these foods are all compound words.

Compound words are made up of two or more smaller words that are combined to make a new word with its own meaning. The smaller words that form a compound word are like puzzle pieces that fit together to create a new bigger picture. Compound words can be written in three unique ways as shown below:

Closed compound words are made up of two words without a space in-between. Examples of closed compound words are: moonlight, classroom, and sunflower.

In a sentence: Let’s go play some basketball.

Hyphenated compound words are formed by using a hyphen, a small dash, used to connect words together. Examples of hyphenated compound words are: fifty-nine, long-term, and up-to-date.

In a sentence: The check-in time for my flight is 01:30 PM.

Open compound words have a space between the smaller words that make them up. Even though the words seem separate, when you read them together they have a new meaning. Examples of open compound words are: living room, full moon, and coffee mug.

In a sentence: I really want a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

“The words you speak are powerful. Especially the words you speak to yourself.” (Robin Sharma) [i]

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[i] Adapted from:

·     "Compound Words “by grammarly blog

·      "Compound Words: Open, Closed, Hyphenated Examples for Kids” by EnglishBix

·      "Examples of Compound Words by Type” by YourDictionary

·      "What Are Compound Words? - Meaning & Examples” by Study.com