Is mother in law a compound word?

Asked by: Charley Doyle  |  Last update: August 15, 2023
Score: 4.1/5 (26 votes)

Hyphenated compounds – mother-in-law, merry-go-round – not surprisingly use a hyphen between two or more words, often to prevent ambiguity. Open compounds – school bus, living room – are commonly used together but are written with a space in between.

Is father-in-law a compound word?

Words like father-in-law or well-known are hyphenated compound words as they are formed with a hyphen combining two words.

What type of compound is mother-in-law?

“Mother-in-law” is a hyphenated compound noun.

Is mother-in-law always hyphenated?

Use a hyphen to link a relationship term: sister-in-law, mother-in-law, father-in-law, brother-in-law, great-grandmother, great-aunt, great-grandchild, ex-wife… Plurals: sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law, mothers-in-law…

Is brother-in-law a compound word?

A compound noun is a sort of compound word used to describe someone, somewhere, or something. Compound nouns include toothpaste, rain forest, brother-in-law, etc.

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37 related questions found

Is sister-in-law a compound?

Sister-in-law is a compound noun. A compound noun is just a fancy way of saying you're using two or more words joined together to describe a person, place or thing. Many compound nouns are written as one word — for example, bathroom, doorjamb, and baseball.

Is son in law a compound word?

Three types of compound word

well-respected (adjective), son-in-law (noun), and life-size (adjective).

What is the correct grammar for mother-in-law?

The plural of mother-in-law is mothers-in-law. The possessive of mother-in-law is mother-in-law's. To get the plural possessive, do both those things: put the plural S on mother and the possessive S and apostrophe on law: “It was their mothers-in-law's idea.”

What is the correct way to write mother-in-law?

Not all compound nouns require hyphenation, however, "mother-in-law" does require hyphenation to avoid ambiguity. Without hyphenation, it could mean that your mother works in the field of law: I have a brother in banking and a mother in law.

How do you write mother-in-law in a sentence?

1, My mother-in-law has been staying with us this past week and she's driving me crazy. 2, Eleanor would later blame her mother-in-law for her husband'sfrequent absences. 3, She is always running down her mother-in-law in public. 4, She has a rather uneasy relationship with her mother-in-law.

How do you use mother-in-law in a compound sentence?

My wife and mother-in-law are so helpful. She had to stress how kind her husband and mother-in-law were. An armed robber was caught in the act as he tried to hold up a shop where his former mother-in-law worked. And my mother-in-law followed her husband.

What is compound in law?

1 : to agree for a consideration not to prosecute (an offense) NOTE: Compounding a felony is a common-law crime.

What is the compound noun for daughter in law?

In compound nouns like 'daughter-in-law', the main noun is 'daughter' and thus, the plural form will be made by changing the form of 'daughter' only. The plural of 'daughter' is 'daughters'. So, the plural of 'daughter-in-law' is 'daughters-in-law'.

Is daughter-in-law a compound word?

Compound nouns are sometimes one word, like toothpaste, haircut, or bedroom. These are often referred to as closed or solid compound nouns. Sometimes compound nouns are connected with a hyphen: dry-cleaning, daughter-in-law, and well-being are some examples of hyphenated compound nouns.

How do you know if a word is compound?

6.1. A compound word is a union of two or more words, either with or without a hyphen. It conveys a unit idea that is not as clearly or quickly conveyed by the component words in unconnected succes- sion.

Why is father-in-law hyphenated?

Put simply, a compound term is a term formed by more than one word. Some compound terms are written as two separate words, such as living room and post office. These are called “open compounds.” Others are hyphenated, like father-in-law and over-the-counter.

How do you write father and mother-in-law?

Your “mother and father-in-law” can be misconstrued as “your mother” and “your father-in-law”. It is correct to say your “mother- and father-in-law” but it would be very clear to say your “in-laws” or your “mother-in-law and father-in-law”.

Is it mother-in-law or father in law?

noun,plural par·ents-in-law. the father or mother of one's spouse.

Should son in law be hyphenated?

e.g "son-in-law" It is almost always hyphenated (same with other "in-laws,").

What is the plural form of mother-in-law and daughter in law?

In the case of many hyphenated nouns, like mother-in-law, attorney-at-law, and editor-in-chief, you add -s to the first word. Below are more examples of hyphenated nouns and their plural forms: • parent-in-law – parents-in-law. • father-in-law – fathers-in-law. • daughter-in-law – daughters-in-law.

Why do we say mother-in-law?

It comes from Middle English modyr in lawe. As far as I understand it, the term was first used in the 14th or 15th century. The idea behind it is that your mother-in-law has the same rights and duties as your biological mother and is given these rights and duties by the legal pact of marriage.

What is the correct grammar for sisters in law?

You may want to think twice about the family you have married into. The possessive of the singular is "sister-in-law's". The plural is "sisters-in-law". The possessive of the plural is "sisters-in-law's".

What is the compound noun of brother-in-law?

The given compound noun is 'brother-in-law'. Now since the given word is in singular, we just need to append to the end of the given compound noun an apostrophe and s ('s). So the singular possessive form is; brother-in-law's.

Is grandparents a compound word?

Compound words have their own distinct meanings that are different from the meanings of the words they're made of. For example, the compound word grandparent is made from the individual words grand and parent. While grandparents are similar to parents, they're not the same—and not all grandparents are grand, either!

What is the plural form of compound noun mother in law?

noun,plural moth·ers-in-law. the mother of one's spouse.