Lesson 1: Making Plurals, Adjectives & Compound Nouns

Welcome to Lesson 1 of your A2 vocabulary series! In English, building your descriptive vocabulary involves mastering how words combine and change form.

In this interactive lesson, you will learn how to identify compound nouns, correctly pluralize words, and avoid common adjective mistakes. This foundation is essential for describing places, people, and objects accurately without sounding unnatural.

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Welcome back! I am Teacher Sopheak. When I talk to tourists, I often use special words made by joining two words together—like "night" and "market".

Today we are going to learn how to make these compound nouns, how to form plurals, and how to use adjectives to describe the busy places around us.

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Core Words & Phrases

Compound Noun

Night market /naɪt ˈmɑːrkɪt/

Definition: An open-air market that operates at night.

Example: We bought some clothes at the night market.

Plural Noun

Cities /ˈsɪtiz/

Definition: More than one city. Plural of city. Note: Drop 'y', add 'ies'.

Example: Phnom Penh and Siem Reap are big cities.

Adjective

Crowded /ˈkraʊdɪd/

Definition: Full of people, leaving little or no room for movement.

Example: The street is very crowded during the festival.

Compound Noun

Street food /striːt fuːd/

Definition: Food cooked and sold in a public place, usually outdoors.

Example: Tourists love to eat street food.

record_voice_over In Action: The Tourist Guide

A

Are there many night markets?

B

Yes, the big cities have great night markets.

A

Are they usually crowded?

B

Yes, but the street food is delicious!

warning Watch Out: Plural Adjectives!

In English, adjectives never get an 's'.

In English, adjectives (words that describe nouns) do not change their form when the noun is plural. Only the noun becomes plural by adding an 's' or changing its spelling.

cancel Incorrect

Crowdeds
Adjective

+

Cities
Plural Noun

---

check_circle Correct

Crowded
Adjective (No 's')

+

Cities
Plural Noun

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Real-World Check

edit_document Writing a Review

You are writing a review about Siem Reap and Phnom Penh. Which sentence is grammatically correct?

(Hint: Remember the rule about plural adjectives.)

ramen_dining Recommending Food

A tourist wants to know what to eat at the market. You want to suggest "street food". Is "street food" a simple noun or a compound noun?

(Hint: It's made of two nouns put together.)

groups Describing a Place

You arrive at the night market, and there are hundreds of people. You cannot move easily. How do you describe the market?

(Hint: We need an adjective that means full of people.)

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Lesson Complete!

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Study Resources

Lesson Summary & Review

Let's review the key concepts covered in the interactive module above.

Understanding the Forms

• Compound Nouns: Made by putting two words together. For example, night + market = night market. Another common one is street + food = street food.
• Plural Nouns: Words showing more than one. In English, we usually add 's' or 'ies'. For example, city becomes cities.
• Adjectives: Words that describe a noun. For example, crowded describes a place filled with many people.

Avoiding Common Mistakes

A very common mistake when learning English is to add an 's' to adjectives when describing plural nouns. Remember this rule: Adjectives do not change form in English.

Whether you are talking about one beautiful city or multiple beautiful cities, the word "beautiful" remains exactly the same. Only the noun (city/cities) changes.