1) Characteristics of Compounds： Compounds have noticeable characteristics which may in most cases differentiate themselves from noun phrases in the following aspects. 

(1) Phonological Features In compounds： the word stress usually occurs on the first constituent whereas in noun phrases the second element is generally accented if there is only one stress. In cases where there are two stresses, the compound has the primary stress on the first element and the secondary stress, if any, on the second., whereas the opposite is true of free phrases, e.g. Compound                         Free phrase                    a 'fat head                        a fat 'head a 'black horse                                            a black 'horse the 'White House                   the white 'house

(2) Semantic Features Compounds differ from free phrases in their semantic 'one-wordness', i.e. a single semantic unit even they may be written open. Every compound should express a single idea just as one word. For instance, hot dog is by no means a dog that is hot, but a typical American sausage in between two pieces of bread; a green hand is an 'inexperienced person', not a hand that green in color, red meat refers to beef or mutton rather than any meat that is red in color like lean pork. Nevertheless, a lot of compounds are transparent, that is the meaning can be obtained from the separate elements of compounds, e.g. disaster-related, blood test,  fire insurance, beauty contest. 

(3) Grammatical Features  The one-wordness of compounds can be seen in the way the expressions are handled morphologically. They tend to fill a single grammatical slot in a sentence. Bad-mouth used as a verb can take the third singular –s and the past tense marker –ed, e.g. 'he bad-mouthed me.' Compound nouns show their plural forms by taking inflectional –s at the end, e.g. new-borns, three-year-olds, will-o'-the-wisps, major generals. But there are also exceptions as in brothers-in-law, lookers-on, consuls general, yet their one-wordness identity is apparent. In adjective-plus-noun compounds, the adjective element cannot take inflectional suffixes, for example: Compound             Free phrase fine art                finer art red tape               redder tape hot line                hotter line

 

(4) Orthographical Features In most cases, compounds are written either 'solid' or 'hyphenated'. Some can be written in all the three forms, e.g. flowerpot, flower-pot, flower pot. As a matter of fact, the different orthographical forms are largely a personal preference. Comparatively, British speakers tend to hyphenate compounds while Americans like to write compounds like free phrases. 2) Formation of Compounds 

(1) Adjective Compounds A. noun+V-ing freedom-loving people---the people who love freedom,  a cloud-touching mountain, a rocket-launching base, a nose-cutting smell, cattle-raising farmers, labour-saving machinery, the ear-numbing hard-beat music Many of the calls came from news-hunting journalists. The fist-striking, backing-slapping, ale-drinking men got on his nerves. Traffic-directing policemen and one-way streets are clear proof of the existence of a large volume of traffic. to make profit, to grow roses, to save money, to melt snow, to sell houses,  

B. noun+V-ed ice-covered---covered with ice,  tobacco-stained fingers, leathered-bound books, university-trained engineers, a hand-knitted sweater, a moth-eaten carpet, a glass-built wall, a dog-bitten boy,  Six-month, bottle-fed Brian should cry for milk any minute. A dust-and-mud-stained car was parked beside a store. The two women didn't seem troubled by her tear-stained face or her silence. He handed Nick the newspaper-wrapped bottle of whisky. 烟雾弥漫的屋子， 镀银的勺子， 用铅笔写的便条， 被阳光刺得两眼发黑的男 孩， 被雨水冲洗过的人行道，光线充足的大厅 a smoke-filled house, silver-rimmed spoons, a pencil-written note, a boy with sun-blackened eyes,  the rain-washed pavement, a light-flooded hall 

C. adverb/noun+V-ing/V-ed fast-growing---to grow fast low-hanging branches, slow-moving cars, the quick-drying paint, a little-known book, a long-planned journey, a much-discussed problem, a much-photographed girl, a clean-shaven man, a deep-rooted mistrust, tree-living animals, spring-blossoming flowers, water-growing plants,  a well-dressed man, a wellborn woman, a well-worn hat, well-run library, a well-read man, well-informed, an ill-acted play, an ill-mannered girl, an ill-chosen example, ill-bred children, ill-informed students The aggressive, fast-talking passenger complained that his wife's traveling case had been damaged as a result of careless handling. "Why don't you and Mama come down and spend a couple of weeks with me this summer?" "Oh, Adam", Mama exclaimed clasping her hands at this long-hoped-for invitation. Grice was away for a few days, on a well-earned holiday. In my opinion Dr. Pearson is one of the best-qualified men on the hospital staff. The Carter house was large, well-furnished, well-heated in winter, well-shaded in summer and well-kept. He had a well-care-for face, with large, pretty dark eyes.