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Thread: 2-doored car or?

  1. #1
    atabitaraf is offline Senior Member
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    Default 2-doored car or?

    I don't know where to use the first part of a compound noun, with -ed or without it.
    two-doored car/two door car
    three-wheeled motorcycle/three-wheel motorcycle
    three way extension/three wayed extension
    five sided shape/five side shape
    etc.
    I'm looking to find the rule.
    Thanks,

  2. #2
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    Default Re: 2-doored car or?

    There is no rule.
    Context is important. Please provide enough for us to be able to deal effectively with your question.
    Your thread title should include all or part of the word/phrase being discussed.
    If you just want to know the meaning of a word, try OneLook Dictionary Search first.


  3. #3
    atabitaraf is offline Senior Member
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    Default Re: 2-doored car or?

    Quote Originally Posted by 5jj View Post
    There is no rule.
    Which of the mentioned examples are correct? Are the others not-usual or incorrect?

  4. #4
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    Default Re: 2-doored car or?

    In my opinion (and that's all it is) we speak of:

    a two-door car
    a three-wheeled motorcycle or a three-wheel motorcycle
    a three-way extension
    a five-sided shape.

    Sorry, but I can offer no explanation. Let's hope others can.
    Context is important. Please provide enough for us to be able to deal effectively with your question.
    Your thread title should include all or part of the word/phrase being discussed.
    If you just want to know the meaning of a word, try OneLook Dictionary Search first.


  5. #5
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    Default Re: 2-doored car or?

    Quote Originally Posted by 5jj View Post
    In my opinion (and that's all it is) we speak of:

    a two-door car
    a three-wheeled motorcycle or a three-wheel motorcycle
    a three-way extension
    a five-sided shape.

    Sorry, but I can offer no explanation. Let's hope others can.
    Same for all four for me, but I can't say why a "2-door car" and a "3-wheeled bike" sound "right."
    I'm not a teacher, but I write for a living. Please don't ask me about 2nd conditionals, but I'm a safe bet for what reads well in (American) English.

  6. #6
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    Default Re: 2-doored car or?

    Quote Originally Posted by Barb_D View Post
    Same for all four for me, but I can't say why a "2-door car" and a "3-wheeled bike" sound "right."
    I wish I could.
    Context is important. Please provide enough for us to be able to deal effectively with your question.
    Your thread title should include all or part of the word/phrase being discussed.
    If you just want to know the meaning of a word, try OneLook Dictionary Search first.


  7. #7
    atabitaraf is offline Senior Member
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    Default Re: 2-doored car or?

    Thanks a million.
    Even when you say there is no rule or I don't know it has a great meaning to us. It means in this case I have to refer to 'Google' or to your culture and not to grammar or logical rules.

  8. #8
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    Default Re: 2-doored car or?

    Quote Originally Posted by atabitaraf View Post
    Thanks a million.
    Even when you say there is no rule or I don't know it has a great meaning to us. It means in this case I have to refer to 'Google' or to your culture and not to grammar or logical rules.
    No, please don't perpetuate "having to refer to Google". This would not solve your problem at all. Google is ruthless in cataloguing crap as well as it catalogues proper English - unless you mean referring intelligently to trusted sites on the web with the help of Google.
    5jj, Rover_KE, Odessa Dawn and 3 others like this.

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