What does a child have to do to form a compound word in the 11+?

Join two supplied word parts to make a conventional compound. It is one of 26 named verbal reasoning skills in the 11+, in the word strand, and this page carries 1 interactive exercise that practises it.

What is the trap in an 11+ form a compound word question?

A half that turns up in lots of other compounds feels like it must fit here too, and usually it does not. The wrong answers on this skill are built out of that, not out of random numbers, so it is worth naming out loud before your child meets it under time pressure.

What can I say if my child is stuck on form a compound word?

Point at the next move rather than explaining the whole rule. Say each join out loud as one word. A compound has to be a word by itself, not just two words next to each other.

What is not part of form a compound word in the 11+?

The skill map draws the line here: Excludes arbitrary phrase formation. A question past that line is testing a different named verbal reasoning skill, which is worth knowing before you spend a week practising the wrong one.

Which other 11+ skills should we practise alongside form a compound word?

The word strand holds 9 skills that are tested together, and the pages next to form a compound word are form a derived word, move a letter between words and identify an impossible word formation. Each has its own exercise and its own link, and none of them needs an account.

How can my child practise form a compound word for free?

Use Word Welder, embedded on this page. It is the exercise the skill map attaches to form a compound word, it runs in the browser with no account to make, these exercises are not scored and do not save learner records. The separate quiz sends answers for marking and shows a score, without saving an assessment record. It also has its own link, so you can send it to a child without sending them anywhere else first.

Verbal Reasoning · Word

Form a compound word

Join two supplied word parts to make a conventional compound.

Watch the worked example

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Make the Perfect Word Join

This video shows how to join two word parts to make a real compound word. Watch an 11+ verbal reasoning question solved step by step.

0:00 / 2:26

Turn on captions with the CC button. Jump to any part with the chapter buttons.

Read the transcript

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Quick quiz: Form a compound word

10 questions, with feedback after each one. No sign-up needed.

Read the questions in this quiz

Question 1
Which word joins onto the FRONT of "cake" to make one real compound word?
- A.pan
- B.news
- C.bath
- D.foot
Question 2
Which word joins onto the FRONT of "fish" to make one real compound word?
- A.class
- B.news
- C.star
- D.air
Question 3
Which word joins onto the FRONT of "ache" to make one real compound word?
- A.down
- B.bath
- C.head
- D.hair
Question 4
Which word joins onto the FRONT of "brush" to make one real compound word?
- A.back
- B.corn
- C.horse
- D.tooth
Question 5
Which word joins onto the FRONT of "wheel" to make one real compound word?
- A.hair
- B.card
- C.cart
- D.horse
Question 6
Which word joins onto the FRONT of "flower" to make one real compound word?
- A.under
- B.book
- C.wheel
- D.sun
Question 7
Which word joins onto the FRONT of "chair" to make one real compound word?
- A.wheel
- B.fire
- C.wind
- D.ear
Question 8
Which word joins onto the FRONT of "stairs" to make one real compound word?
- A.down
- B.book
- C.rain
- D.head
Question 9
Which word joins onto the FRONT of "walk" to make one real compound word?
- A.farm
- B.lady
- C.side
- D.straw
Question 10
Which word joins onto the FRONT of "room" to make one real compound word?
- A.butter
- B.class
- C.moon
- D.sea

Practise it now

Weld 3 pairs of tiles into real compound words.

Loading the interactive exercise. Nothing you do here is saved or scored.

A worked example

One question of the kind this skill is tested with, worked all the way through: the reasoning, and what the wrong answers are there to catch.

Joining two words into one

Which word joins onto the END of "grand" to make one real compound word?

Weld one pair together and hear the difference between a compound and two words side by side.

web
father
screen
path

Answer: father

How you get there

Joining them up gives "grandfather", which is a real word you could look up. Keep the parts in the order asked for. Look for a familiar compound word, rather than choosing a part just because it works in a different compound.

Why the other answers tempt

A half that turns up in lots of other compounds feels like it must fit here too, and usually it does not.

If they are stuck, say this

Say each join out loud as one word. A compound has to be a word by itself, not just two words next to each other.

Now do it live in Word Welder

Kitchen-table script for parents

Try this together

A friendly mini script for the breakfast table, school run or a quiet two minutes. Read it aloud as written, or make it your own.

Ready? Let's have a go at Form a compound word together. Weld one pair together and hear the difference between a compound and two words side by side. Here comes the question: Which word joins onto the END of "grand" to make one real compound word? Before we race ahead, let us choose one good first step. Here is a helpful clue: Say each join out loud as one word. A compound has to be a word by itself, not just two words next to each other. Nice work. Now let us follow the thinking: Look for a familiar compound word, rather than choosing a part just because it works in a different compound. So our answer is: father. There is one sneaky trap to watch for: A half that turns up in lots of other compounds feels like it must fit here too, and usually it does not. Can you show me that first move again in your own words? Brilliant. No rush; we are practising a method you can reuse, not trying to win a speed contest.

What this exercise is doing

Word Welder

Weld 3 pairs of tiles into real compound words.

A compound word is two whole words pushed together to make a new one: "hair" + "cut" makes "haircut". Both halves have to be real words on their own, and the joined word has to be a word people actually use, which is why "hair" will not weld to just anything. When you are hunting compounds, work along one column and test each tile against every tile in the other column, saying the pair out loud. Your ear spots a real compound faster than your eye does.

What to say if they get stuck

Drag one tile from the left and one from the right into the welding bay. If they make a real word they fuse together.
Say the two halves out loud, one straight after the other. If it sounds like a word you already know, it probably is one.

Open Word Welder on its own page to share it

Related verbal reasoning skills

Apply a word transformation ruleApply one stated letter-level transformation rule to form a valid target word.
Complete a word with a letterSupply a letter that makes a valid word under the stated constraint.
Find a hidden wordLocate a continuous target word across a bounded letter string.
Follow a word ladderChange one permitted letter at each step while preserving valid intermediate words.
Form a derived wordForm one valid new word from a supplied base using the permitted letter operation.
Move a letter between wordsMove one supplied letter from one word to another so both results are valid words.
Identify an impossible word formationDetermine which candidate cannot be formed under a supplied letter rule.
Solve an anagram in contextRearrange all supplied letters into a context-compatible word.

All verbal reasoning 11+ skills

Questions parents ask about form a compound word

What this skill involves, common mistakes and ways to practise it at home.

: Join two supplied word parts to make a conventional compound. It is one of 26 named verbal reasoning skills in the 11+, in the word strand, and this page carries 1 interactive exercise that practises it.
: A half that turns up in lots of other compounds feels like it must fit here too, and usually it does not. The wrong answers on this skill are built out of that, not out of random numbers, so it is worth naming out loud before your child meets it under time pressure.
: Point at the next move rather than explaining the whole rule. Say each join out loud as one word. A compound has to be a word by itself, not just two words next to each other.
: The skill map draws the line here: Excludes arbitrary phrase formation. A question past that line is testing a different named verbal reasoning skill, which is worth knowing before you spend a week practising the wrong one.
: The word strand holds 9 skills that are tested together, and the pages next to form a compound word are form a derived word, move a letter between words and identify an impossible word formation. Each has its own exercise and its own link, and none of them needs an account.
: Use Word Welder, embedded on this page. It is the exercise the skill map attaches to form a compound word, it runs in the browser with no account to make, these exercises are not scored and do not save learner records. The separate quiz sends answers for marking and shows a score, without saving an assessment record. It also has its own link, so you can send it to a child without sending them anywhere else first.

Verbal reasoning is a set of question types, not a subject to revise

A free diagnostic works out which of the codes, analogies, word puzzles and logic types are already secure, and which are not.