They are by far the most dangerous creatures on the island. The Union was the largest by far.
2.168 Very is only used with superlatives formed by adding -est or with irregular superlatives such as the best and the worst. Very is placed between the and the superlative.
…the very earliest computers.
It was of the very highest quality.
Very is also used to modify superlative adjectives when you want to be very emphatic. It is placed after a determiner such as the or that and in front of a superlative adjective or one such as first or last.
…in the very smallest countries.
…one of the very finest breeds of dogs.
…on the very first day of the war.
He had come at the very last moment.
That very next afternoon he was working in his room.
He spent weeks in that very same basement.
Modifying using nouns: noun modifiers
2.169 Nouns can be used as modifiers in front of other nouns when you want to give more specific information about someone or something.
Sometimes, when nouns are used like this they become fixed expressions called compound nouns (see paragraphs 1.83 to 1.92).
When the nouns used in front of other nouns are not in fixed expressions, they are called noun modifiers.
…the car door.
…tennis lessons.
…a football player.
…cat food.
…the music industry.
…a surprise announcement.
singular and plural forms
2.170 You normally use the singular form of a countable noun (see paragraphs 1.15 to 1.22) as a noun modifier, even when you are referring to more than one thing. For example, you refer to a shop that sells books as a book shop, not a books shop, even though it sells a large number of books, not just one.
Many plural nouns lose their -s endings when used in front of other nouns.
…my trouser pocket.
…pyjama trousers.
…paratroop attacks.
Here is a list of common plural nouns that lose their -s and -es endings when they are used as modifiers:
knickers
paratroops
pyjamas
scissors
spectacles
troops
trousers
However, some plural nouns keep the same form when used in front of other nouns.
…arms control.
…clothes pegs.
Here is a list of common plural nouns that remain the same when they are used as modifiers:
arms
binoculars
clothes
glasses
jeans
sunglasses
Plural nouns are explained in paragraphs 1.41 to 1.46.
using more than one noun modifier
2.171 If you want to be even more specific, you can use more than one noun modifier. For example, a car insurance certificate is a certificate that shows that a car has been insured, and a state pension scheme is a scheme that is run by the state and concerns workers’ pensions.
…a Careers Information Officer.
…car body repair kits.
…a family dinner party.
…a school medical officer.
used with adjectives
2.172 If you want to give more information about a noun that has a noun modifier in front of it, you can put adjectives in front of the noun modifier.
…a long car journey.
…a new scarlet silk handkerchief.
…complex business deals.
…this beautiful morning sunlight.
…the French film industry.
When an adjective comes in front of two nouns, it is usually obvious whether it is modifying the two nouns combined or only the noun modifier.
For example, in an electric can opener, the adjective electric is modifying the combination can opener; whereas in electric shock treatment, electric is modifying the noun shock and then both the adjective and the noun modifier are modifying the noun treatment.
Adjectives are explained in paragraphs 2.2 to 2.102.
use of proper nouns
2.173 Proper nouns can also be used as noun modifiers. For example, if you want to show that something is connected with a place, organization, or institution, you put the name of the place, organization, or institution in front of all other noun modifiers. You also put them in front of classifying adjectives.
…Brighton Technical College.
…the Cambridge House Literacy Scheme.
Proper nouns are explained in paragraphs 1.52 to 1.58.
2.174 The use of noun modifiers in English is very common indeed. In fact, when the context makes it clear what you mean, you can use almost any noun to modify any other noun. You can use noun modifiers to talk about a wide range of relationships between the two nouns.
For example, you can say what something is made of, as in cotton socks. You can also say what is made in a particular place, as in a glass factory. You can say what someone does, as in a football player, or you can say where something is, as in my bedroom curtains.
You can say when something happens, as in the morning mist and her wartime activities. You can also describe the nature or size of something, as in a surprise attack and a pocket chess-set.
Talking about quantities and amounts
2.175 This section deals with ways of talking about quantities and amounts of things. You often refer to quantities by using a number, but sometimes in everyday situations you can do this by using a word or a phrase such as several or a lot and link it with of to the following noun. Quantity expressions like these are explained in paragraphs 2.176 to 2.193. When phrases such as a bottle are used like this, they are called partitives. Partitives are explained in paragraphs 2.194 to 2.207.
When you want to be very precise about the quantity or amount of something, you can use numbers (see paragraphs 2.208 to 2.239) or fractions (see paragraphs 2.240 to 2.249).