Thanks Cécile but....

Question

This lesson is about forming compound nouns -noun + à + verb-infinitive '  without a hyphen (as in the many examples kindly provided in your response). Is the construction in this lesson an alternate way to create a compound noun? What is the grammatical construction or rules, being followed by the examples I gave? I came across them in a french textbook and would like to know where I can find an explanation governing this use. Additional examples are: "Une voiture à vendre",  "Un pull à laver". Merci d'avance!

Accepted Answer

Hi Andrea,
Compound nouns make another noun which stands alone in meaning so:
une planche à repasser = an ironing board  ( a board for ironing)
une machine à laver ( or un lave-linge) =  a washing machine ( a machine for washing clothes)
une machine à sécher le linge ( or un sèche-linge) = a tumble dryer 
Une machine à écrire = a typewriter 
Des pinces à linge = pegs   
The second part which is often a verb in the infinitive denotes the purpose of the item.
In the examples you give -
Une voiture à vendre = a car for sale 
à vendre is an attribute of the noun it refers to as in the other examples -
Un pull à laver = a sweater that needs washing 
Des travaux à faire = Work to be done 
Not the same but difficult to explain, hope this helps!