Stress in English compounds varies its position, different from Spanish in which compounds has a rather fixed occurrence

word stress. The primary stress of English compounds may go on either the first or the second element in the citation pattern and,

This may also vary according to context.

Whereas all citation patterns of Spanish compounds have the primary stress on the second element, sacacorchos, cuatrocientos, cantautor, mercado 'negro, radio reloj, etc.

Quirk defined compound as

a lexical unit consisting of more than one base and functioning both grammatically and semantically as a single word.
No account for stress is present in this definition, but later on, grammarians characterize compound nouns as generally taking the primary stress on the first element, although they acknowledge the existence of a smaller number of compounds with the primary stress on the second element.

Following Carney we shall take into consideration the notion of collocation, which he conveniently defines in phonological terms as:

'Any frequently recurring two-element structure [...] for which a stress pattern may be predicted.'
This category includes collocations which can be found in EFL dictionaries of a general kind, e.g. virtual reality, national curriculum, etc., plus a few others which have not got dictionary status, e.g. insufficient evidence.

For EFL purposes, compounds can be organized according to:

the type of stress pattern, e.g. single vs. double, i.e. a phonological classification the function of the resulting collocation, e.g. nouns vs. adjectives, i.e. a syntactic-functional taxonomy.
We will take the former criterion as the basis for the organization of the examples that follow, and will indicate the function of the resulting pattern.
The patterns exemplified here are all citation forms, i.e. the patterns of compounds and collocations said in isolation.

SINGLE STRESS IN COMPOUNDS AND COLLOCATIONS

Compounds that follow the structure record player

a- Noun 1+noun 2 (N1+N2), where N1 (record) is the direct object of the action the agent N2 (player). The resulting collocation functions as noun. b- The agent usually ends in -er, -or, and can be either human or non-human.
ballet dancer Bricklayer cement mixer Eggbeater Goalkeeper Housekeeper taxi driver Songwriter bandleader bullfighter dishwasher food processor hairdresser landowner painkiller babysitter blood donor theatergoer dressmaker fortune-teller shopkeeper law-breaker tin opener screwdriver drug dealer grasshopper cassette recorder glue-sniffer slide projector lawnmower tongue twister tape recorder

Compounds that follow the structure bookshop a- Noun 1+noun 2 (NI+N2), where N1 (book) delimits the meaning of N2 (shop) by stating 'what type of thing' it is. The resulting compound usually functions as noun b- Single stress is the commonest pattern in NI+N2 collocations. In many other examples, an N1 with more specific reference favors double stress, as in kitchen sink . In other pairs this criterion does not seem to operate very clearly, e.g. university
lecturer vs. school teacher.

access road bank account blood pressure child abuse death rate handbag

airhostess bedroom bloodhound clothesline dish towel headphone

airport birth control bookmark coffee cup football hunchback

apron strings birthrate bread box license plate girlfriend keyboard

Compounds that follow the structure raindrop a- Noun 1+noun 2 (NI+N2), where N1 (rain) is usually a mass noun indicating the material N2 (drop) is made of. e.g. breadcrumb dunghill dust heap sand dune sawdust snowflake soap bubble soap flake waterfall
Compounds that follow the structure wire-tapping, time-consuming a-Noun + verb [-ing] (N+V[ing]), where N is the object of V, b- Some resulting collocations can function mainly as nouns, e.g. wire-tapping, or mainly as adjectives, e.g. 'time-consuming. hairdressing timesaving hair-raising wind surfing Breathtaking bookkeeping horseracing weight lifting housekeeping role playing fire fighting sightseeing mind reading window dressing dressmaking troubleshooting troublemaking time-consuming heartbreaking labor-saving typewriting thought-provoking language teaching