Which nouns are acting as adjectives or proper adjectives?

Answer 1

Some nouns as adjectives are:

• family, 'Meet my family.' and 'This is the family dog.'
• school, 'Their school is closed today.' and 'My father is a school teacher.'
• fish, 'Dad and I caught some fish.' and 'We're having fish sticks for lunch.'
• work, 'The work is hard but it pays well.' and 'You are required to wear work gloves.'
• movie, 'Did you like the movie?' and 'Who is your favorite movie star?'

Some proper nouns as proper adjectives:

• I'll have some French toast with Canadianbacon.
• His style is Chaplinesque comedy.
• That theater runs Bollywood movies.
• The secret to a Reuben sandwich is the Swisscheese, not the Russian dressing.
• Her decor is designed around her collection of Chineseart.

Answer 2

If a noun is acting as an adjective, it's an adjective.

For example:

Math (noun) -- Bobby does well in math.

Math (adjective) -- Mr. Smith is a math teacher. (Teacher is the noun; math is the adjective.)