Question

describe two ways that nonmetals can combine with other elements?

Answer 1

The two types of non-metal bonding are:

Ionic: metal and a non-metal

Covalent: non-metal and non-metal

Answer 2

In an ionic bond, the electrons from the non-metal are attracted to the metal and spend more of their "time" floating around the metal. In a covalent bond, the two non-metals are sharing their electrons, so they end up spending equal time around both nuclei.