WORD FORMATION: NOUNS

Many words in English can be adapted to be used for different grammatical functions.
We often use suffixes (extra parts of the word added at the end) to change the
meaning of a word for a variety of purposes. Adjectives and verbs can be turned into
nouns, for example happy becomes the feeling of happiness, move becomes movement
the quality of moving. These patterns can quickly give you more options to build your
vocabulary, and to understand what a new noun means when you are familiar with its
root. The suffixes also give useful signals to identify a word as a noun.

ADJECTIVES AND VERBS TO NOUNS

The following is a list of the most common suffix changes to form nouns:
1. The suffix –ness
The suffix –ness refers to state of being and it forms nouns from adjectives. Not all
adjectives can have –ness added to them, but it is a common form – especially with
adjectives ending in y (though note the spelling change, to –iness), hard consonant
sounds like d, and many adjectives ending in ful. Some examples are:
 ready – They questioned her readiness for the test.
 happy – It is important to create happiness for everyone.
 weak – Eating too much cake was a major weakness of his.
 sad – The closure of the post office brought sadness to the community.
 mad – The decision to drive in the snow was pure madness.
 forgetful – Forgetfulness comes with old age.

2. The suffix –ity

The suffix –ity refers to the quality of something and it forms nouns from
adjectives. Again, this is only for certain adjectives, though it is common
adjectives ending in –ble or with soft –s sounds. To form nouns with –ity,
changes in spelling often occur, such as replacing the last few letters of the
adjective. Some examples are:
 responsible – Your children are not my responsibility.
 possible – Nuclear war seemed like a real possibility.
 scarce – The scarcity of drinks became problematic during the party.
 hilarious – They reacted to the joke with much hilarity.
 probable – It’s hard to guess the probability of her passing the test.

1
 3. The suffixes –ance and –ence
The suffix –ance (or –ence) refer to the state or quality of something and they can be
added to either adjectives or verbs to form nouns. This is particularly used for
adjectives ending in –ent or –ant (where the spelling changes to replace t with -ce) and
various verbs. Some examples include:
 independent – Having a car has improved my independence.
 important – Never underestimate the importance of studying.
 silent – Librarians ask for silence to remain in the room.
 appear – The appearance of a second singer improved the concert.
 resist – The home team put up a strong resistance against their opponents.

4. The suffix –ment

The suffix –ment refers to the state, act or condition of something and it can be added
to either adjectives or verbs to form nouns. It is mostly used with verbs, of many kinds,
but occasionally also with adjectives with soft endings (such as y endings). This suffix
normally does not change the spelling of the core word (though y may change to i).
Some examples include:
 appoint – I need to make an appointment with my doctor.
 assign – The final essay was a very big assignment.
 enjoy – Don’t let the rain affect your enjoyment of this walk.
 merry – The children found a lot of merriment that afternoon in the park.
 replace – Our replacement teacher was much better than the first one.

5. The suffixes –tion and –sion

The suffixes –tion and –sion refer to a state of being and they can be added to verbs
to form nouns. They follow many different verb forms, and often change spellings to fit
comfortably (for example adding an additional vowel or changing a consonant to sound
more natural). Some examples are:
 inform – There is not enough information about foxes in our area.
 decide – The committee will make a formal decision this Friday.
 describe – The detective has a good description of the thief.
 multiply – I like addition and subtraction but multiplication is difficult.
 admit – The criminal’s admission of guilt got him in trouble.

2
 ACTIVITIES

Add the –ness suffix to the following adjectives. Pick one of the nouns formed and
write a sentence.

a. clumsy  ____________
b. polite  ____________
c. kind  ____________
d. selfish  ____________
e. fair  ____________

Your example:
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________

Add the –ity suffix to the following adjectives. Pick one of the nouns formed and write
a sentence.

a. clear  ____________
b. agile  ____________
c. diverse  ____________
d. variable  ____________
e. humble  ____________

Your example:
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________

3
Add the –ence or –ance suffixes to the following adjectives and verbs. Pick one of the
nouns formed and write a sentence.

a. silent  ____________
b. competent  ____________
c. refer  ____________
d. attend  ____________
e. exist  ____________

Your example:
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________

Add the –ment suffix to the following verbs. Pick one of the nouns formed and write a
sentence.

a. develop  ____________
b. argue  ____________
c. invest  ____________
d. excite  ____________
e. agree  ____________

Your example:
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________

4
Add the –tion and –sion suffixes to the following verbs. Pick one of the nouns formed
and write a sentence.

a. decide  ____________
b. combine  ____________
c. inform  ____________
d. declare  ____________
e. revise  ____________

Your example:
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________

Find the nouns ending in the suffixes –tion and –sion to the following verbs in the
letter soup.

pollute impress alter admit complicate

reduct add donate explain promote

C P O S I O R E D U C T I O N
R I N O T A I X S I O N L M O
P R E D T U O P L M L P A N I
U N O R E R S L T I O D L O S
C O M P L I C A T I O N T I S
R I T I O N S N I N O O E S I
T T S U D T R A A P S I R S M
R U O I T A I T O R T T A E D
R L X U A L I I M N L I T R A
E L R E D O N O M T Y D I P A
T O T O N D P N L I O D O M R
Y P R O M O T I O N I A N I A

5
Complete the table adding the correct suffixes to form nouns from verbs and adjectives.

VERB NOUN ADJECTIVE NOUN

educate dark
improve weak
govern similar
hesitate real
arrange sweet
accept popular
insure convenient
investigate absent
impress different
inherit personal

Complete the following texts with the nouns from the previous exercise.

1. After some ____________, the winner gave a speech of

____________ admitting disbelief at achieving the first price a
____________. The speech was so perfectly executed that it made a
good ____________ on the spectators as it didn’t show any sign of
____________ through the whole of it.

2. The recently elected Prime Minister promised an ____________ in the

fields of health and ____________. Their goal is to make a
____________ for the good of all the community.

3. Moviegoers are satisfied with the new action film and the actress playing the main
character has gained a lot of ____________. The script has been praised for holding a
striking ____________ to the books the film is based on. The main character is full of a
great ____________ that adds to her ____________. An ____________ for the
sequel is on the horizon.

6
 4. Apparently the robbery took place in the middle of the ____________ in the
_____________ of the people of the house, that’s what the owner of the
____________ store thinks. An ____________ is being carried out by several
detectives of the county. The owner confessed he had gained access to a once-removed
relative’s ____________ and this amount of wealth had been scary to him from the
start. He says that he’s even hired an ____________ service in case anything was to
happen that may lead to the loss of the money which belonged to him.

Take a look at each text. In which section of a newspaper would you find these texts?

Write one of your own invention picking a section of your liking and using the nouns
formed in the chart.

____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________

7
Fill the blanks of the song with the nouns ending in a suffix previously learned.

Science & Faith by The Script

Tried to break love to a ___________

In an act of pure ___________
I broke her heart

As I pulled apart her theories

As I watched her growing weary
I pulled her apart

Having heavy ___________

About the furthest ___________
Of our souls

We're just trying to find some meaning

In the things that we believe in
But we got some ways to go

Of all of the things that she's ever said

She goes and says something that just knocks me dead

You won't find faith or hope down a telescope

You won't find heart and soul in the stars
You can break everything down to chemicals
But you can't explain a love like ours

It's the way we feel

Yeah this is real
It's the way we feel
Yeah this is real

I tried pushing ___________

As the obvious ___________
Of the start

8
But it was for my own ___________
Saying love was an ___________
Of a hopeless heart

Of all of the things that she's ever said

She goes and says something that knocks me dead

You won't find faith or hope down a telescope

You won't find heart and soul in the stars
You can break everything down to chemicals
But you can't explain a love like ours

It's the way we feel

Yeah this is real
It's the way we feel
Yeah this is real

Of all of the things that she's ever said

She goes and says something that just knocks me dead

You won't find faith or hope down a telescope

You won't find heart and soul in the stars
You can break everything down to chemicals
But you can't explain a love like ours

It's the way we feel

Yeah this is real
It's the way we feel
Yeah this is real