Forming Nouns

Nouns are naming words. You can turn verbs and adjectives into nouns by adding a special ending called a suffix. Knowing how to form nouns helps you choose the right word for each sentence.

What You'll Learn

In this lesson, you will learn:

• How to change verbs and adjectives into nouns using the suffixes -tion, -ness, -ment, -er, and -ist
• How to recognise when a sentence needs a noun instead of a verb or adjective
• How the spelling of a word may change when you add a suffix

When to Use

1. Naming a feeling or quality: "Her kindness made everyone smile." (The adjective "kind" becomes the noun "kindness".)
2. Naming an action or process: "The invention of the telephone changed the world." (The verb "invent" becomes the noun "invention".)
3. Naming a person who does something: "The swimmer won the gold medal." (The verb "swim" becomes the noun "swimmer".)
4. Naming a person with a skill or role: "The pianist played a beautiful song." (The noun "piano" becomes the noun "pianist".)

How to Form

Suffix -tion (verb to noun)

Add -tion or -ation to turn a verb into a noun that names an action or result.

Suffix -ness (adjective to noun)

Add -ness to turn an adjective into a noun that names a quality or feeling.

Suffix -ment (verb to noun)

Add -ment to turn a verb into a noun that names an action, process, or result.

Suffix -er (verb to noun -- person who does)

Add -er to turn a verb into a noun that names the person who does the action.

Suffix -ist (noun or verb to noun -- person with a skill)

Add -ist to name a person who does something as a skill or profession.

Key Rules

1. A noun names a person, thing, feeling, or idea: When the sentence needs a naming word, use the noun form. "His enjoyment of the game was clear." (Not "His enjoy of the game was clear.")

2. Watch for spelling changes: Some words drop the final -e before adding a suffix. "Imagine" becomes imagination, not "imagintion." "Bake" becomes baker, not "bakeer."

3. Words ending in -y change to -i before -ness: "Happy" becomes happiness, not "happyness." "Lazy" becomes laziness, not "lazyness."

4. Short verbs often double the last letter before -er: "Swim" becomes swimmer (double the m). "Run" becomes runner (double the n). This follows the same doubling rule you learnt for -ing and -ed.

5. Choose the right suffix for the meaning: Use -er or -ist when naming a person. Use -tion, -ness, or -ment when naming a thing, quality, or action.

Common Mistakes

Clue Words

Words that signal you need a noun

the, a, an, his, her, my, their, our, great, much, some, this, that

When you see a determiner (the, a, an) or a possessive word (his, her, my) before a gap, the missing word is usually a noun.

Common suffixes that signal a noun

-tion, -sion, -ness, -ment, -er, -or, -ist, -ity, -ence, -ance

If a word ends in one of these suffixes, it is very likely a noun.

Tip: Look at the words around the blank. If you see "the _" or "his _", you almost certainly need a noun!

Practice Tips

1. The determiner test: Look for words like "the", "a", "an", "his", "her", or "my" before the blank. These words come before nouns, so you need the noun form of the word.

2. Suffix swap practice: Take a verb or adjective and practise forming its noun. Start with the base word and try each suffix: inform + -ation = information, inform + -ment = ? (does not work). Pick the one that sounds right.

3. Sentence role check: Ask "Is this word naming a person, thing, or quality?" If yes, it should be a noun. If it describes an action, it should be a verb. If it describes a noun, it should be an adjective.

4. Build a word family: For each word you learn, write out the full family. For example: happy (adjective), happiness (noun), happily (adverb). This helps you choose the right form quickly.

Quick Reference

Spelling Changes to Remember