When you are trying to figure out the meaning of a sentence in a conversation or the answer choices you are provided with, understanding the forms of certain words may be problematic.  There are a series of questions you can ask yourself if you are unsure about the form of certain vocabulary.

Is the word a noun, a verb, an adjective, or an adverb?

A word may have one or more related forms. Notice how the word "decide" changes form.

Noun The decision was made months ago.
Verb We decided to move to a larger house.
Adjective His decisive action brought order to the meeting.
Adverb She acted very decisively.

Is the word in its correct position?

Nouns are in the following positions:

As subject The doctor came immediately.
As complement My mother is a doctor.
As objects We saw the doctor.
The nurse gave the file to the doctor.
The nurse stood beside the doctor.

Verbs are used to express the action of the subject. Remember that verbs must agree in number and person with the subject.

  • Linda and Jan jog around the lake every day.
  • Paul has rented a tuxedo.

Adjectives are words that modify (describe) the noun. Adjectives have only one form, which is used with singular and plural nouns. With the exception of “this,” “these,” “that,” and “those,” adjectives have no singular or plural form.

  • The heavy book was difficult for the little boy to carry.
  • The old man was carrying a brown paper sack.

Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. Like adjectives. adverbs have no singular or plural form.

  • The soldier fought (V) bravely (ADV).
  • I am very (ADV) fond (ADJ) of toffee.
  • Jack ran very (ADV) swiftly (ADV).

To check if a word is an adverb, the questions "How?" "When?" :'Where" and "How often?" can be asked. Adverbs can be used in many different positions in the sentence.

  • Frequently I eat out.
  • I frequently eat out.
  • I eat out frequently.

Is the word form correct for its position in the sentence?

Use the word endings (suffixes) to help identify the word forms.

The employer's enthusiasm infected all the employees equally.

  • er and -ee are endings used for people.
  • asm is an ending used for nouns.
  • ed is an ending for verbs and adjectives.
  • ly is an ending for most adverbs and some adjectives.

Look at the following chart for endings that can help you identify word forms.

Nouns Verbs Adjectives Adverbs

-acy (-cy)
-age
-al
-ance (-ence)
-ant (-ent)
-ate
-ation
-dom
-ee, -eer
-en
-er (-or)
-ese
-ess (-tress)
-ful
-hood
-ian (-an)
-ia
-ic (-ics)
-id, -ide
-in (-ine)
-ing
-ion
-ism
-ist
-ite
-ity
-let (-Iette)
-ling
-ment
-ness
-ocracy
-ry (-ary, -ery)
-ship
-ster
-tion (-sion)
-tive
-y (-ie)

-ate
-en
-ing
-ed
-er
-ify
-ize

-al (-ial, -ical)
-ant (-ent)
-ate
-en
-ese
-ful
-ian
-ic
-ing
-y
-ed
-er
-able (-ible)
·ile
-ish
·ive (-ative, -itive)
-less
-like
-Iy
-ous (-eous, -ious)

-Iy
-ward
-wise

Exercise

Open the exercise to begin the activity. Follow the instructions in the document.

Exercise

keyboard_arrow_up