Word Forms Rules.

Many words can take on several different grammatical forms. For instance, the word
grammar itself can be a noun (grammar), an adjective (grammatical), or an adverb
(grammatically). There are also some words that have noun, adjective, adverb, and
verb forms. Word forms can also change for reasons related to tense and
singular/plural variation.

English is very conscious of these varying word forms and youll get a lot of questions
that deal with the proper formation of words. Here are some rules to remember as
you keep an eye on word forms in English.

Adjectives Modify Nouns & Adverbs Modify Verbs

English often tests your ability to distinguish between adjectives and adverbs. For
example, you might see a sentence that says What I love the most about my favorite
restaurant its fast, politely service. Can you see the mistake? Service is a noun, but
politely is an adverb, so youll want to look for an answer choice that changes politely
to polite. A similar ACT English sentence might say something like The staff at the
restaurant serve me very polite. In that case, you need to change the adjective polite
to adverb politely, so it can correctly describe the verb serve.

An Ending of ly Usually Means that the Word Form is

an Adverbs But Not Always!
This is a small rule that can trip you up if you scan a passage a little too quickly. Yes,
many words with ly at the end are adverbs, including quickly from the previous
sentence, but there are also some common ly words that are not adverbs. Scholarly
is an adjective. Monopoly is a noun. Multiply is a verb.

There are other exceptions too. If you take a careful look at any of these in the text,
you can immediately know their grammatical function. Scan carefully so that you dont
make any mistakes as you answer the questions.

The Verb and Noun Forms of a Word are Different.

Some words dont change when they become a verb or noun. You can take a test, or
you can test someones knowledge. More often the word form does change when the
grammar function switches between noun and verb. Compute (verb) becomes
computation (noun), assess (verb) becomes assessment (noun), and so on.
 Here is a good way to learn new words. Let's start with the word energy as an
example. As you probably know energy is a noun and it means 'the source of
power or strength'. A quick way to build up word bank of English words is to
identify the other forms of this word:

Energy - noun

Energise - verb

Energetic - adjective

Energetically adverb

So when you find a new word think about all the possible forms that it takes.
Instead of learning one word, you'll learn four!

Take a look at the following sentences and choose the correct missing form:

Verb, Noun, Adjective or Adverb ?

She's very ___ for her age.

energetically

energise

energy

energetic

I'd like to work in ___ .

entertain

entertaining

entertainer

entertainment

I met a lot of ___ people on my holiday.

friendship

friend

friendly
 We want to ___ this prouduct to women.

marketer

market

marketing

marketable

We did ___ research for the project all last month.

extension

extend

extent

extensive

I ___ that you are not wearing a tie today.

noticeable

noticeably

notification

notice

All the ___ started to run when they heard the bang.

competitors

compete

competing

That's an original ___. Let's try it out.

thought

thoughtfully

think

thoughtful
 What do you ___?

recommended

recommend

recommendation

The email contained some ___ comments.

hateful

hater

hate

Complete the following sentences using an appropriate form of the word given
in the brackets.

1. Why were you so .. about asking for help. (hesitate)

2. She offered to help without any (hesitate)

3. Moving the cartons from the attic to the basement was a .. task.
(difficulty)

4. These steep stairs are .. (hazard)

5. His . made him thoroughly unpopular. (naughty)

6. The death of the patriot was a (grief) loss.

7. Beethovens Ninth Symphony is a piece of music. (glory)

8. His . made him an ideal companion. (brave)

9. She is very when it comes to planning a menu. (fuss)

10. She gets whenever you mention her weight problem. (fury)
Answers

1. Why were you so hesitant about asking for help?

2. She offered to help without any hesitation.

3. Moving the cartons from the attic to the basement was a Difficult task.

4. These steep stairs are hazardous.

5. His naughtiness made him thoroughly unpopular.

6. The death of the patriot was a grievous loss.

7. Beethovens Ninth Symphony is a glorious piece of music.

8. His bravery made him an ideal companion.

9. She is very fussy when it comes to planning a menu.

10. She gets furious whenever you mention her weight problem.
Word forms worksheet
Complete the following sentences using an appropriate form of the word given in the
brackets.

1. The of the confidential file created a scandal. (disappear)

2. Investing our savings in stocks was . (disaster)

3. His boss dismissed him because of habitual .. (absent)

4. is the better part of valor. (discreet)

5. Use your own .. in choosing a job. (discreet)

6. He was chastised for his . manners. (disgrace)

7. He proved his .. by betraying my secret. (disloyal)

8. The boy was sent to the principals office for his behavior.
(disrespect)

9. Asking people for money is .. to most of us.(distaste)

10. Being color-blind, he cant make a . between red and green.

(distinct)

Answers

1. The disappearance of the confidential file created a scandal.

2. Investing our savings in stocks was disastrous.

3. His boss dismissed him because of habitual absenteeism.

4. Discretion is the better part of valor.

5. Use your own discretion in choosing a job.

6. He was chastised for his disgraceful manners.

7. He proved his disloyalty by betraying my secret.

8. The boy was sent to the principals office for his disrespectful behavior.

9. Asking people for money is distasteful to most of us.

10. Being color-blind, he cant make a distinction between red and green.
Vocabulary Formation Worksheet 1
For each question, fill the space or spaces in the sentence using the base word given in bold at
the end. The required word may be a noun, adverb, adjective or verb and it may be either
positive (e.g. helpful) or negative (e.g. unhelpful).

1. The Sultan spent over fifty million dollars making the capital city's main hotel the most
______________ in the country.
luxury

2. Police working on solving the bank robbery have by chance ______________ a plan to
murder a leading politician.
cover

3. We should go and eat at "Franco's" which is ______________ a great little restaurant.

suppose

4. I left the house at 8am and stared at the empty garage in ______________. My car was
nowhere to be seen. Someone had stolen it!
believe

5. If you have any problems finding things, just ask Roger. He is very ______________ and will
tell you where to find what you want.
help

6. You paid $25 for a simple breakfast?! They have certainly ______________ you! You should
go back and complain.
charge

7. The gang robbed three banks in the same city and all at about the same time. Not
______________, they were caught by the police during the fourth attempt.
surprise

8. Sarina is only my half sister because we have ______________ mothers.

differ
 Worksheet 1 answers
For each question, fill the space or spaces in the sentence using the base word given in bold at
the end. The required word may be a noun, adverb, adjective or verb and it may be either
positive (e.g. helpful) or negative (e.g. unhelpful).

1. The Sultan spent over fifty million dollars making the capital city's main hotel the most
__LUXURIOUS__ in the country.
luxury

2. Police working on solving the bank robbery have by chance __UNCOVERED__ a plan to
murder a leading politician.
cover

3. We should go and eat at "Franco's" which is __SUPPOSEDLY__ a great little restaurant.

suppose

4. I left the house at 8am and stared at the empty garage in __DISBELIEF__. My car was
nowhere to be seen. Someone had stolen it!
believe

5. If you have any problems finding things, just ask Roger. He is very __HELPFUL__ and will tell
you where to find what you want.
help

6. You paid $25 for a simple breakfast?! They have certainly __OVERCHARGED__ you! You
should go back and complain.
charge

7. The gang robbed three banks in the same city and all at about the same time. Not
__SURPRISINGLY__, they were caught by the police during the fourth attempt.
surprise

8. Sarina is only my half sister because we have __DIFFERENT__ mothers.

differ
Vocabulary Formation Worksheet 2
For each question, fill the space or spaces in the sentence using the base word given in bold at
the end. The required word may be a noun, adverb, adjective or verb and it may be either
positive (e.g. helpful) or negative (e.g. unhelpful).

1. This queue hasn't moved in five minutes. I'm getting a bit ______________!
patient

2. Politicians should spend some time living on the streets like ______________ people have to
and then they would understand better the problems they have.
home

3. Carl was calmly taking a photograph as this ______________ large bear walked towards the
car. It was a ______________ experience...at least for me!
astonish
terrify

4. If you go walking around the factory, ensure you have ______________ clothing on.
protect

5. Are you sure you have cleaned the kitchen? There is still a pretty ______________ smell
coming from it.
pleasant

6. Although it isn't definite we will see you tomorrow, it is quite ______________.

like

7. Be sure not to put more than three ______________ of vodka into the mix, otherwise it will
be too alcoholic.
spoon

8. Finding a cure for cancer will be a huge ______________ breakthrough for mankind.
medicine
 Worksheet 2 answers
For each question, fill the space or spaces in the sentence using the base word given in bold at
the end. The required word may be a noun, adverb, adjective or verb and it may be either
positive (e.g. helpful) or negative (e.g. unhelpful).

1. This queue hasn't moved in five minutes. I'm getting a bit __IMPATIENT__!
patient

2. Politicians should spend some time living on the streets like __HOMELESS__ people have to
and then they would understand better the problems they have.
home

3. Carl was calmly taking a photograph as this __ASTONISHINGLY__ large bear walked towards
the car. It was a __TERRIFYING__ experience...at least for me!
astonish
terrify

4. If you go walking around the factory, ensure you have __PROTECTIVE__ clothing on.
protect

5. Are you sure you have cleaned the kitchen? There is still a pretty __UNPLEASANT__ smell
coming from it.
pleasant

6. Although it isn't definite we will see you tomorrow, it is quite __LIKELY__.

like

7. Be sure not to put more than three __SPOONFULS__ of vodka into the mix, otherwise it will
be too alcoholic.
spoon

8. Finding a cure for cancer will be a huge __MEDICAL__ breakthrough for mankind.
medicine