I. Pretest

II. Strategies in Using Correct Word Forms

All words in English have their parts of speech, and the most common ones are nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. Word forms are associated with parts of speech. For example, a “-tion” ending word is usually a noun, and an “-ly” ending word is usually an adverb.

Using the appropriate word form will ensure that the sentence is correct and that its meaning is clear. Here are some strategies:

1. Always learn vocabulary from the context.

Some words have multiple forms or parts of speech, with or without change in meaning. For example, the word “present” can be a verb and a noun with totally different meanings. Do not try to learn the word form in isolation; instead, put it in sentences so that you understand its meaning accurately.

 

2. Try not to translate the words into your native language.

Many words like “success, succeed, successful, successfully” may be used in similar ways in some languages but not in English. Therefore, understanding these words as they are positioned in English sentences is crucial in learning how to use them correctly.

 

3. Practice writing sentences with different word forms.

Consider them as word families. For example, take “success, succeed, successful, successfully” as one word family. Notice the changes in their suffixes^[1]. In addition, if you try to write these sentences based on your own life stories, you may understand and remember them better.

 

4. As in studying any language, read as much as you can.

If possible, read out loud to listen to yourself, feel the movement of your tongue in the mouth, and hear what an English sentence sounds like. This will help improve the dexterity^[2] of your tongue while articulating^[3] sentences in English. It will also help you get more familiar with the sound of English.

 

III. Positions of Different Word Forms

The following are common places to find nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs in sentences.

 

Nouns – names of people, places, things, and ideas

 

1. Before a verb (as the subject of the verb)

• • Facebook is a social media site.

2. After a verb (as the object of the verb)

• • More and more people are using Facebook to post stories and opinions.

3. After a preposition

• • On Facebook, there are many images and videos.

4. After another noun

• • People like to show their birthday on the timeline page.

5. After an adjective

• • New features such as dark mode are very popular among young people.

6. After a determiner (article, possessive noun, possessive adjective, etc.)

• • One of the features is having three-dimensional images.
  • My cousin’s posts are full of gaming videos. His videos are especially interesting.

 

Verbs – to show actions or states of being 

1. After the subject (as the main verb of the sentence)

• • Some people like Facebook, and some others prefer Instagram.

2. After “to” (to + base verb, called infinitive)

• • Many people use both Facebook and Instagram to post their news.

3. After some causative verbs like “make, let, get”

• • Parents do not always let their young children use the social media.

 

Adjectives – to describe nouns

 

1. Before a noun

• • Instagram is becoming a more popular site for young people.

2. After a linking verb

• • Instagram is full of images and videos.
  • This is one of the reasons Instagram has grown popular.

 

Adverbs – to describe verbs, adjectives, other adverbs, or the whole sentences

 

1. Before or after a verb

• • News on the social media can quickly spread. It travels fast.

2. Before an adjective

• • There is both very good news and very bad news on the social media.

3. Before another adverb

• • My cousin’s videos are posted extremely frequently on Facebook.

4. Before or after a whole sentence

• • Unfortunately, not everyone in my family likes my cousin’s posts.
  • I do not always like his posts, either.

 

 

IV. Word Suffixes

 Besides the location in a sentence, the suffix provides another way to show whether a word is a noun, a verb, an adjective, or an adverb. Here are some common suffixes.

Common Noun Suffixes

Suffixes	Examples
(people) -er/-or -ee -ist -ian -ant	employer, dancer, doctor, teacher employee, interviewee[4], mentee, refugee[5] artist, dentist, pianist, scientist electrician, mathematician, musician, physician accountant, assistant, consultant, immigrant
–ance/–ence	assistance, importance, difference, excellence
–cy	accuracy, consistency, democracy, efficiency
-hood	brotherhood, childhood, motherhood, parenthood
-ion/-tion/-sion	application, decision, communication, religion
-ment	achievement, argument, encouragement, government
-ness	darkness, happiness, politeness, sadness
-ship	dictatorship[6], friendship, relationship, scholarship
-ty	activity, ability, beauty, possibility

 

Common Verb Suffixes

Suffixes	Examples
-ate	activate, create, graduate, investigate
-en	darken[7], lighten[8], strengthen, threaten
-ify	identify, notify, simplify[9], verify[10]
-ize	criticize, hospitalize, realize, socialize

 

Common Adjective Suffixes

Suffixes	Examples
-able/-ible	acceptable, comfortable, responsible, valuable
-al	educational, equal, legal, social
-ant/-ent	dependent, different, efficient, important
-ary/-ery	angry, elementary, primary, secondary
-ful	beautiful, careful, helpful, useful
-ic	allergic, historic, electric, magic
-ing/-ed	amazing/amazed, boring/bored, exciting/excited, interesting/interested
-ish	childish[11], foolish, greenish, selfish
-ive	active, competitive, creative, expensive
-less	careless, helpless, selfless, useless
-ly	daily, friendly, lonely, silly
-ous	curious, dangerous, famous, religious
-y	funny, healthy, scary, rainy

 

Common Adverb Suffixes

Suffixes	Examples
-ly	carefully, comfortably, happily, sadly
others	frequency adverbs: always, often, sometimes, never … others: very, late, hard, fast, quite, well …

 

The above charts show only the common suffixes and words you often use. There are many exceptions in English. It is not uncommon for the same suffix to be used for different parts of speech.

For example, not all words with the “-ly” ending are adverbs, and not all adverbs end with “-ly”. The best approach is to look at the context.

1. It is hard to catch up with all the daily posts from my friends on the social media, so I do not read everything daily. (adjective, adverb)
2. My cousins update their information on Facebook fast; however, I am not a fast reader. (adverb, adjective)

 

 

V. Difference Between “-ed” and “-ing” Ending Adjectives

“-ed” ending adjectives describe someone’s feelings.

1. The young players were excited during the soccer game yesterday.
2. The parents were amused by the children’s behaviors. Some children were running in the wrong direction, and some were kicking the ball into their opponents^[12]’ goal.
3. A mother in the audience was holding a baby. The baby was frightened by the loud noise from the soccer field. He certainly had no idea what was going on.

 

“-ing” ending adjectives describe the person or thing that produces those feelings.

1. The soccer game was very exciting yesterday.
2. The children’s behaviors were amusing.
3. The loud noise from the soccer field was frightening to the baby.
4. All in all, the game was very interesting, and everyone was interested except the baby!

 

 

VI. Comparisons

Using nouns, adjectives, and adverbs in comparison is common. The following chart shows different word forms used in comparison.

 

Comparisons	Examples
Showing similarity	the same + noun + (as) My sister and I have the same hair color. My hair has the same color as my sister’s. as + adjective/adverb + as My hair is as long as my sister’s. My hair grows as quickly as my sister’s.
Comparing between 2 (comparative forms)	more + plural count noun/singular noncount noun + than fewer + plural count noun + than less + singular noncount noun + than My brother watches more soccer games than my sister. My sister watches fewer soccer games than my brother. My brother has more time playing sports than my sister. My sister has less time playing sports than my brother. 1 – syllable adjective/adverb -er + than My sister is shorter than my brother. My brother runs faster than my sister. 2-syllable adjective ending in “y” -ier + than (Delete “y”.) My brother is heavier than my sister. more/less + 3-syllable adjective + than more/less + adverb with “ly” + than My brother is more athletic than my sister. My sister swims more slowly than my brother. My sister is less passionate about sports than my brother.
Comparing 3 or more (Superlative forms)	the most + plural count noun/singular noncount noun My sister collects the most stamps in my family. My sister has the most patience of us all. the + 1-syllable adjective/adverb -est My sister is the shortest of all in my family. the + 2-syllable adjective ending in “y” -iest (Delete “y”.) My sister is the easiest to talk with in my family. the + most/least + 3-syllable adjective the + most/least + adverb with “ly” My sister is the most interesting of all the people I know. My sister enjoys movies the most enthusiastically of all the people I know. My sister is the least athletic in my family.
Exceptions	bad – worse – worst good / well – better – best far – farther / further – farthest / furthest little – less – least many / much – more – most I can speak English as well as my brother. I speak English the best in my family. I live farther from our childhood home than my brother. Among the siblings, I live the farthest from our childhood home. My sister is the least talkative in my family.

 

VII. Unit Review Practice