Word Formation
Concept: Nouns to Adjectives
Definition
- Words can be changed from one part of speech to another by adding or changing the suffix to the main word.
- The new formed word or adjective will give more information on the noun.
- The most common suffixes used to form adjectives are -ly, -al, -ary, -ical, ous, -ful, -ish, -ic, -less, -y, -like, -ive,-ative, -eous, -ious, -ent, -ance and -ant. For instance, the noun ‘importance’ can be changed into the adjective ‘important’ by adding the suffix -ant.
Example
- The beauty of the movie is in the performance of its actors.
- It is a beautiful movie.
In the above sentence, the root noun beauty has been changed to an adjective beautiful by adding the suffix -ful.
Adding Suffix to a Noun to Make an Adjective
| Nouns | Suffix | Adjectives | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| commerce | al | commercial |
She is a commerce student. ↓
She would like to work with a commercial establishment. |
| fame | ous | famous | The restaurant earned its fame with their unique desserts.
↓
This restaurant is famous for its desserts.
|
| pain, duty | ful | painful , dutiful | It is his duty to look after his parents.
↓
He is a dutiful son.
|
| salt, taste | y | salty , tasty | The food tastes good.
↓
The food was filling and tasty too.
|
| Geography | ic | geographic | I like the subject Geography.
↓
The geographic location of Assam is such that it is often prone to earthquakes.
|
| Child | ish | Childish | She often behaves like a child.
↓
Her behaviour seemed very childish.
|
| interest | ing | interesting | The book didn’t fail to interest me.
↓
It is an interesting book to read.
|
| talent | ed | talented | He has an inborn talent for singing.
↓
He is a talented singer.
|
Make Adjectives from Noun
Certain suffixes can be used to make adjectives from Noun. Let us have a look at them below with its rules:
Adjectives ending with ‘al’
- Certain suffixes will change a noun into one that modifies another as per the state of being.
- For example, the suffix ‘-al’ can be used with the noun ‘accident’ to form the adjective ‘accidental,’ which is the state of being in an accident.
Adjectives ending with ‘ous’
- Adjectives that relate a noun to a quality can be formed by using the suffix ‘-ary’ or ‘-ous’.
- For example, the adjective ‘poisonous’ is formed from the word ‘poison.’
Adjectives ending with ‘ful’
- The suffix ‘-ful’ can be added to some nouns to form adjectives that indicate ‘full’ of the quality expressed by the root word. So ‘beauty’ becomes ‘beautiful’, ‘wonder’ becomes ‘wonderful’, skill becomes ‘skilful’.
- However, some formations have their spellings changed. The ‘-y’ in beauty becomes an ‘-i’ when changed to ‘beautiful.’ The ‘-e’ in ‘awe’ is omitted to form the adjective ‘awful.’
Adjectives ending with ‘ic’, ‘ical’ & ‘ish’
- Adjectives can also be formed that changes a noun and express a part of its nature. These suffixes include ‘-ical,’ ‘-ic,’ and ‘-ish’.
- For example the noun ‘photograph’ can be changed into ‘photographic’ by adding the suffix – ic.
- However, some of these nouns need a spelling change. In ‘base’ and ‘athlete’ the final ‘-e’ is dropped before adding the suffix -ic to form the adjectives ‘basic’ and ‘athletic’. The noun ‘history’ has its ‘-y’ dropped before the ‘-ic’ can be added to make it ‘historic’.
Adjectives ending with ‘ly’
- The suffixes that indicate how a changed noun is similar to the root word of an adjective are ‘-ly,’ ‘-like,’ and ‘-y.’ Usually no spelling changes occur while using these suffixes.
- For example nouns like ‘child,’ and ‘rain’, ‘friend,’, ‘wind’ change into ‘childlike,’ ‘friendly,’ and ‘windy’, ‘rainy’.
- Sometimes, minor spelling changes can take place. Sometimes before adding the suffix ‘-y,’ the last consonant is doubled. So ‘fun’ changes into ‘funny’ and ‘spot’ transforms into ‘spotty.’
- For nouns like anger, hunger, the e is dropped and the suffix ‘-y,’ is added at the end.
Common Mistakes
- If the noun ends with an e, the ‘e’ is dropped, and the suffix used is either -y or -al or -ial to form an adjective.
- If the noun ends with the letter ‘y’, it is removed, and the suffix-ic or -ful is usually added in its place.
Examples:
Finance → Financial
Finance → Financeial
Nature → Natural
Nature → Natural
Example:
Tragedy → Tragic
Exceptions
- Some of the adjectives might have two kinds of suffix endings: -ic or -ical. However, their meanings do vary. So remember that, whenever you come across a pair like identity/identical,historic/historical, economic/economical,classic/classical.
- identity/identical
- economic/economical
- classic/classical
Examples:
Identity – the fact of being what a thing or a person is.
Did you get your identity card?
Identical - same or similar.
Your shirt is identical to mine.
Economic - related to industry, trade, or money
Sri Lanka is facing a major economic crisis.
Economical - affordable
Combo meals are usually very economical.
Historic- important event in history
I am lucky enough to witness this historic moment.
Historical -pertaining to history
Qutab Minar is a historical monument in India.
Look at the mind map for quick reference:
