which denotes objects, living beings, substances, various phenomena and abstract concepts. According to their composition, English nouns are of three types: simple ( simple), derivatives ( derivative) and complex ( compound). The former are monosyllabic nouns without prefixes or suffixes. For example:

A book (book), an egg (egg), blue sky (blue sky), finger (finger).

Derived nouns appear by adding a prefix or suffix, or sometimes both, to a simple adjectival stem.

Im patience (impatience - from the noun patience "patience"), politeness (politeness - from the adjective polite "polite"), a builder (builder - from the verb to build "build").

And nouns are considered complex if they have two or more stems in their composition, which, when combined, form one noun with a single meaning.

railway ( Railway), earring (earring), bellydance (belly dance).

Ways of forming nouns in English

The formation of nouns in English occurs in one of the following ways:

1. Compounding ( composition). We can get a new noun by combining two or more words into more compound word. Such words are written either together or with a hyphen: sea + food = seafood(seafood); mail + box = mailbox(mailbox); merry + go + round = merry-go-round(carousel).
2. Affixation ( affixation). To form a noun in English in this way, it is necessary to add a suffix or a prefix to the stem of a word, and sometimes both at the same time. Knowing the most common suffixes and prefixes will make it easier to understand unfamiliar words in the future. Here are some suffixes and prefixes worth remembering:

   Prefixes:

   • mis-; un-; im-; il-; ir-; dis-; in-; non- (negative): disagreement(disagreement) misunderstanding(misunderstanding), impossibility(incredible) indifference(indifference).
   • anti- (opposite, against): antipoison- an antidote.
   • co-, com-, con-, col- (together, jointly): collaboration(cooperation), concord(agreement).
   • post- (after): postgraduate- graduate student.
   • pre- (before, before): image- original, prototype.
   • trans- (through): transplantation- transplant.
   • ex- (previous, former): ex-president- ex-president.
   • semi- (half): semi-colon- semicolon.
   • sub- (under, below, less than): subdivision- subdivision submarine- Submarine.
   • inter- (between, among, mutually): interaction- interaction.
   • re- (repeat): reassurance- the confirmation.

   Suffixes:

   • -dom(territory, state): boredom- boredom freedom- freedom.
   • -ship / -hood(state, status): neighborhood- neighborhood, leadership- management.
   • -th / -ty(nouns with the same meaning are formed from adjectives): true – truth(true - true) probable – probability(possible - possibility).
   • -ing(example, action): to cook – cooking(cook - cooking).
   • -ment(result of action from verbs): to develop – development(to develop - development).
   • -ance / -ence(quality, condition): ignorance- ignoring.
   • -(a)tion(process, state, characteristic): dictation- dictation, improvisation- improvisation translation- translation.
   • -er / -or(human activity): worker- worker, instructor- Instructor.
   • -ent / -ist / -ate(human activity): scientist- scientist, accountant- accountant.
   • -ness(quality, character): darkness- darkness, kindness- kindness.
   • -al(result of action): approval- approval.
   • -ician(occupation, profession): politician- politician.

   This is certainly not the whole list of prefixes and suffixes. Others you will encounter as you learn English.

3. conversion ( conversion). Formation of nouns in English happens very often with this method. The most important thing is that no suffixes and prefixes need to be added, just as there is no need to change anything. New nouns are formed mainly from verbs, and vice versa, and verbs from adjectives. So we get other parts of speech from one word. For example:
   

   to look - a look (look - look).

Keeping these ways of forming nouns in English in mind, you can significantly increase your vocabulary, as you will easily form different parts of speech from the same word.

In this lesson from the section we will continue talking about noun suffixes. We have already considered These are the five suffixes.

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Now let's look at the rest of the suffixes to get a complete picture of how nouns are formed in English. If you are preparing for the exam in English in the form of the Unified State Examination, then you simply need to know them.

Total an English noun has 16 suffixes:

• -er / or, -tion, -ing, -ness, -ence / ance (main list - grade 9),
• -hood, -ship, -dom, -th, -t, -(i)ty, -ment, -age, -ure, -ee, -ist (extended list -11 class).

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Derivation of nouns

Noun suffixes in English

1.Suffixes -hood, -ship, -dom, by which nouns are formed from other nouns and adjectives.

noun/adj + Ʌ = noun

1. hood
   child - childhood (child - childhood)
   neighbor - neighborhood (neighbor - neighborhood)
2. ship
   friend - friendship (friend - friendship)
   champion - championship (champion - championship)
   partner - partnership (partner - partnership)
3. dom
   king - kingdom (king - kingdom)
   free - freedom (free - freedom)
   wise - wisdom (wise - wisdom)

2. Suffixes -th, -t, -(i)ty, by which nouns are formed from adjectives.

adj + Ʌ = noun

1. th(possible vowel alternation at the root of the word)
   warm - warm (warm - warm)
   long - length
   strong-strength
   wide-width
   deep - depth
   young - youth
2. t: high - height (high - height)
3. (i)ty
   electric - electricity (electric - electricity)
   possible - possibility
   probable-probability

3. Suffixes -ment, -age, -ure, by which nouns are formed from verbs.

verb + Ʌ = noun

1. ment
   state - statement (approve - statement)
   develop - development
2. age
   marry - marriage (marry - marriage, marriage)
   break - breakage
3. ure
   press - pressure (press - pressure)
   please - pleasure
   depart - departure

4. And separately consider the suffixes of the profession — ist and suffix -ee.

1. ist
   biology - biologist (biology - biologist)
   psychology - psychologist (psychology - psychologist)
2. ee
   address - addressee (address - recipient / recipient)
   employer - employee (employer - employee)

Total turned out 11 suffixes. To remember them, I recommend learning 11 words (the simplest ones) with these suffixes in the form of mnemonic phrases. For example, these:

1.In my childhood I made a friendship with a king of a kingdom. He had good strength and great height. “As a child, I made friends with the king of a certain kingdom. He had great strength and great stature.

2.Electricity resulted from the development of science. — Electricity was the result of the development of science.

3.The breakage was because of high pressure.— The breakdown was due to high pressure.

Suffixes of nouns in English. Exercises

Exercise 1. Read the noun and indicate the suffix with which it is formed.

EXAMPLE. performance—The noun performanc e is formed with the help of the suffix -ance.

silence, biologist, employment, humanity, modesty, settlement, feeling

Exercise 2. Find a noun in each line and translate it.

Exercise 3 Form nouns with the indicated suffixes from the stems of the underlined words and write them.

— ment:
1. The child was greatly excited when he received a big bear as a birthday present.
The child's ____________ was very great.

2. My English has improved very little for the last two months.
There is very little ___________ in my English, I am afraid.

3. The children enjoyed entertaining the guests.
They enjoyed giving an _____________ for their guests.

—tion
4. He collected a good library of books.
He had a good __________ of books.

5. The machines exhibited in the hall were very interesting to us.
The machines at the ___________ are very interesting.

6. He said he wanted to continue studying after he graduated from the institute.
He said he wanted to continue studying after….

— ance
7. The scientists had difficulty explaining how the star had disappeared.
They had difficulty in explaining the____________.of the star.

— ence
8. We were surprised to find out how different her speech had become.
We were surprised at the ________________ in her speech.

Exercise 4 Fill in the spaces with verbs formed from the given nouns in brackets.

1. He said good bye and ____________ (departure)
2. Your pronunciation has ______ wonderfully. (improvement)
3. The doctor ______________ the boy's arm carefully. (examination)

Exercise 5 Fill in the spaces with nouns formed from the given verbs in brackets.

1. This rare book is the first _____________ of Pushkin's poems. (to edit)
2. The sixth-form pupils’ English ___________was much better this year. (to perform)
3. The dancer's __________became slower and slower (to move).

Exercise 6 Form nouns from adjectives.

1. thirsty
2. hungry
3. shady

To check yourself, use the DICTIONARY in the lower right corner. If you click on the arrows, a dictionary window will appear and you need to enter a word that will be the answer.

For example, 1. thirsty (thirsty) - ? your option(thirst).

We enter the word thirst into the dictionary and check if it matches your option t with the one that the dictionary offers.

Exercise 7Do It right choice. Translate the offer.
1. What is the (long, length) of the corridor?
2. How (long, length) is the street?
3. He is not (strong, strength) enough to fight with John?
4. My brother can lift the box because of his (strong, strength).
5. Nelly's skirt is too (wide, width).
6. We can't get the piano through the door because of its (wide, width).
7. Is spring a (warmth, warm) season?
8. We felt the (warm, warmth) of the sun on out faces and hands.
9. We were surprised at your formal (polite, politeness).
10. We were not struck by the (white, whiteness) of the snow.

Exercise 8 Rewrite the phrases, indicating in brackets the word from which the noun is formed. Translate them.

EXAMPLE. whole-hearted devotion (devote) - wholehearted devotion

whole-hearted devotion, gloomy silence, an outstanding novelist, gathering darkness, limitless possibilities, an important addition, a noticeable improvement, complete understanding, widespread popularity, a gymnastic competition, a new acquaintance, a small settlement, an important announcement.

Exercise 9 Form nouns from these verbs using suffixes: -er/-or -ment -(a)tion -ion -age -ure -th.

to construct, to equip, to divide, to inform, to mix, to observe, to move, to break, to direct, to compete, to grow, to press, to radiate, to develop, to protect, to transport, to solve , to recognize , to measure, to fail, to vibrate, to reflect, to treat, to improve, to elect, to educate, to manage, to govern, to achieve, to imagine, to attract

Exercise 10. In put in spaces abstract nouns formed from the words given in brackets.

1. Suvorov always showed great courage and __________ . (wise)
2. The traveler had to overcome many __________. (difficult)
3. He sat resting, enjoying the ___________ of the fire. (warm)
4. He suffered from his own __________. (fool)
5. This man has extraordinary __________ . (strong)
6. The balloon floated at the _________ of one mile. (high)
7. She remembered the happy days of her __________. (young)
8. The __________ of the canal is seventy kilometres. (long)
9. Its _________ is one hundred meters. (wide)
10. When he came round he felt a strange ____________and could not stand up (weak).

So, I hope that by completing the cycle of exercises on topic "Derivation of nouns in English" do you remember 16 basic noun suffixes. But if you still have questions, write in the comments. Author, Tatyana Nabeeva

How to replenish vocabulary more than 3 times without memorizing? Take this method and - voila! Vocabulary increased in front of my eyes.
This method is word formation. How does it work on nouns?

Briefly - about the main
Usually the topic is studied indefinitely. There is a more effective method: covering the entire "puzzle" at a time. Seeing a clear picture, you can easily refine the little things without negativity.
So, formation of nouns in English requires skills:

1. convert a noun from a verb and vice versa;
2. use affixes;
3. put stress differently;
4. replace the consonant in the root;
5. form compound words.

Many do not assume how many words they ALREADY know. They simply do not know how to properly use this wealth.
Having learned 5 skills, you can use the dictionary only to check it.

1.Conversion
Noun in English associated with a verb in an interesting way: they can be the same word. Such a method is called conversion.
This is the first skill. Using it, it is easy to guess the translation of 60% of English words. Moreover, verbs can be converted not only into nouns, but also into adjectives.
The examples below will help you understand the conversion phenomenon.

Example: love = love/love.

It confuses many that in translation into Russian both words are not of the same root. But the language is different.
It's funny, but the British created it for themselves! For carriers, these are absolutely single-root words: to milk - milk (to milk - milk), to name - name (to name - name).

2.Affixation
This "terrible" word means suffixes plus prefixes. All prefixes are of two types: negative and "significant".
The negative ones have already been introduced through borrowings: dysfunction, anti-spam, deflation. Significant - different in meaning, but amenable to logic.

Prefixes

2 groups of prefixes will allow you to find the meaning of a word by context without a dictionary.
If you learn the meaning of each prefix separately, the brain starts to panic, it looks for the right algorithm.
This takes time and speech slows down.
And most importantly, the desire to study the language at all disappears.

Example: everyone knows the prefixes "dis-", "de-", "anti-". But for some reason they do not notice them in English!
An important detail: most negative noun prefixes work with verbs.

Negative prefixes

Console	Examples
anti-	Antistress, antipode, antispam.
dis-	Disharmony, disqualification.
de-	Depiction, departure.
mis-	Misfortune, misunderstanding.
se-	Sedition, separation.
non-	Nonconformist, nonstop.

Significant prefixes
Most are present in the native language, in borrowings.
You can check the skill of forming nouns in English using a dictionary, but after an independent attempt.
For example, to form words: disqualification, pseudoscience, professional, extraordinary, hyperactive and others. Such exercises bring pleasure and help to understand the language.

Suffixes
There are several for the purpose. In comparison with the Russian language, there are few suffixes in English.
In Russian, each profession has its own suffix. For example, a fitter, a miner, a journalist, a teacher, a doctor, a driller, a nurse, etc. .
In English - a choice between four.

3. stress
The formation of nouns is always closely related to the verb. Changing the stress in the verb - we get a noun.
And vice versa. Differences: for nouns, the stressed syllable is usually the first, for verbs - the second.

4. consonant change
In nouns, there is usually a deaf consonant, in verbs - voiced.

5.Composition
Every student knows the words "boyfriend" and "chocopie". When two words serve as a whole, they are written either together or with a hyphen. This way of word formation is called word formation.

eyelash

green-eyed

hair cut

boyfriend

girlfriend

well dressed

old fashioned

Additional methods of formation: reduction (NASA), word fusion (smog=smoke+fog) and the emergence of a new meaning of existing words (computer mouse).
Note: Russian mentality orders the word to have one meaning. English doesn't work that way.
Often the word doesn't seem to "fit" into the sentence. "Twist" the word according to the principle of the Rubik's cube - this principle helps to find the right option. Click - and everything fell into place.
Working on the formation of nouns in English requires creativity and observation.
And love for the language, including the native.

It is no secret that many new words are formed in the language from other words. For example, there was an adjective bad - it was modernized a bit, and the adverb badly turned out. But today we will not talk about them, but about a larger lexical group- about nouns. From this material we learn about the ways in which the formation of nouns in the English language can occur and what morphemes are involved in this. But, before studying word formation, let's recall a little basic theory on this part of speech.

The Noun (noun) in English plays the same role as in Russian - it answers the questions what / who and, accordingly, denotes objects, phenomena and persons. In a sentence, it can act as the main character - the subject, as well as a predicate, object and circumstance. In addition, nouns can be adjectives if used in .

class division is also similar to Russian grammar: proper and common nouns, countable / uncountable words. The classification of this part of speech by composition looks like this:

• Simple form (Simple ) - the word contains only the root: mouse, pen, cup, pencil, case.
• Derived form (Derived ) - in addition to the root, the word contains additional morphemes (prefixes / suffixes): relationship, kindness, reading, lioness, freedom.
• Compound (complex) form (Compound ) - the word consists of several stems that can be written together or with a hyphen: railwayoffice-block, grown-up.

Consider how these groups of nouns are formed , and what morphemes can attach these parts of speech.

Word formation of new English nouns can be done in three main ways.

Addition

The nouns formed by this method belong to the already familiar class of compound words. It is noteworthy that in their composition they can have not only nouns, but also combinations with verbs or adjectives.

As can be seen from the examples, word formation is quite easy way making new nouns. The only thing that can cause difficulties is their spelling, especially since there are no specific grammatical rules for this. In order not to make a mistake, it is recommended to check the spelling of words in a dictionary. We only note that in English there is a tendency to crowd out the hyphen, so more and more often you can meet continuous spelling compound words, even if they previously contained a hyphen ( e-mail ⟶ email).

Conversion

This method involves the transition of a word from one part of speech to another, without making any changes to its stem. In this way, word formation of nouns from verbs most often occurs.

Due to its simplicity, this method has become widespread in the English language.

Joining morphemes

Most complex method formation, the principle of which is to attach a prefix or suffix to the base of the word. The official name for this method is affixation. Since there are quite a lot of prefixes and suffixes in English, this group will be the most numerous by examples. But everything has its own positive sides. Having studied the basic meanings of morphemes, even when meeting with an unfamiliar word, one can approximately understand its context. First, consider the formation of nouns in English using prefixes ( prefixes).

Generalized value	Prefixes	Word examples
Denial, opposition	un, dis, mis, non, im, in, anti	un truth- not truth; dis like- not affection; mis fortune- not luck; non entity- not being; im balance - not sustainability; in Decency- not propriety; anti virus- against vovirus.
Combination, connection, union	co, com, col, con	co worker- co servant, com munication- co communication with smth. , col laboration- about union with someone con nect- co unity.
Finding below something, under.	sub	sub marine- under water boat; sub way - subway ( under countryman).
Repeat, return	re	re-entry- re-entry; re activation- relaunch, new start.
Before anything, before.	pre	pre cursor - before shepherd; pre view - before view.
After something, for.	post	post graduate- graduate student; post modernism- fast modernism.
Between	inter	inter break- gap between two parts, inter view - interview, conversation between two people.
past, former	ex	ex-wife- ex-wife , ex-sportsman- former athlete.

Now let's study word formation by adding various suffixes. This group is no less numerous.

Generalized value	Suffixes	Word examples
Profession, occupation, position	ician, er, ist, ary, ant, ent	mus ician– composer; photograph er – photographer; dent ist – dentist; secret ary- secretary; merch ant – dealer; superintendent ent – oldermanager,foreman.
Status, type of relationship	hood, ship	child hood- childhood; friend ship- friendship.
Generalization of territories, abstractness of phenomena, states	dom	bore dom – yearning; martyr dom – torment; king dom – kingdom; free dom– freedom.
action effect, result, outcome	ment, al	excite ment – excitement; refus al – refusal; improve ment – improvement; arriv al – arrival.
Quality, character, condition	ness, ance, ence, acy	kind ness – kindness; reli ance – confidence, confidence; depend ence – addiction, priv acy – secrecy.
Processes, actions, characteristics formed from verbs.	tion, ing, ure	spell ing– pronunciation on letters; isola tion– insulation; press ure – pressure; write ing – manner letters, handwriting; agita tion – agitation; depart ure – departure.
Qualities, signs, phenomena formed from adjectives	th, ty	warm th – heat; cruel ty – cruelty; heal th – health; hones ty – truthfulness, honesty.
Generalization social movements, phenomena	ism	tour ism– tourism, capital ism – capitalism; individual ism – individualism.

So, we have studied a number of morphemes that are often used to create nouns. Now we can not only better understand the information provided in English, but also easily diversify our vocabulary while playing with making up new words. The main thing is not to take on too much, and periodically check with the dictionary. Good luck in acquiring new knowledge!

The vocabulary of the English language is replenished in two ways: by borrowing new lexical units from other languages ​​and by forming new words from existing ones in the language using various elements. We are talking about the latter - the formation of nouns in English today.

What is a noun?

A noun is a part of speech that denotes an object or person, answering the question What is it? (What?), Who is it? (Who?). We get to know him from the first days: various phenomena and objects that surround us are nouns (a house is a house, a boy is a boy, a flower is a flower). In linguistics, there are various classifications of nouns. One of them is the way of education. According to her, there are three types of nouns:

• simple (consisting of one or two syllables without prefixes and suffixes):

  a hall - a corridor, a woman - a woman, a hand - a hand;

• derivatives (which include prefixes or suffixes):

  achievement - achievement, friendship - friendship, reaction - reaction;

• composite (consisting of two or more words, but with one lexical meaning):

  a bookshelf- bookshelf, a pencil-box is a pencil case, a mother-in-law is a mother-in-law.

From this follow three ways of forming nouns: conversion (Conversion), affixation (Affixation) and compounding (Composition).

Conversion

With the help of conversion, simple nouns are formed. This is the simplest way, since it does not involve the use of suffixes or prefixes, nor the addition of any other words or elements. The word simply passes from one part of speech to another without change. This mainly concerns the formation of nouns from verbs in English and vice versa - verbs from a noun:

• To walk - a walk (walk - walk);
• To sleep - a sleep (sleep - sleep);
• To fish - a fish (to fish - a fish).

Affixation

With the help of affixation, the vocabulary of the language is replenished with derivative nouns. This method involves the following formulas:

• prefix + base: trans (prefix) + action (action) = transaction (deal, transaction); sub (prefix) + to divide (divide) = subdivision (division);
• stem + suffix: free (free) + dom (suffix) = freedom (freedom); to punish (punish) + ment (suffix) = punishment (punishment); to dream (to dream) + er (suffix) = dreamer (dreamer).

Composition

Thanks to word formation, the language is replenished with compound nouns. This way of forming new lexemes works on the principle of adding two or more words. As a result, a new lexical item with a new meaning: Rain (rain) + bow (arc, arch) = rainbow (rainbow; appears after rain);

• Rail (rail) + road (road) = railroad (railway);
• Cup (cup) + board (board) \u003d cupboard (buffet);
• Broad (wide) + sheet (sheet) = broadsheet (poster).

Knowing about the main ways of forming nouns is necessary not only to broaden your horizons and accumulate useful information, but also in order to replenish and expand their vocabulary.