Word Formation: Noun Derivation 1

Starter

In the last two lessons, we looked at how compound words are formed. But there are other ways of making new words and changing word classes. Look at these two words for example:

teacher, unkindness

What do these two words have in common? How are they formed? Are they compound words? 

Both these words:

• are nouns
• are formed from base words (teach, kind)
• have extra elements added to the start and/or end

What do we call these extra elements we can add to words? E.g. er-, un-, -ness, etc.

Elements like er-, un-, -ness, etc. are called affixes. Affixes are not full words, but are extra parts that can be attached to other words and change the meaning or word class. This process is called derivation. 

Affixes that go at the start are called prefixes, and ones at the end are suffixes. When we write affixes on their own, we use a hyphen to show they are not full words. 

• The verb teach changes into a noun with the suffix  -er
• The adjective kind changes into a noun with the suffix -ness
• The prefix un- usually makes words mean their opposite 

Activity 1

Look at this list of words. Write down the base word for each one. 

banker, artist, gangster, Londoner, organisation, childhood, painting, kingdom

What do these words have in common? How are they formed?

All these words are nouns which are formed by adding a suffix to the base word. 

banker, artist, gangster, Londoner, organisation, childhood, painting, kingdom

Watch for words like gangster or organisation which have extra changes of spelling. 

In the next task, choose the correct suffix for each word to make it into a noun. 

What do all these nouns have in common? How does the suffix change the meaning? 

Answers

In all those examples, the suffixes -er and -ist turn the base words into nouns for people who do an action or job.

Some words with these suffixes, such as speaker, can also refer to a tool or piece of equipment.

Activity 2

The -er suffix can also be spelt as -ar or -or. Change this list of base words into nouns using the right suffix. 

1. write
2. visit
3. bake 
4. boil 
5. radiate 
6. heat
7. investigate
8. lie
9. beg
10. survive

Your list should look like this. Make sure you have the right suffix and have made any spelling changes! 

1. write - writer
2. visit - visitor
3. bake - baker
4. boil - boiler
5. radiate - radiator
6. heat - heater
7. investigate - investigator
8. lie - liar
9. beg - beggar
10. survive - survivor

Nouns ending in -er and -or can refer to either people or objects that perform an action. 

In the next activity, decide whether each word refers to a person or object.

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