Helping English

Rules for Changing Verbs into Nouns

Many nouns are formed by adding suffixes to verbs. These nouns are called nominalizations. Below are the most common rules and examples.

Nouns and Verbs Practice

Exercise: Choose the word that best completes each sentence.

1. You cannot ____________ these two teams.
   (compare, comparison)
2. After reading the evidence, the judge reached a final ____________.
   (conclude, conclusion)
3. Please ____________ your opinion clearly during the discussion.
   (state, statement)
4. The teacher offered extra ____________ to students after school.
   (assist, assistance)
5. Many people fought for ____________ and equal rights.
   (free, freedom)
6. It is difficult to ____________ a story without evidence.
   (believe, belief)
7. Good students always ____________ respectfully in class.
   (behave, behavior)
8. Doctors ____________ the community in many ways.
   (serve, service)
9. The scientist worked hard to ____________ the theory.
   (prove, proof)
10. The soccer ____________ lasted for two weeks.
    (compete, competition)
11. Their sudden ____________ surprised everyone at the station.
    (depart, departure)
12. The magician managed to ____________ the audience for hours.
    (entertain, entertainment)
13. You need special ____________ to enter the laboratory.
    (permit, permission)
14. The box was too heavy because of its great ____________.
    (weigh, weight)
15. Students should not ____________ badly during an exam.
    (behave, behavior)

Answer Key

1. compare
2. conclusion
3. state
4. assistance
5. freedom
6. believe
7. behave
8. serve
9. prove
10. competition
11. departure
12. entertain
13. permission
14. weight
15. behave