Word forms – Introduction

Dr. Grammar says:

“What’s wrong with this sentence? I had to fill in an apply for a job as a photograph.”

EXPLANATION:

When studying English, it is important to know which word form is needed in a sentence to be able to write and speak accurately. This lesson will focus on four important word forms:

Nouns are things. They are words used to name a person (father), animal (cat), place (Vietnam), thing (pencil) or abstract idea (happiness).

Verbs are actions. They are words which convey an action (e.g. run) or a state of being (e.g. need).

Adjectives describe nouns. They give more information about the object stated.

Adverbs describe many things. They do not describe nouns, as this is the job of adjectives, but they can give more information about verbs, adjectives, clauses, sentences and other adverbs (e.g. quickly).

Where do we use these word forms?

As mentioned above, each different form has its different role, and so is used in a certain place. Let’s look at a sentence as an example:

The beautiful sky rapidly turned red.

The beautiful sky = a noun phrase. This is made up of an adjective (beautiful) and a noun (sky). This phrase is the subject of the sentence. Every sentence must have a subject to show what is doing the action, and a noun or noun phrase is used as a subject. The adjective is optional, but gives more information and makes what we say more interesting.

rapidly turned = the main verb (turned) and a modifying adverb (rapidly). Every sentence must have a main verb to say what is happening to the subject. The adverb is also optional, but again makes what we say more interesting.

red = an adjective. This word is needed to complete the above sentence, to say how the sky “turned”.

How do we know which word form to use?

One of the most important reasons to study word forms is to help us decide what to use in different positions. The best way to explain this is with various examples:

For the following sentence, a form of the word “apply” is needed, but there are various forms of this one word, the most common ones being:

Apply = verb

Application = noun (thing)

Applicant = noun (person)

Applicable = adjective

So how do we know which one is needed? We use the knowledge of the function of the different word forms.

I ……………… for a new job every year.

= We have a subject, but no main verb. Therefore the missing word must be “apply”.

Before my interview I had to fill in a really long ……………… form.

= Here a word is missing from a noun phrase. In this phrase, “form” is the main noun, so we must either need an adjective or another noun (to make a compound noun). So could it be “a really long applicable form”? No, this has no meaning. It must be “a really long application form.”

He is the new ……………… for the teaching position.

= Here we have an adjective, but no noun. Also, we can see it is describing a person (he is), not a thing, so it must be “applicant”.

I tried to fill out the form, but most of it was not ………………

= It should be easy to see here that we are describing the form. “The form was not…”, so we need an adjective. In this gap we need “applicable”.

So…

I had to fill in an apply for a job as a photograph. X

= An + verb? Can you be a photograph?

I had to fill in an application for a job as a photographer. √

EXERCISE:

Choose the correct form of the words in brackets to fill the gaps. It may be a good idea to use a dictionary if you are not sure of the possible meanings.

1. When speaking and writing, it is important to use a ………………. (various) of language.

2. Many women spend time in the morning to ………………. (beauty) themselves.

3. For some tests it is important to ………………. (memory) some facts. However, I have trouble with anything that isn’t very ………………. (memory).

4. ………………. (research) in the field of medicine ………………. (decision) to meet for a conference yesterday.

5. It is very easy to make me ………………. (happiness), I just need a ………………. (music) instrument and someone to listen.

Answers:

1. When speaking and writing, it is important to use a variety of language.

2. Many women spend time in the morning to beautify themselves.

3. For some tests it is important to memorise some facts. However, I have trouble with anything that isn’t very memorable.

4. Researchers in the field of medicine decided to meet for a conference yesterday.

5. It is very easy to make me happy, I just need a musical instrument and someone to listen.

FURTHER PRACTICE:

Read the article “Vietnam’s backbone: the Annamite Mountains” and write down any new word you find that you think will be useful. Try and guess what word form it is by looking at the position it is being used in.

Now look in a dictionary and check your guess.

Next check in a dictionary to find other forms of the word. It is a good idea to record the most useful word forms in your vocabulary journal.

This material is provided by the Australian Centre for Education and Training (ACET).