Introduction
Right Form of Words (or word change) questions give a base word in brackets and ask you to supply the correct part of speech. To solve them quickly you need two things: a feel for common suffixes and the ability to tell what part of speech the gap needs. This lesson gives you both.
Suffixes by part of speech
| Forms | Common suffixes | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Nouns | -tion, -sion, -ment, -ness, -ity, -ance, -ence, -er, -or, -ist, -ship, -hood, -dom, -ism | decision, movement, kindness, ability, importance, teacher, friendship, freedom |
| Adjectives | -ful, -less, -ous, -ive, -able, -ible, -al, -ic, -ish, -y, -ent, -ant | careful, careless, dangerous, active, readable, national, scientific, childish, rainy |
| Verbs | -ize / -ise, -ify, -en, en-, be- | modernize, simplify, strengthen, enrich, befriend |
| Adverbs | -ly | quickly, carefully, happily |
Word families to memorise
| Noun | Verb | Adjective | Adverb |
|---|---|---|---|
| beauty | beautify | beautiful | beautifully |
| success | succeed | successful | successfully |
| strength | strengthen | strong | strongly |
| danger | endanger | dangerous | dangerously |
| economy | economize | economic / economical | economically |
| courage | encourage | courageous | courageously |
| sympathy | sympathize | sympathetic | sympathetically |
| decision | decide | decisive | decisively |
| knowledge | know | knowledgeable | knowledgeably |
| difference | differ | different | differently |
| length | lengthen | long | at length |
| wisdom | enlighten | wise | wisely |
| explanation | explain | explanatory | explanatorily |
| expectation | expect | expected / expectant | expectantly |
Deciding the part of speech from position
| Position of the gap | Part of speech needed | Example |
|---|---|---|
| after a, an, the, his, her, this | noun (or adjective then noun) | The decision was final. |
| before a noun | adjective | a creative writer |
| after is, am, are, was, were, become, seem | adjective | She is honest. |
| after a verb or at the end | adverb | He spoke boldly. |
| after to | verb (V1) | to strengthen the team |
| after a preposition | noun or gerund | depends on perseverance |
| after very, quite, so, too | adjective or adverb | very informative |
Adjective pairs that change meaning
| Pair | Difference |
|---|---|
| careful / careless | full of care / without care |
| hopeful / hopeless | full of hope / without hope |
| helpful / helpless | giving help / unable to help oneself |
| respectful / respectable / respective | showing respect / worthy of respect / relating to each one |
| childish / childlike | silly like a child / innocent like a child |
| imaginary / imaginative | unreal / creative |
| economic / economical | of the economy / thrifty |
| successful / successive | achieving success / following one after another |
Common exam traps
- Choosing the noun when the gap needs an adjective, such as beauty instead of beautiful.
- Ignoring the meaning: hopeful and hopeless fit the same grammar but have opposite senses.
- Adding -ly to every adjective. Some words such as hard and fast are adverbs without -ly.
Memory tips
- Find the position first, then pick the suffix. Noun after the, adjective before a noun, adverb after a verb.
- -tion and -ment mean a noun. -ful and -ous mean an adjective. -ly means an adverb.
- Learn families, not single words.
Solved examples
Example 1. The ____ (differ) between the two plans is small. Answer: difference. A noun is needed after the.
Example 2. He answered the question ____ (correct). Answer: correctly. An adverb modifies answered.
Example 3. We must ____ (wide) the road. Answer: widen. A verb is needed after must.
Example 4. The ____ (arrive) of the guests was delayed. Answer: arrival. A noun is needed after the.
Practice problems
- She sang ____ (beauty) at the concert.
- The ____ (sad) of the news shocked everyone.
- It is ____ (possible) to reach there in ten minutes.
- He is a ____ (help) neighbour.
- The government will ____ (strong) the law.
Answers: 1. beautifully. 2. sadness. 3. impossible. 4. helpful. 5. strengthen.
Practice MCQs with solutions
Note: these are practice questions written in the style of past NTRCA/BCS preliminary papers. Please cross-check with the official question bank.
Question 1. His ____ (honest) is well known.
- (a) honest
- (b) honestly
- (c) honesty
- (d) honesties
Correct answer: (c) honesty
Explanation: A noun is needed after his: honesty.
Question 2. She is a ____ (create) writer.
- (a) creation
- (b) creative
- (c) creatively
- (d) creator
Correct answer: (b) creative
Explanation: An adjective is needed before writer: creative.
Question 3. The company plans to ____ (strong) its network.
- (a) strength
- (b) strengthen
- (c) strongly
- (d) stronger
Correct answer: (b) strengthen
Explanation: A verb is needed after to: strengthen.
Question 4. He spoke ____ (bold) before the crowd.
- (a) bold
- (b) boldly
- (c) boldness
- (d) bolden
Correct answer: (b) boldly
Explanation: An adverb is needed to modify spoke: boldly.
Question 5. The ____ (decide) was taken by the board.
- (a) decide
- (b) decisive
- (c) decision
- (d) decisively
Correct answer: (c) decision
Explanation: A noun is needed after the: decision.
Question 6. Success depends on ____ (persevere).
- (a) persevere
- (b) perseverance
- (c) persevering
- (d) persevered
Correct answer: (b) perseverance
Explanation: After a preposition a noun is needed: perseverance.
Question 7. The book is very ____ (inform).
- (a) information
- (b) informative
- (c) informer
- (d) informed
Correct answer: (b) informative
Explanation: An adjective follows very: informative.
Question 8. The farmers are ____ (hope) for rain.
- (a) hopeful
- (b) hopeless
- (c) hopefully
- (d) hoped
Correct answer: (a) hopeful
Explanation: The sentence needs an adjective that means full of hope. Hopeless would reverse the meaning.
Key takeaways
- Look at the position of the gap to decide the part of speech.
- Learn the suffix patterns for nouns, adjectives, verbs and adverbs.
- Check the meaning as well as the form.