English Word Building Exercise

Study carefully how Verbs are formed from Nouns and Adjectives and how Nouns are formed from Verbs and Adjectives. The following tables will help you to build up your vocabulary also.

FORMATION OF VERBS FROM NOUNS

Nouns Verbs Nouns Verbs
Advice Advise Horror Horrify
Bath Bathe Idol Idolise
Belief Believe Justice Justify
Breath Breathe Joy Enjoy
Camp Encamp Knee Kneel
Circle Encircle Mass Amass
Class Classify Memory Memorise
Cloth Clothe Nation Nationalise
Company Accompany Office Officiate
Courage Encourage Patron Partonise
Criticism Criticise Peace Pacify
Custom Accustom Population Populate
Danger Endanger Practice Practise
Food Feed Prison Imprison
Force Enforce Sale Sell
Friend Befriend Slave Enslave
Fright Frighten Speech Speak
Glory Glorify Success Succeed
Gold Gild Sympathy Sympathise
Grass Graze Tale Tell
Habit Habituate Terror Terrify
Half Halve Throne Enthrone
Hand Handle Title Entitle
Haste Hasten Utility Utilise
Health Heal Vacancy Vacate
Height Heighten Vapour Evaporate
Heir Inherit Web Weave
Fertile Fertility Perfect Perfection
Few Fewness Pious Piety
Financial Finance Poor Poverty
Foolish Foolishness Popular Popularity
Frank Frankness Quick Quickness
Free Freedom Rare Rarity
Gallant Gallantry Real Reality
Gay Gaiety Red Redness
Generous Generosity Rich Riches
Grand Grandeur Rigid Rigidity
Great Greatness Rival Rivalry
Happy Happiness Round Roundness
Hard Hardship Royal Royalty
High Height Sacred Sacredness
Holy Holiness Safe Safety
Honest Honesty Scarce Scarcity
Humble Humility Severe Severity
Inferior Inferiority Short Shortness Shortage
Innocent Innocence Slow Slowness
Just Justice Small Smallness
Liberal Liberality Special Speciality
Little Littleness Splendid Splendour
Local Locality Strong Strength
Long Length Stupid Stupidity
Loyal Loyalty Sweet Sweetness
Magnificent Magnificence Timid Timidity
Mean Meanness True Truth
Merry Merriment Uniform Uniformity
Moist Moisture Vacant Vacancy
Mortal Mortality Vain Vanity
Necessary Necessity Vital Vitality
New Newness Weak Weakness
Noble Nobility Wide Width
Obedient Obedience Wise Wisdom
One Oneness Zealous Zeal

Formation of Nouns from Verbs

Verbs Nouns
Abound Abundance
Accept Acceptance
Sit Seat
Slay Slaughter
Speak Speech
Steal Stealth
Strike Stroke
Succeed Success/Succession
Seize Seizure
Tell Tale
Try Trial
Think Thought
Vacate Vacancy
Vary Variety
Weave Web
Wed Wedding
Weigh Weight
Write Writ, writing

FORMATION OF ABSTRACT NOUNS

Words Abstract Nouns
Act Action
Agent Agency
Baby Babyhood
Beggar Beggary
Bond Bondage
Boy Boyhood
Child Childhood
Dictator Dictatorship
Friend Friendship
Hero Heroism
Infant Infancy
King Kingship
Mother Motherhood
Man Manhood
Owner Ownership
Patriot Patriotism
Priest Priesthood
Robber Robbery
Speak Speech
Slave Slavery
Thief Theft
Woman Womanhood
Widow Widowhood
Young Youth

FORMATION OF ADJECTIVES FROM NOUNS

Nouns Adjectives
Adventure Adventurous
Advice Advisable
Affection Affectionate
Air Airy
Ancestor Ancestral
Angel Angelic
Anger Angry
Autumn Autumnal
Beauty Beautiful
Blood Bloody
Body Bodily
Book Bookish
Boy Boyish
Brass Brazen
Brother Brotherly
Brute Brutal
Centre Central
Ceremony Ceremonial
Nouns Adjectives
Cheer Cheerful
Child Childish/Childlike
Circle Circular
Class Classic/Classical
Comfort Comfortable
Courage Courageous
Coward Cowardly
Crime Criminal
Custom Customary
Danger Dangerous
Day Daily
Death Deathly
Dew Dewy
Drama Dramatic
Duty Dutiful
Earth Earthly/Earthen
Ease Easy
East Eastern
Emphasis Emphatic
Enemy Inimical
Essence Essential
Example Exemplary
Expense Expensive
Expression Expressive
Faith Faithful
Fame Famous
Fancy Fanciful
Fate Fateful
Father Fatherly
Fault Faulty
Favour Favourable
Feather Feathery
Fever Feverish
Fire Fiery
Flesh Fleshy
Flower Flowery
Fog Foggy
Fool Foolish
Friend Friendly
Fruit Fruitful
Fury Furious
Ghost Ghostly
Glass Glassy
Gloom Gloomy
Glory Glorious
God Godly
Gold Golden
Grass Grassy
Greed Greedy
Grief Grievous
Habit Habitual
Hair Hairy
Hand Handly
Harm Harmful
Haste Hasty
Heart Hearty
Heat Hot
Heaven Heavenly
Herb Herbal
Hero Heroic
Hill Hilly
Home Homely
Honour Honourable/Honorary
Hour Hourly
Ice Icy
Idiot Idiotic
Ignorance Ignorant
Industry Industrial/Industrious
Joke Jocular
Joy Joyful, joyous
King Kingly
Labour Laborious
Lady Ladylike
Life Lifelike, lifeless
Lord Lordly
Love Lovely, lovable
Law Lawful, lawless
Moment Momentary
Money Monetary
Month Monthly
Muscle Muscular
Mystery Mysterious
Machine Mechanical
Man Manly
Manner Mannerly
Medicine Medicinal
Memory Memorable
Merchant Mercantile
Mercy Merciful
Might Mighty
Miracle Miraculous
Mirth Mirthful/Merciless
Nation National
Nature Natural
Navy Naval
Need Needful/Needless
Neighbour Neighbourly
Nerve Nervous
Neuter Neutral
Night Nightly

Exercise : Fill in the blanks With proper forms of words given in the brackets:

  1. We must show______ towards animals. (kind)
  2. Some students become____ at the time of examination (fever)
  3. I was______ pleased with his good manners. (immense)
  4. My friends wanted me to__ them to witness the cricket match. (company)
  5. He showed great____ . (patient)
  6. ___________ can overcome mountains. (persevere)
  7. ___________ before self should be our aim in life. (serve)
  8. Are you______ when you are alone in the dark? (nerve)
  9. There is no______ among rotten apples (choose)
  10. Too much ___________ breeds contempt. (familiar)
  11. At the ___________ of his speech he was highly cheered. (conclude)
  12. An actor must have a clear ___________ of the part he is to play, (conceive)
  13. There is keen ___________ in every trade. (compete)
  14. There is no ___________ between them. (compare)
  15. He received a ___________ ticket. (compliment)
  16. A defeated country usually signs a treaty of peace under ___________ .(compel)
  17. You must take your parents into  ___________. (confide)
  18. I sent a ___________ letter to her. (console)
  19. He was ___________ enough to have a qood income. (fortune)
  20. He was on ___________ terms with his employer. (friend)
  21. He is at ___________ with his neighbour. (enemy)
  22. Smoking is ___________ to health. (injury)
  23. He is an ___________ politician. (influence)
  24. It was an ___________ lecture. (inform)
  25. He is suffering from an ___________ disease. (infection)
  26. His ___________ was hailed by all. (acquit)
  27. You are ___________ to me for this money. (account)
  28. He was ___________ shot dead by his friend. (accident)
  29. This book is a useful ___________ to our library. (add)
  30. I ___________ you there’s no danger. (sure)

Exercise : Rewrite the following sentences after filling in the blank in the second senetence of each pair with the appropriate form of the word given in italics in the first sentence.

  1. He is very familiar with the languages spoken in South India.
    His_______ with the languages spoken in South India surprised me.
  2. I have no doubt that he will succeed.
    Are you______ of his success?
  3. He is regular in attending school.
    He won a prize for____ in attending the school.
  4. He is always dressed in the latest
    He is a_______ man.
  5. He comes of a noble
    Everyone likes him for his___.
  6. I suspect his honesty.
    I am______ about his honesty .
  7. He is a responsible young man.
    He always realises his _____.
  8. Very few people could survive the earthquake.
    The Prime Minister sent help to the___ of the earthquake.
  9. You will slipif you don’t walk carefully.
    It is difficult to walk on___ roads.
  10. Many people smuggleSwiss watches into India.
    His uncle is a______ of watches.
  11. He is a sincere friend.
    He is loved by his friends for his ______
  12. He believes in spiritualism.
    He is a_____ .
  13. Man is the only animal that can speak
    Man is the only animal that has the faculty of ______.
  14. Advani is very diligent.
    He is admired by everyone for his___.
  15. I feel confident that he will not deceive us.
    I hope he will prove worthy of our__.
  16. Has the news of Rani’s marriage been confirmed?
    No, we are waiting for the____ of the news.
  17. He is determined to succeed.
    His_______ is praiseworthy.
  18. She resembles her sister very much.
    Their_______ has created confusion many a time.
  19. You should be respectful to your seniors.
    I know you all come of___ families.
  20. What medicines has the doctor prescribed for you?
    You must take medicines according to the doctor’s ______.
  21. I accept your offer.
    Your offer is______ to me.
  22. Do fairies exists?
    Not in real life. Their_____ is confined to fairly tales only.
  23. He is always
    He is always sunk in deep____.
  24. Roman died in an accident.
    His death was_____ .
  25. It is normal for a child to eat four times a day.
    _______ , a child eats four times a day.
  26. There were two similar statements.
    The______ between them was hardly noticeable.
  27. How do you pronounce this word?
    His_______ is improving.
  28. Can you prove your nationality?
    Does it require any______ ?
  29. We are often deceived by appearances.
    Appearance are often. ___ .
  30. She defied her husband.
    Her______ naturally irritated her husband.

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