How to distinguish a verb from a noun in English. How to form a noun from a verb in English? Word formation using prefixes

It is no secret that many new words are formed in a language from other words. For example, there was an adjective bad - it was slightly modernized, and it turned out to be the adverb badly. But today we will not talk about them, but about a larger lexical group - about nouns. From of this material learn about the ways in which nouns can be formed in English and what morphemes are involved in this. But, before studying word formation, let’s remember a little basic theory on this part of speech.

The Noun (noun) in English plays the same role as in Russian - it answers the questions what/who and, accordingly, denotes objects, phenomena and persons. Can act as the main thing in a sentence character– subject, as well as predicate, object and circumstance. In addition, nouns can be modifiers if used in .

The class division is also similar to Russian grammar: proper and common nouns, countable/uncountable words. The classification of this part of speech by composition looks like this:

• Simple form (Simple ) – the word contains only the root: mouse,pen, cup, pencil, case.
• Derived form ) – in addition to the root, the word contains additional morphemes (prefixes/suffixes): relationship,kindness, reading, lioness, freedom.
• Compound form ) – a word consists of several stems, which can be written together or with a hyphen: railway, office-block, grown-up.

Let's consider how these groups of nouns are formed , and what morphemes can attach these parts of speech.

Word formation of new English nouns can be done in three main ways.

Addition

Nouns formed by this method belong to the class of compound words already familiar to us. It is noteworthy that they can contain not only nouns, but also combinations with verbs or adjectives.

As can be seen from the examples, compounding is quite easy way creating new nouns. The only thing that can cause difficulties is their spelling, especially since specific grammatical rules have not been developed in this regard. In order to avoid making mistakes, it is recommended to check the spelling of words in a dictionary. Let us only note that in the English language there is a tendency to replace the hyphen, so it is increasingly possible to find compound words spelled together, even if they previously contained a hyphen ( e-mail ⟶ email).

Conversion

This method involves the transition of a word from one part of speech to another, without making any changes to its basis. In this way, nouns are most often formed from verbs.

Due to its simplicity, this method has become widespread in the English language.

Attaching morphemes

The most complex method of formation, the principle of which is to attach a prefix or suffix to the base of the word. Official name This method is affixation. Since English has quite a lot of prefixes and suffixes, according to the examples this group will be the most numerous. But everything has its own positive aspects. By studying the basic meanings of morphemes, even when encountering an unfamiliar word, you can roughly understand its context. First, let's look at the formation of nouns in English using prefixes ( prefixes).

Generalized meaning	Consoles	Example words
Denial, opposition	un, dis, mis, non, im, in, anti	un truth – Not Truth; dis like – Not affection; mis fortune - fortune Not luck; non entity Not being; im balance Not sustainability; in Decency – Not decency; anti virus against vovirus.
Combination, connection, association	co, com, col, con	co worker with servant, com communication with communication with smth. , col laboration about unity with someone, con nect - with unity.
Being below something, under.	sub	sub marine under water boat; sub way – metro ( under zemka).
Repetition, return	re	re-entry – re-entry; re activation – resumption, new start.
Before anything, before.	pre	pre cursor before henchman; pre view - view before viewing.
After something, for.	post	post graduate – graduate student; post modernism fast modernism.
Between	inter	inter rupt – gap between two parts, inter view - view interview, conversation between two people.
Past, former	ex	ex-wife – ex-wife, ex-sportsman – former athlete.

Now let's study word formation by adding various suffixes. This group is no less numerous.

Generalized meaning	Suffixes	Example words
Profession, occupation, position	ician, er, ist, ary, ant, ent	mus ician– composer; photograph er – photographer; dent ist – dentist; secret ary- secretary; merch ant – dealer; superintend ent – seniorcontrol,foreman.
Status, type of relationship	hood, ship	child hood- childhood; friend ship- friendship.
Generalization of territories, abstractness of phenomena, states	dom	bore dom – yearning; martyr dom – torment; king dom – kingdom; free dom– freedom.
Effect of action, outcome, result	ment, al	excite ment – excitement; refus al – refusal; improve ment – improvement; arriv al – arrival.
Quality, character, condition	ness, ance, ence, acy	kind ness – kindness; reli ance – trust, confidence; depend ence – addiction, priv acy – secrecy.
Processes, actions, characteristics formed from verbs.	tion, ing, ure	spell ing– pronunciation By letters; isola tion– insulation; press ure – pressure; writ ing – manner letters, handwriting; agita tion – agitation; depart ure – departure.
Qualities, signs, phenomena formed from adjectives	th, ty	warm th – heat; cruel ty – cruelty; heal th – health; hones ty – truthfulness, honesty.
Generalization of social trends and phenomena	ism	tour ism– tourism, capital ism – capitalism; individual ism – individualism.

How to expand your vocabulary more than 3 times without memorizing? Adopt this method and - voila! The vocabulary has increased before our eyes.
This method is word formation. How does this work on nouns?

Briefly - about the main thing
Usually a topic is studied ad infinitum. There is a more effective method: covering the entire “puzzle” at once. Having seen a clear picture, you can easily, without negativity, refine the little things.
So, Formation of nouns in English assumes skills:

1. convert a noun from a verb and vice versa;
2. use affixes;
3. put emphasis differently;
4. replace a consonant at the root;
5. form complex words.

Many people do not realize how many words they ALREADY know. They just don’t know how to use this wealth wisely.
Having learned 5 skills, you can turn to the dictionary only to check it.

1.Conversion

A noun in English is related to a verb in an interesting way: they can be the same word. This method is called conversion.
This is the first skill. Using it, it is easy to guess the translation of 60% of English words. Moreover, verbs can be converted not only into nouns, but also into adjectives.
The examples below will help you understand the phenomenon of conversion.

Example: love = to love/love.

Many people are confused by the fact that when translated into Russian, both words are not the same root. But the language is different.
It's funny, but the British created it for themselves! For native speakers, these are absolutely the same root words: to milk - milk (milk - milk), to name - name (to call - name).

2.Affixation

This “scary” word means suffixes plus prefixes. All prefixes come in two types: negative and “significant”.
The negative ones have already been introduced through borrowing: dysfunction, antispam, deflation. Significant - different in meaning, but amenable to logic.

Consoles

2 groups of prefixes will allow you to find the meaning of a word by context without a dictionary.
If you learn the meaning of each prefix separately, the brain begins to panic, it searches for the necessary algorithm.
This takes time and speech slows down.
And most importantly, the desire to study the language disappears.

Example: everyone knows the prefixes “dis-”, “de-”, “anti-”. But for some reason they don’t notice them in English!
Important detail: most negative prefixes nouns work with verbs.

Negative prefixes

Prefix	Examples
anti-	Antistress, antipode, antispam.
dis-	Disharmony, disqualification.
de-	Depiction, departure.
mis-	Misfortune, misunderstanding.
se-	Sedition, separation.
non-	Nonconformist, nonstop.

Significant prefixes

Most are present in the native language, in borrowings.

You can check the skill of forming nouns in English using a dictionary, but after an independent attempt.
For example, form the words: disqualification, pseudoscience, professional, extraordinary, hyperactive and others. Such training brings pleasure and helps you understand the language.

Suffixes

There are several of them according to purpose. Compared to the Russian language, there are few suffixes in the English language.
In Russian, each profession has its own suffix. For example, installer, miner, journalist, teacher, doctor, driller, orderly, etc. .
In English - a choice between four.

3. Accent

The formation of nouns is always closely related to the verb. By changing the stress in the verb, we get a noun.
And vice versa. Differences: in nouns the stressed syllable is usually the first, in verbs it is the second.

4. Consonant change

Nouns usually have a voiceless consonant, while verbs have a voiced consonant.

5.Compounding

Every schoolchild knows the words “boyfriend” and “chocopay”. When two words serve as a single whole, they are written either together or with a hyphen. This method of word formation is called compounding.

eyelash

green-eyed

haircut

boyfriend

girlfriend

well-dressed

old-fashioned

Additional methods of formation: abbreviation (NASA), word merger (smog=smoke+fog) and the emergence of a new meaning of existing words (computer mouse).

Note: Russian mentality orders a word to have one meaning. That's not how the English language works.
It often seems that a word does not “fit” into a sentence. “Twist” the word according to the principle of a Rubik’s cube - this principle helps to find the right option. Click - and everything fell into place.
Working on the formation of nouns in English requires creativity and observation.
And love for the language, including the native one.

Word formation is the formation of new words using prefixes, suffixes, adding stems and other methods. If you know how word formation works in the English language, you understand the meaning of basic prefixes and suffixes, it will be much easier for you to expand your vocabulary, read, and understand English speech, because you will guess the meaning of a huge number of words without a dictionary.

By the way, if you are curious to know what your vocabulary is, I recommend reading this article: From it you will learn simple and interesting ways to determine your vocabulary.

There are several ways of word formation, most important practical significance has the formation of words using suffixes and prefixes. We will dwell on it in more detail; we will consider the remaining methods briefly.

Why do you need to know word formation?

The main benefit is that knowing the meanings of prefixes and suffixes significantly increases the number of words you recognize when reading and listening (especially when reading). In other words, passive vocabulary increases.

Let's take, for example, the verb to use- use. With the help of suffixes it is formed from:

• Adjective useful- useful.
• Adjective useless- useless.
• Noun usage- usage.

Understanding the meaning of suffixes -ful, -less, -age, you can easily understand all three formed from to use words, even if they didn’t know their meaning.

• -ful and -less indicate the presence or absence of quality: from the word care (care) careful- careful, careless– carefree.
• -age forms nouns from verbs: leak(leak) – leakage(leakage), pass(pass) – passage(passage).

The effect will be especially noticeable when reading, because in the text suffixes and prefixes are easily noticeable, but in oral speech they can simply not be made out. In general, understanding oral speech differs from understanding text in that for listening comprehension it is not enough to know words and grammar - you need to have a developed, trained skill of listening comprehension. It is developed separately through listening, i.e. listening to live speech.

Why passive vocabulary, why not active? Prefixes and suffixes are good semantic clues, but English vocabulary It is structured in such a way (like Russian) that not every word can be attached with any affix.

A striking example is consoles in- And un-, having the meaning of negation: able– capable, unable– incapable, stable– stable, instable– unstable. The prefixes are completely the same in meaning, but when you need to “prefix” which one you need to remember. When reading, you will easily understand the meaning of words with in\un-, but you can make mistakes in your speech.

However, it's not that scary. I am sure that you will be understood if you say inable And unstable, mixing up the prefixes. Speaking Russian, we still make such mistakes!

How to study word formation in English

Prefixes and suffixes (together they are called “affixes”) are not the case when you need to sit down with textbooks, cram the rules, and do exercises one after another. It is quite enough to simply familiarize yourself with the meaning of the main prefixes and suffixes and look at examples.

The tables and mind maps (images-summaries) below will help you with this. The tables reveal the meaning of prefixes and suffixes (as far as possible), examples of words, and mind maps are a kind of summary, a cheat sheet made on the basis of the tables.

After looking through the materials, you will notice that many affixes are similar to Russian ones and even have similar meanings. It’s not surprising, because they came to English, Russian and other languages ​​from Latin and Greek, especially for affixes with a scientific connotation: de activate – de activate, anti virus – anti virus, counter balance – against oats, ideal ism – ideal change. Thanks to these preserved connections between languages, word formation in English is given without any special problems.

There are different approaches to the classification of word formation methods; in Russian-language literature, two main methods are usually distinguished: word composition and word production.

Word production, in turn, is of four types: conversion, change of stress, alternation of sounds and affixation (prefixes and suffixes).

Compounding

Compounding is the combination of two words or stems into one word. The resulting words are written together or with a hyphen. The Russian language also has such a method and, by the way, the word “composition” itself is formed by compounding.

The verbs , (most often) are formed by compounding words.

Derivation

Derivation is the formation of one word from others. This can happen in four ways:

1. Conversion.
2. Changing the place of stress.
3. Alternation of sounds.
4. Affixation.

Conversion

Conversion is the transition of a word from one part of speech to another without changing the spelling or sound. It turns out that the word formally remains unchanged, but:

• it turns into another part of speech,
• its meaning changes.

Conversion is a method of word formation characteristic of the English language, thanks to which there are many words in English that do not differ in appearance or sound, but have the meaning of different parts of speech.

For example, nouns and verbs can match:

Noun	Verb
answer (answer)	to answer (answer)
hand (hand)	to hand (hand over)
place	to place
work (work)	to work (to work)

Or adjectives and verbs:

Changing the place of stress

In this case, the nouns have the same form as the verbs, but they have a different emphasis. Typically, a verb's stress falls on the second syllable, and a noun's stress falls on the first.

Alternation of sounds

In this case, verbs and nouns formed from the same root differ in the alternation of the last consonant sound. Usually it is voiced in a verb, and unvoiced in a noun.

For example:

Affixation

Very often words are formed using addition prefixes and suffixes(together they are called affixes).

• Consoles(prefixes) change the meaning of words, but the word itself does not change into another part of speech. Knowing the most common prefixes, you will be able to guess the meaning of words formed with their help, if, of course, you know the source word.
• Suffixes serve to form one part of speech from another. Knowing which suffixes are characteristic of which speech, you will easily understand which part of speech is in front of you, and accordingly this will make it easier to understand the word.

Prefixes in English

Prefixes can be divided into two groups: negative and all the rest.
The most common negative prefixes: un-, in-, dis-. There are no rules governing which of these prefixes is used to give a negative meaning to a word.

However, if we talk about passive vocabulary, about understanding text or speech, then this is not so important: if a word has one of the negative prefixes, then its meaning has been changed to negative or the opposite. The tables below give examples of words with these prefixes.

Prefix un-

comfortable - comfortable	uncomfortable - uncomfortable
equal - equal	unequal - unequal
expected - expected	unexpected - unexpected
happy - happy	unhappy - unhappy
important - important	unimportant - unimportant
known - famous	unknown - unknown
limited - limited	unlimited - unlimited
pleasant - pleasant	unpleasant - unpleasant

Also un- is attached to verbs to express the opposite action.

to dress - to dress	to undress - to undress
to lock - lock	to unlock - unlock
to pack – pack	to unpack - unpack

Prefix in-

No rules governing when to use un- and when in-, although these prefixes do not differ in meaning. The important difference is that in- NOT used in verbs.

Examples:

Prefix in– modified in some cases:

• before l turns into il-
• before r turns into ir-
• before m and p turns into im-

Prefix dis-

Dis- can express denial or the opposite action.

Negation:

Opposite action:

Other negative prefixes

Among other negative prefixes there are many international, Latin and Greek origin, also found in Russian.

• a\ab– (without-, non-, a-): abnormal – abnormal, amoral – immoral.
• anti-(anti-, anti-): antivirus - antivirus, antibiotic - antibiotic.
• counter-(counter-, anti-): counterstrike - counter-strike, counter-clockwise - counterclockwise.
• de-(deprive, delete): decode - decode, deformation - disbandment.
• non-(negation, absence): non-stop - non-stop, non-alcoholic - non-alcoholic.

Prefixes with different meanings

Prefix re- (again, again, again)
to appear - appear	to reappear – appear again
to construct - build	to reconstruct - rebuild
to read - read	to reread - reread
to sell – sell	to resell - resell
Prefix mis- (incorrect, incorrect)
to hear – to hear	to mishear - to mishear, to hear incorrectly
to lead - to lead	to mislead - to mislead
to quote - quote	to misquote - to quote incorrectly
to understand – to understand	to misunderstand - misunderstand
Prefixes over- (over, excessively) and under- (under-, insufficient)
to estimate – estimate	to overestimate - to overestimate To underestimate - to underestimate
to pay - to pay	to overpay - to overpay to underpay - underpay
Prefixes pre- (before, earlier) and post- (post-, after), often written with a hyphen
revolutionary - revolutionary	pre-revolutionary – pre-revolutionary post-revolutionary - post-revolutionary
war - war	pre-war - pre-war post-war - post-war
Prefix co- (cooperation, commonality of action), often written with a hyphen
author - author	co-author - co-author
existence - existence	co-existence - coexistence
operation - operation	co-operation – cooperation, assistance
Prefix inter- (between, among, mutually)
national - national	international - international
action - action	interaction
town - city	intertown - intercity
Prefix ex- (ex-, former), written with a hyphen
husband - husband	ex-husband - ex-husband
president - president	ex-president - ex-president
Prefix sub- (sub-, sub-)
marine - marine	submarine - underwater
section - section	subsection – subsection
Prefix ultra- (ultra-, super-), written with a hyphen
microscopic – microscopic	ultramicroscopic – ultramicroscopic
violet – purple	ultra-violet - ultraviolet
Prefix en- (to do something)
circle - circle	encircle – surround (make a circle)
large - big	enlarge – increase (do more)
slave - slave	enslave – to enslave (to make a slave)

Notes:

• In modern English there are words with inseparable prefixes, they include the prefixes listed in the table above, but by separating them, we do not get an independent word. For example: reduce(to shorten), discuss(discuss), pre pare(prepare). In fact, these consoles are no longer consoles at all. Once upon a time they grew attached to the roots of words, now unused and modified, and gradually they themselves became part of the root of the word. For example, in the word prepare(prepare) pre- this is no longer a prefix, but part of the root of the word.
• In colloquial speech the word is used "ex"– it exactly corresponds to our “ex, ex” and means “ex-husband/boyfriend, ex-wife/girlfriend”: My ex texted me – My ex wrote me an SMS.

Suffixes in English

Suffixes are indicators of parts of speech in the English language; accordingly, they can be divided into three groups: suffixes of nouns, adjectives and verbs. There is not much to say about adverbs; in most cases they are formed using only one suffix -ly(quick – quickly), there is a small note about them.

Noun suffixes

With the help of suffixes, nouns denoting persons and abstract nouns denoting broad or general concepts are formed.

Nouns denoting persons

Suffixes -er, -or – are added to verbs to denote the character
to buy – buy	buyer - buyer
to direct - to lead	director - head
to teach – to teach	teacher - teacher
to work - to work	worker - worker
The suffixes -ism and -ist correspond to the suffixes -ism and -ist in Russian, denoting ideologies, political or scientific movements and their adherents
idealist	idealist
terrorist	terrorist
materialism	materialism
The suffix -ee is used to indicate the person to whom the action is directed
to address - to address	addressee - addressee
to employ – hire	employee – worker (hired employee)
to pay - to pay	payee – payee
The suffix -ian is used to denote nationality
Russian	Russian
Ukrainian	Ukrainian
Bulgarian	Bulgarian
Norwegian	Norwegian

Abstract nouns

The suffix -age usually forms nouns from verbs
to leak – to leak	leakage - leak
to marry – to marry, to get married	marriage - marriage
Suffixes -ance, -ence - with their help, nouns are formed from adjectives with suffixes -ant, -ent
important - important	importance - importance
different – ​​different	difference - difference
resistant – resistant	resistance - resistance
The suffix -dom forms nouns from adjectives and other nouns
free - free	freedom - freedom
king - king	kingdom - kingdom
The suffix -hood usually forms nouns from other nouns
brother - brother	brotherhood - brotherhood
child - child	childhood - childhood
neighbor - neighbor	neighborhood - neighborhood
The suffixes -ion, -ation, -sion, -ssion form nouns from verbs, sometimes changing the pronunciation or spelling
to collect – collect	collection - collection
to combine - combine	combination - combination
to transmit - transmit	transmission - transmission
The suffix -ment forms nouns from verbs
to agree - agree	agreement - agreement
to develop – to develop	development - development
The suffix -ness forms nouns from adjectives
dark - dark	darkness - darkness
kind - kind	kindness - kindness
weak - weak	weakness - weakness
The suffix -ship forms nouns from other nouns
friend - friend	friendship - friendship
leader - leader	leadership - leadership
The suffix -ure forms nouns from verbs
to please – to give pleasure	pleasure - pleasure
to press – to press	pressure - pressure
to seize – to seize	seizure - capture

Adjective suffixes

The suffixes -able, -ible express the possibility of being subjected to action; in Russian there are similar “-able”, “-ivy”, “-obny”
to change - change	changable – changeable, changeable
to eat - eat	eatable - edible
to walk - go	walkable - passable
to convert – convert, transform	convertable - reversible, convertible
The suffix -al forms adjectives from nouns (cf. In Russian: -al)
center – center	central - central
culture - culture	cultural - cultural
form - form	formal – formal
The suffixes -ant, -ent form adjectives from verbs (these adjectives correspond to nouns with -ance, -ence)
to differ - to differ	different – ​​different (difference – difference)
to resist – resist	resistant - resistant (resistance - resistance)
The suffixes -ful form adjectives from nouns and denote the presence of a quality. (opposite of -less)
beauty - beauty	beautiful – beautiful
doubt - doubt	doubtful - doubtful
use - benefit	useful - useful
The suffix -ish forms adjectives with the meanings: a) nationality, b) weak degree of quality (as in Russian -ovat, -evat)
scott - Scotsman	scottish - Scottish
swede - Swede	swedish - Swedish
red – red	reddish – reddish
brown - brown	brownish – brownish
The suffix -ive forms adjectives from verbs and nouns (as in Russian -ive, -ivny)
to act - to act	active - active
effect – effect, action	effective - valid
to talk - talk	talkative - talkative
The suffix -less forms adjectives from a noun and means lack of quality (the opposite of -ful)
hope - hope	hopeless - hopeless
use - benefit	useless - useless
home - house	homeless - homeless
The suffix -ous forms adjectives from nouns
courage - courage	courageous - brave
danger - danger	dangerous - dangerous
glory - glory	glorious - glorious
The suffix -y forms adjectives from nouns (mostly weather-related)
cloud – cloud	cloudy - cloudy
dirt - dirt	dirty - dirty
fog - fog	foggy - foggy
rain - rain	rainy - rainy
sun – sun	sunny – sunny

Verb suffixes

The suffix -en gives meanings: to do, to become, to become, forms verbs from adjectives and nouns
sharp - sharp	sharpen – sharpen
short - short	shorten – to shorten
strength - strength	strengthen – strengthen
wide – wide	widen - expand
The suffix -fy usually forms verbs from adjectives, less often from nouns
false - fake	to falsify – to falsify
glory - glory	to glorify – glorify
simple - simple	to simplify - to simplify
pure - clean	to purify – to cleanse
The suffix -ize usually forms verbs from nouns
character - character	to characterize – to characterize
crystal – crystal	to crystallize – crystallize
sympathy - sympathy	to sympathize - sympathize

Notes:

• A few words need to be said about adverbs. Everything here is extremely simple: in the vast majority of cases, derived adverbs are formed from adjectives (sometimes from numerals and nouns) using a suffix -ly: wise(wise) - wisely(wisely) slow(slow) - slowly(slowly), etc. Suffixes are much less common -wise(clockwise - clockwise), -ward(s)(forward\backward – forward\back), -ways(sideways - sideways).
• As in the case of prefixes, in English there are words with inseparable suffixes, but in fact these are not suffixes, but part of the root, once formed from the suffix (in the process historical changes in language). These words are indivisible and are not recognized as words with suffixes, for example: courage(courage), station(station), document(document), loyal(devoted) possible(possible) and others.
• As in the Russian language, English words can be formed not only by prefix and suffix, but also by a combined (prefix-suffix) method. For example: walk(walk) - walkable(passable) – unwalkable(impassable). In this case, the meaning of both the suffix and the prefix is ​​added to the original word.

Friends! I'm often asked, but I'm not a tutor at the moment. If you need a teacher, I HIGHLY recommend it - there are native (and non-native) language teachers there👅 for all occasions and for every pocket😄 I recommend this site because I myself have completed more than 80 lessons with teachers I found there - and I recommend try it for you!

Everyone knows that ING-form is derived from a verb by adding the ending -ing. Reading, writing, swimming, eating- familiar words ending -ING.

But sometimes when we see or hear the ING-form in various sentences, we wonder: Why is this form here and how to translate it?

What is this mysterious form with the ending -ING, how to use it in English and what functions does it perform? First things first.

We first become acquainted with ING-form when we begin to study. Then we learn that “the ending -ING is added to the verb” and consider the rules for writing verbs with this ending.

There are some basic rules for adding the -ING ending, and a few exceptions. Let's look at them:

		For most verbs that end in a consonant after two vowels or two consonants, the ending is added unchanged	speak - speaking point - pointing
		If the verb ends in silent E, then it is dropped and the ending ING is added
		For verbs that end in Y, the ending is added unchanged	study - studying
		If the verb ends in a closed stressed syllable, the final consonant is doubled
	travel - travelling	Verbs that end in L preceded by a vowel double the L when the ending is added. This rule applies to British English, V American English L does not double.	quarrel - quarrelling marvel - marvelling model - modeling
		If a verb ends in R in a stressed syllable, then R is doubled	prefer - preferring
	Exceptions	There are a number of exceptions to remember	agree - agreeing

Then, when meeting with Present Continuous, we are training to pronounce this incomprehensible English sound NG [ŋ], which is so similar to the sound N [n], that many do not even hear the difference between them.

The sounds [n] and [ŋ] are classified as nasal or nasal sounds because their correct pronunciation involves lowering the roof of your mouth and letting air through your nose.

Indeed, for our “non-English” ears, the sounds [n] and [ŋ] are very similar in sound, but their articulation, that is, pronunciation is significantly different. When pronouncing the sound [n], the tongue is located at the upper teeth, and in order to get the correct sound [ŋ], you need to position the tongue further and raise the middle of the tongue to the palate, and then pronounce the sound, directing air into the nose.

Now it’s time to find out what functions the form with -ING has, what part of speech it is. Without pretending to quote a textbook on theorogramma, I propose to highlight three points to make it easier for you to understand the essence:

1. Times of the group Continuous
2. Gerund
3. Participle

It is interesting that in many textbooks in grammatical explanations they do not specify whether it is a gerund or a participle, but simply indicate: ING-form.

This, on the one hand, is correct, because for students, especially those who are just starting out and are not inclined to delve into grammar, it is essentially not important to know what the form is called (Gerund? Participle?) - the main thing is to understand that this is an “ing form” and be able to determine what functions it performs: a noun or an adjective.

But there are those for whom it is important to get to the bottom of the truth, so we will introduce the terms gerund and participle, but the explanation will be as simple as possible, and we will consider in detail for each of the above three points how the ING-form behaves and is used depending on its function.

1. ING-form in Continuous tenses

So, the first encounter with the ING-form is the Present Continuous. It is quite understandable that a stable association with Continuous is being formed. And then, when ING-form appears in another role, the student is confused: what is it?

How to distinguish?

Remember the rule: in tenses of the Continuous group in combination with ING-form (or, as is often indicated in textbooks: Verb + ing or V + ing) there is always:

Present Continuous: am, is, are + V ing

: was, were + V ing

I was working when you called me. - I was working when you called me.

: will be + V ing

I will be working tomorrow at 6 p.m. - I will work tomorrow at 6 pm.

And in the Perfect Continuous, also is added, and the verb to be is used in the third form.

: have been, has been + V ing

I have been working on this task for two days. - I've been working on this problem for two days.

Past Perfect Continuous: had been + V ing

I had been working on this task two days when you helped me. - I worked on this problem for two days until you helped me.

Future Perfect Continuous: will have been + V ing

I will have been working on this task for three days by Friday. - By Friday I will have been working on this task for three days.

If auxiliary verb no, then not in front of you Continuous, and the ING-form plays another role: gerund or participle. And right now we will look at what these forms are.

2. Gerund

The simplest rule is what a gerund is: a gerund in form is a verb with the ending -ING, but works like a noun and answers the question What? - What?

In a sentence, the gerund acts as the subject ( subject) or additions ( object) and is used as uncountable noun, without article:

Swimming is my hobby. - Swimming is my hobby.

My hobby is swimming. - My hobby is swimming.

As a gerund, the ING-form can sometimes appear in the plural:

Poetry readings take place every Friday. They are very popular with our students. - Poetry readings take place every Friday. They are very popular among our students.

Also, don't be surprised if you see a gerund with , . It works like a noun!

The painting of the Eiffel Tower took a long time. - Painting Eiffel Tower took a lot of time.

I will do a bit of cleaning tomorrow. - I'll clean up a little tomorrow.

The students handed in their writings. - Students handed in their written work.

I liked your singing. - I liked your singing.

As you can see, friends, translations of ING-form into Russian can be very different, and sometimes in Russian we do not have the corresponding word for translation, as, for example, in the case of writing, and then we have to look for suitable options.

But let's also not forget that the ING-form has the characteristics of a verb, so get ready for the following features:

The gerund can be combined with . After all, an adverb describes verbs, remember?

Breathing slowly and deeply can calm you down. - Slow and deep breathing can calm you down.

Driving fast is dangerous. - Driving fast can be dangerous.

A gerund can have an object, because verbs have an object!

Reading interesting book is the best form of rest for me. - Reading interesting book- the best form of relaxation for me.

Cleaning the flat took a long time. - Cleaning the apartment took a lot of time.

3. Participle

Attention, another very simple rule. How to distinguish a participle from a gerund: if a gerund performs the functions of a noun, then a participle performs a descriptive function - the function of an adjective and answers the question “Which?” Remember verbal adjectives that end in -ING? These are the sacraments.

I saw a reading man in the cafe. - I saw a man in a cafe who was reading (a reading person).

We enjoyed the sight of burning fire. - We liked the look of the blazing fire.

It was a tiring exercise. - It was a tedious exercise.

If you think and analyze a little, then when ING-form is used in Continuous, it also has the functions of an adjective. If we translate it literally, we get something like this:

I am reading now. - I am reading right now.

They are working. - They are working.

Although in real life we ​​don’t speak Russian like that, there is a certain logic in this, and it is precisely such “literal” explanations that help beginners and children understand the principle of construction Present Continuous and other times.

At the Elementary level, meetings with ING-form are limited by time Present Continuous, but later (already at the Pre-Intermediate level) topics such as: ; and other nuances in which students simply get confused and cannot understand how a verb with the ending -ING works, what its meaning is, how to translate and use it.

But now you know how to differentiate between ING-form functions, you can understand these topics.

However, this is just the tip of the grammatical iceberg. Of course, the ING-form as a gerund and participle has much more wide range features, use cases, combinations. We will definitely look at them in more detail in our next materials.

If the rules English grammar If you don’t get it, you need a system, development and practice, then ENGINFORM is what you need. You can sign up for an introductory lesson and start working on your grammar according to an individual program, with the help of our experienced teachers, today - right now!

We are waiting for you, stop putting off learning English.

Sometimes there are situations when an unfamiliar English word appears in the text, but there is no dictionary at hand. You can, of course, try to understand from the context what it means. But the rules of word formation will also help us understand its meaning.

Methods of word formation in English

• WITH placement of words - when new words are formed from two or more independent words by addition: fireplace, chess-player. In this case, new words can be written together ( postman, windowsill, boyfriend), separated by a hyphen ( copy-book, cinema-goer, holiday-maker) or separately ( stone wall, fire brigade, market place). In such cases, the meaning of the word can be understood without difficulty: fur fur + coat coat = furcoat fur coat (fur coat), text– text + book- book = text-book– textbook (book with texts), well– good + pau– pay = well-paid– well paid, etc.
• Conversion – when a word without changes becomes another part of speech, for example, water- water - to water- water, milk milk - to milk- milk, picture- painting - to picture- depict. Read more about , we already wrote earlier.
• Changing a word using a prefix (prefix) or suffix. If you know the meaning of basic prefixes and suffixes, you can easily “identify” a word by a familiar root. Let's look at the most common suffixes.

English prefixes

• Un- / im- / ir- / il- / dis- / in- – negative prefixes. With their help, words are formed that have opposite meanings: legal law– illegal illegal,like love– dislike don't love, usual ordinary– unusual unusual
• Mis— – this prefix means “wrong, incorrect”: misunderstand ( from the word understand - to understand) – misunderstand, misprint ( print- print) - typo, misinformation (information - information) – incorrect information
• Re- – has the meaning of “to do again, again”: rewrite ( write - write) – rewrite, replay ( play) – play again, refill ( fill - fill) – refill, refill
• Over- indicates an excessive degree of something: overcook ( cook- cook) – overcook or overcook, overcrowd ( crowd - fill with people) – overflow, oversleep ( sleep - sleep) - oversleep (sleep a lot)
• Under – has the meaning "under": underground ( ground - earth) – metro (subway), underwear ( wear - to wear) – underwear (what is worn under clothing)
• Ex- this prefix means “former” – ex-president – former president, ex-girlfriend – ex-girlfriend

English suffixes

Let's look at the most common suffixes of various parts of speech.

Noun suffixes

• -er / -or – this suffix forms nouns from a verb and denotes the one who performs the action: player ( play - play) - player, swimmer ( swim- swim) - swimmer, visitor ( visit - to visit) - visitor, speaker ( speak - speak) - speaker, orator, adviser ( advise - advise) - advisor
• -ing – verbal noun suffix – beginning (begin - start) - beginning, feeling ( feel - feel) - feeling, opening ( open - open) - opening

Google shortcode

Abstract nouns from adjectives are formed using the following suffixes:

• -ness – sleepiness ( sleep - sleep) - drowsiness, loneliness (lonely - lonely) – loneliness, darkness ( dark - dark) - darkness, politeness ( polite - polite) - politeness
• -ment - movement ( move - move) - movement, announcement ( announce - announce) – announcement, agreement ( agree - agree) - agreement
• -dom – freedom ( free - free) - freedom, boredom ( bore - boring) - boredom, kingdom ( king - king) - kingdom
• -ion ​​/ -tion / -sion / -ssion – competition ( compete - compete) - competition, admission ( admit - admit) - recognition, celebration ( celebrate - celebrate) - celebration, revision ( revise - revise) - revision
• -ure / -ture - adventure - adventure, agriculture – agriculture, nature - nature
• — hood – childhood ( child - child) – childhood, brotherhood ( brother - brother) – brotherhood, neighborhood ( neighbor - neighbor) neighborhood
• -ship – partnership ( partner - partner ) partnership, ownership ( owner - owner) - property, hardship ( hard - difficult) - difficulty
• — ist —idealist ( ideal - ideal) - idealist, artist ( art - art) pianist ( piano - piano) - pianist
• -ance/-ence – importance (important - important) — importance, disappearance ( disappear - disappear) - disappearance, presence ( present - to be present) – presence, silence ( silent - silent) - silence

Adjective suffixes

• -able / -ible – eatable ( eat - eat) - edible, unbreakable ( un+break – to break, break) – unbreakable, changeable ( change - change) - changeable
• - less – denotes absence, in Russian it often corresponds to the prefix without-: expressionless ( expression- expression) - expressionless, without expression, cloudless ( cloud - cloud) - cloudless, toothless (tooth - tooth) - toothless, careless ( care - care) - carefree
• —ous – dangerous ( danger - danger) dangerous, famous ( fame - glory) – famous, vigorous ( vigour – strength, energy) – strong, energetic
• - ful – presence of quality: forgetful ( forget - to forget) – forgetful, watchful ( watch - watch) - observant, doubtful ( doubt - doubt) – doubtful, thoughtful ( thought - thought) pensive
• -ish – means 1) weakened degree of quality: greenish – greenish, reddish – reddish, 2) expression of irritation or contempt: childish – you act like a child, bearish - like a bear, camelish – stubborn as a camel
• -y – windy ( wind - wind) windy, stormy ( storm - storm) – stormy, soapy ( soap - soap) - soapy
• -ic – philosophic ( philosophy - philosophy) - philosophical, scientific (science - science) - scientific, democratic ( democracy - democracy) - democratic
• -ive – expressive ( expression - expression) expressive, progressive ( progress - progress) - progressive, active ( act - to act) – active (one who acts a lot)

Adverb suffix

• -ly — calmly ( calm - calm) - calmly, occasionally ( occasional - random) randomly, quickly ( quick - fast) - fast

Verb suffix

• -en - forms a verb from adjectives and nouns, denotes an action that imparts a quality expressed in the stem weak - weak– weaken – weaken, hard – solid– harden – harden, sharp - spicy– sharpen – sharpen

Knowing the basic rules of word formation, now it will not be difficult for you to translate the following words:

• Unbelievable: un- negative prefix + believe believe +able adjective suffix= incredible
• Unexpectedness: un negative prefix +expect expect+ness noun suffix= surprise
• Unsuccessful: un negative prefix + success success + ful adjective suffix= not successful
• Indifference: in negative prefix +differ distinguish + ence noun suffix= indifference
• well-educated: well well +educated= well educated
• wholeheartedly: whole whole, all +heart heart +ly – adverb suffix= from the bottom of my heart
• pain-killer: pain pain+kill+er – the one who kills= pain reliever

as well as the following phrases:

• A hardly recognizable extract (hard+ly recognize+able) - a difficultly recognizable passage
• An unforgettable performance (un+forget+able perform+ance) – an unforgettable performance
• An inattentive listener (in+attentive listen+er) - inattentive listener
• An easily-hardened metal (easy+ly hard+en) - easily hardened metal
• An unknown trouble-maker (un+know trouble+make+er) - unknown troublemaker
• Successful underground work (success+ful under+ground) - successful work underground