Converting Words into Verbs
Convert nouns and adjectives into verbs by adding suffixes -ate, -ise (-ize), and -ify, understanding how word class changes affect sentence construction
What a learner can do afterwards
- Add -ate, -ise, or -ify to nouns or adjectives to form verbs, e.g. pollen → pollinate, advert → advertise, simple → simplify
- Choose the correct verb-forming suffix for a given root and use the resulting verb in a sentence, e.g. 'They needed to classify the animals' from 'class'
- Identify the word-class change when a suffix converts a noun or adjective into a verb and explain how this affects the sentence structure
The lesson
You already know that suffixes are word endings that change meaning. Some suffixes do something bigger: they turn a naming word (noun) or a describing word (adjective) into an action word (verb). Three common verb-making suffixes are -ate, -ise (or -ize), and -ify.
Pollen is a noun. Add -ate and you get pollinate, a verb: 'Bees pollinate flowers every spring.' Advert is a noun. Add -ise and you get advertise, a verb: 'Shops advertise their sales on the radio.'
Watch how the sentence changes. 'The class was loud' uses class as a naming word. 'We classify the rocks by color' uses classify as an action word, so the sentence needs someone doing the sorting.
There is no single rule for which suffix a word takes, so notice patterns as you read: simple becomes simplify, active becomes activate, and modern becomes modernize. When you meet a new word ending in -ate, -ise, or -ify, expect it to be a verb.
Add -ate, -ise, or -ify to a noun or adjective, and it becomes an action word: a verb.
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8 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.