In today’s podcast, you’ll learn how to transform verbs and adjectives into nouns to make your English more formal and concise, or, to say it another way, the transformation of verbs and nouns for the formation of more formal and concise English, especially in writing.
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Voice message from Marcos from Uruguay
To make a long story short (final t) Harrison For and a bird hi.
I came across XwithX your podcast
The first one I could truly XunderstoodX understand
Which sentence sounds more formal?
a) The company improved its service.
b) There was an improvement in the company’s service.
Common endings to change adjective/verbs to nouns: -tion, -sion, -ment, -ance, -ence, -ity, -ness, -al -f.
A few basic examples:
decide decision The final decision was made yesterday.
improve improvement We’ve seen great improvement this year.
strong strength Her main strength is communication.
happy happiness Money can’t buy you happiness.
Can you transform these sentences by changing the verbs to nouns?
They agreed to start the project. → They reached/came to an agreement to start the project.
The manager explained the rules. → The manager gave/offered an explanation of the rules.
The students improved quickly. → There was rapid improvement among the students.
The company decided to close the branch. → The company made/took a decision to close the branch.
When you change a verb or adjective to a noun, sometimes the tricky bit is knowing which verb or verbs can COLLOCATE with the noun:
to agree – to come to/reach an agreement
e.g. they came to/reached and agreement
to explain – to give/offer and explanation
e.g. the manager gave/offered and explanation
to decide – to make/take a decision
e.g. the company made/took a decision
Ending in -tion
opt option
locate location
create creation
perceive perception
deceive deception
receive reception
Ending in -sion
admit admission
omit omission
precise precision
decide decision
suspend suspension
Ending in –ence
refer reference
prefer preference
depend dependence
adhere adherence
Ending in -ance
resist resistance
attend attendance
appear appearance
assure assurance
Ending in -ity
curious curiosity
real reality
equal equality
diverse diversity
Ending in -ment
develop development
move movement
achieve achievement
refine refinement
Ending in -al
arrive arrival
approve approval
refuse refusal
arouse arousal
Ending in -ness
kind kindness
weak weakness
tender tenderness
polite politeness
Ending in -f
prove proof
believe belief
relieve relief
…and now it’s your turn to practise your English.
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In next week’s episode: From Snooze Buttons to Ice Cream Cones: Curious Inventions That Changed Our Lives
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The music in this podcast is by Pitx. The track is called ‘See You Later