ملخص الدرس / الثالثة ثانوي/اللغة الإنجليزية/Grammar/Forming nouns with: -ness--ty

Many words in English can be adapted to be used for different grammatical functions. We often use prefixes and suffixes (extra parts of the word added at the beginning or the end) to change the meaning of a word for a variety of purposes. Adjectives and verbs can be turned into nouns; There are many different ways to do this, but there are also some general rules to help know how to create nouns from other words.

Rule :
adjective + ness ==> noun

When you add “ness” to an adjective, it becomes a noun. The suffix “ness” means “state : condition : quality”; it is used to say something about the state, condition, or quality of being that adjective.

E.g.1 Red==> redness

Redness is a red quality, and redness means the quality of being red.

E.g.2 bitter==> bitterness

Bitterness is a bitter condition, or the condition of being bitter.

Note1:

Not all adjectives can be made into nouns using “ness”. Typically, if an adjective is in its -eror estform, “ness” cannot be added:

E.g. Higher and highest cannotbecome higherness or highestness.

Note2:

If an adjective is actually a participle of a verb, “ness” cannot be added:

E.g.Washed and running cannotbecome washedness or runningness.

Most other adjectives, however can be made into nouns by adding “ness.”

The suffix “ity” forms nouns from some adjectives. It is common with adjectives ending in “ble” or with soft ­s sounds. It is used to say something about the state andcondition.

• To form nouns with “ity” changes in spelling often occur, such as replacing the last few letters of the adjective.

E.g. 1 responsible – Your children are not my responsibility.

E.g.2 possible – Nuclear war seemed like a real possibility.

E.g.3 hilarious – They reacted to the joke with much hilarity.

E.g.4 probable – It’s hard to guess the probability of her passing the test.

• “ity” is added to adjectives and bound stems to make nouns.

• The suffix “ity” has two other forms that are used in certain settings: -etyand -ty. 

E.g.1 anxiety

E.g.2 penalty.