Word formation. Abstract nouns

Hello, guys! Welcome to Grammar Zone!

Today we have another video on word formation.

I’m sure that music has an impact on any personality. What words would you use to describe the following piece of music? Choose from the list.

Childhood, laughter, brightness, happiness.

What about another one? ………. bravery, courage, honesty, adventure.

And the final composition is …… Yeah, the most suitable words to describe the rhythm of popular music are movement, youth, amusement.

Do you have an idea what all of these words have in common?

Right, they are abstract nouns.

And in today’s lesson we are going to talk about their formation and meanings. After that, you’ll have a task to practice the rule.

So, let’s get started!

An abstract noun is the name of a quality, action or state. Abstract nouns refer to ideas that we cannot see, hear, touch, taste, or smell.

For example:

Quality – goodness, kindness, beauty, intelligence, generosity, cleverness, obedience, honesty, brightness, wisdom, bravery, courage, hardness, softness

Action – laughter, theft, movement, judgment

State – childhood, boyhood, manhood, youth, slavery, sickness, poverty, death, sleep

The names of the arts and science are also abstract nouns.

Examples are: physics, chemistry, grammar, music.

Abstract nouns can be formed from adjectives, verbs and common nouns.

There are many suffixes for making abstract nouns. Today we’re going to have a look at the most common ones

So, here we go!

1. -(i)ty

The natural beauty of the coastline attracts tourists from around the world.

-(i)ty is used to make abstract nouns from adjectives. It also means "a state of being” or “quality”.

honest – honesty – честность

loyal – loyalty – верность, благонадёжность

equal – equality – равенство

flexible – flexibility – гибкость

real – reality – реальность

popular – popularity – популярность

2. –ness

My goodness! What a wonderful view!

You will find many words in English that end in -ness. -Ness is used to make abstract nouns from adjectives. This suffix means "state of being" or "quality."

Here are some of the most common words with this ending. Remember that you will find many more of them, too:

busy – business – дело

ill –illness - болезнь

sad – sadness - грусть

thick – thickness - густота

kind – kindness - доброта

weak – weakness - слабость

dark – darkness - темнота

bright – brightness - яркость

3. -ance, -ence

These suffixes are used to make nouns, meaning either: a quality or state.

The house is only a very short distance from the sea.

-ance, -ence are used to make nouns from adjectives ending -ant, -ent.

different – difference – разница

important – importance – важность

intelligent – intelligence – интеллект, сообразительность

silent – silence – тишина

confident – confidence – уверенность

4. –dom

Sometimes boredom leads to depression and other problems.

The old-fashioned siffix –dom can be used only in a few words:

free – freedom – свобода

wise – wisdom – мудрость

king – kingdom – королевство

bore – boredom – скука

5. – hood

We decided to buy this house because the neighbourhood was extremely quiet and peaceful.

-hood refers to a time, or to individuals sharing a state of being.

Here are some very common words with this suffix:

mother – motherhood – материнство

father – fatherhood – отцовство

brother – brotherhood – братство

adult – adulthood – зрелость

6. –ship

My friendship with his friend’s sister Sue slowly turned into a relationship.

The suffix –ship is used to make abstract nouns from nouns and it means "state or condition of."

Here are some very common words with this suffix:

leader - leadership - лидерство

member - membership - членство

owner - ownership - собственность

champion - championship - чемпионат

citizen - citizenship - гражданство

partner - partnership - партнёрство

7. -ment

If you want excitement, you should try parachuting.

The suffix –ment is used to make abstract nouns from verbs. This suffix means "action or process.”

Here are some more common words that end in -ment:

to enjoy – enjoyment - наслаждение

to move – movement - движение

to treat – treatment – лечение, обращение

to govern – government - управление

to pay – payment - оплата

to improve – improvement - улучшение

to agree – agreement - соглашение

to achieve – achievement - достижение

8. –age

Please handle this package with care.

This suffix also means "action or process.”

marry – marriage – брак

pass – passage – проход

bag – baggage – багаж

post – postage – почтовая оплата, доставка почтой

band – bandage – бинт, бандаж, повязка

9. –tion

She looked at him with a surprised expression on her face.

-tion is used to make nouns from verbs. It also means "a state of being."

You will also find many words that end in slight variations of this suffix, including, -sion, -ition, -ation, or simply -ion.

However, the most common is -tion.

Here are some examples with this suffix:

to inform – information - информация

to educate – education - образование

to act – action -действие

to decide – decision - решение

to situate – situation - ситуация

to produce – production - производство

to populate – population - население

Look out!

Some related nouns and adjectives / verbs do not follow a simple pattern.

Now it’s time to practice the rule.

Use the word given at the end of each line to form a word that fits in the gap in the same line.

These days most of us have a CD collection. Before the CD, singers made LPs, or “long-playing” record. The invention of LP belongs to Columbia, a big recording company in the USA. LP was a huge achievement in recording industry. Although many children have never seen an LP, they had a great popularity.

To play these records you needed a record player with a needle that ran along a record and produced the sound. Some musicians say the there is a big deference in the quality of sound of LPs and CDs. LPs produce much better sound. LPs are no longer very popular as a form of entertainment, but many people buy and sell them. Some of them remember the LP from their childhood and listening to records reminds them of the past.

That`s all for today.

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