Both -tion and -ment turn a verb into a noun, the name of an action, process, or result. Use -tion with verbs like apply, present, operate; use -ment with verbs like improve, develop, agree.
Making nouns from verbs: -tion and -ment
application /ˌæplɪˈkeɪʃən/ — Amina's application needs more information before Friday.
presentation /ˌprezənˈteɪʃən/ — Amina gave a short presentation at the community center.
improvement /ɪmˈpruːvmənt/ — Mei showed real improvement in her writing this term.
agreement /əˈɡriːmənt/ — The agreement was signed after the meeting.
Not ""The team reached an agreeMENT... an improveTION." (wrong suffix for the verb)" — say ""an agreement" (from agree), "an improvement" (from improve).". The suffix belongs to the verb: improve → improvement, agree → agreement, not -tion.
Try it: Mei worked hard all term, and her teacher noticed a clear ___ in her writing. (improvement / improvation / improveness) Answer: improvement — The verb improve takes -ment, so the noun is improvement. "Improvation" mixes in -tion, which does not attach to improve, and "improveness" uses -ness, which forms nouns from adjectives, not from a verb like improve.
Making quality nouns: -ness
-ness turns an adjective into a noun for a quality or state. kind → kindness, happy → happiness, dark → darkness. Note happy loses its -y and becomes happi- before -ness.
kindness /ˈkaɪndnəs/ — Yasmin appreciated Lars's kindness during the project.
happiness /ˈhæpinəs/ — Happiness is not the same as constant excitement.
darkness /ˈdɑrknəs/ — The darkness made the path difficult to see.
Try it: Lars helped everyone without being asked, and Yasmin thanked him for his ___. (kindness / kindful / kindment) Answer: kindness — Kind is an adjective, so -ness makes the quality noun kindness. "Kindful" is not a word (-ful attaches to nouns like help), and -ment makes nouns from verbs, not from the adjective kind.
Formal quality nouns: -ity
-ity also turns an adjective into a noun for a quality or state, like -ness, but it goes on more formal, Latin-based adjectives: real → reality, responsible → responsibility. The spelling often changes a little before -ity, so learn each pair as one unit.
reality /riˈæləti/ — Diego had to face the reality of a smaller budget.
Not ""He had to face the realness of the situation."" — say ""He had to face the reality of the situation."". Formal, Latin-based adjectives like real take -ity, not -ness: real → reality.
Try it: Diego stopped dreaming about instant fame and looked at his true situation. He had to face ___. (reality / realment / realition) Answer: reality — The adjective real takes -ity to become the noun reality. "Realment" and "realition" borrow -ment and -tion, but those suffixes make nouns from verbs, and real is an adjective.
People who do things: -er
-er turns a verb into a noun for the person who does the action: teach → teacher, employ → employer, play → player. It names people, and sometimes tools, never the action itself.
teacher /ˈtiːtʃər/ — The teacher at Haffenbridge School explained the lesson twice.
Not ""My teaching gave me extra homework."" — say ""My teacher gave me extra homework."". -er names the person who does the action. Teaching is the activity, and an activity cannot give homework.
Try it: Lani did not understand the grammar point, so she asked her ___ for extra examples. (teacher / teaching / teachment) Answer: teacher — Lani asked a person, and -er names the person who does the action: teach → teacher. "Teaching" is the activity, and you cannot ask an activity a question, while "teachment" is not a word, since -ment does not attach to teach.
Making adjectives: -ful, -less, -able
These suffixes build adjectives. -ful = full of / having a quality (help → helpful). -less = without (use → useless). -able = can be done (achieve → achievable). Notice -ful and -less can pair from the same word: helpful / helpless. Sometimes the root of an -able word is no longer used on its own: available means "can be obtained or used", even though avail is rare today.
helpful /ˈhɛlpfəl/ — Sofia gave helpful feedback after the presentation.
useless /ˈjuːsləs/ — The old phone was useless after the battery failed.
achievable /əˈtʃiːvəbl/ — The goal is achievable with regular practice.
available /əˈveɪləbl/ — The full schedule is available on the school website.
Not ""The battery failed, so the phone was helpless."" — say ""...so the phone was useless."". -less means without a use (useless), while helpless means unable to act. Pick the root that carries the meaning.
Try it: With regular practice, this goal is realistic - it is completely ___. (achievable / achievement / achieveless) Answer: achievable — -able makes the adjective achievable ("can be achieved"), which fits after is. "Achievement" is a noun, so it cannot follow is completely here, and "achieveless" is not a real word, since -less attaches to nouns like use, not to achieve.
Making adverbs: -ly
-ly turns an adjective into an adverb that tells you how an action happens: clear → clearly, careful → carefully, quick → quickly. The adverb describes the verb, not the noun.
clearly /ˈklɪrli/ — Lani spoke clearly during the presentation.
carefully /ˈkɛrfəli/ — Farid answered the questions carefully.
quickly /ˈkwɪkli/ — Camila quickly saved the file before the laptop restarted.
Try it: The laptop started to restart, so Camila ___ saved her file just in time. (quickly / quick / quickness) Answer: quickly — The word describes how she saved, an action, so you need the adverb quickly. "Quick" is the adjective (it would describe a thing, not the verb), and "quickness" is a noun, which cannot modify saved.