Word Classes: Nouns

Syllabus tag: Kenya CBC | Grade 9 English | Theme 11.0 Income Generating Activities | Strand 11.3 Grammar | Sub-Strand 11.3.1 Word Classes: Nouns (2 Lessons)

Lesson objectives

By the end of this sub-strand, you should be able to:

• Identify nouns formed from verbs and from other nouns in a text.
• Form nouns using the common noun-forming suffixes.
• Use derived nouns correctly in sentences.
• Acknowledge the necessity of forming words from other word classes in communication.

Summary

English builds new nouns from words that already exist. A verb such as employ yields employment, employer and employee; a noun such as farm yields farmer and farming. This process is called derivation, and it is done mainly by adding suffixes. Knowing the common suffixes lets a learner both recognise unfamiliar nouns and produce the right form when writing, which matters greatly in describing work and enterprise where nouns like investment, supplier and ownership are needed constantly.