VERB · what happens?
Laws exclude workers.
NOUN · what do we call it?
Exclusion limits workers’ choices.
ex + clude + ion → exclusion
The verb tells what laws do. The noun names that process, so we can explain its effect.
YPT 154–155
Nouns & verbs
A word’s part of speech tells you its job in a sentence. An ending gives you a clue; the sentence gives you the answer.
Nouns name.
A person, place, thing, idea, or activity.
worker · Chicago · land · freedom · migration
Freedom is a noun even though you cannot touch it.
Verbs tell what happens.
An action, event, or state of being.
work · migrate · exclude · resist · be
Were is a verb in “The laws were unequal.”
Watch the word change jobs.
VERB · what happens?
Unequal systems oppress people.
NOUN · what do we call it?
Oppression restricts people’s opportunities.
op + press + ion → oppression
Naming oppression is a start. Add a verb to explain what it causes or how people resist it.
YPT 51 YPT 53VERB · what happens?
Workers migrate toward jobs.
NOUN · what do we call it?
Migration changes communities.
migrate + ion → migration
Drop the final silent e. The noun names the movement; the verb shows people moving.
YPT 238–239VERB · what happens?
Racist stories dehumanize people.
NOUN · what do we call it?
Dehumanization makes unequal treatment easier to justify.
de + human + ize + ation → dehumanization
-ize forms a verb. Adding -ation names the process as a noun; drop the final silent e.
YPT 35–36Build a sentence that explains power.
WHO ACTS?Employersnoun · names the actors
DO WHAT?divideverb · shows the action
WHOM?workers.noun · names those affected
Employers divide workers because a divided workforce has less bargaining power.
YPT 192The connector adds the reason. Now the sentence explains a relationship.
Is the underlined word a noun or a verb?
Make your best guess and think about why. Then click the underlined word to see if you are correct. Click again to turn it back.
Workers need .
Work names the activity that workers need.
Workers long hours.
Work tells what the workers do.
takes practice.
Reading names an activity. That activity is what takes practice.
We are Takaki.
Here, “are reading” is a verb phrase telling what we are doing.
A can hide an unequal relationship.
Promise names a commitment someone has made.
Officials equal treatment.
Promise tells what the officials do.
Notice: The same word can do different jobs. Even an -ing word can be a noun or part of a verb phrase. Read the whole sentence.
Use endings to find nouns and verbs.
Noun clues
-ion, -ment, -ness, -ity often name a process, result, or quality.
oppress → oppression
move → movement
weak → weakness
Verb clues
-ize, -ify, -en, -ate often create verbs.
human → humanize
class → classify
weak → weaken
All 25 suffix families: meanings, parts of speech, and examples
| Ending & part of speech | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| -ion / -ation / -ition (noun) | an action, process, or result | construction · migration · definition |
| -ment (noun) | an action, result, or condition | enactment · commitment · movement |
| -ness (noun) | a state or quality | weakness · awareness · whiteness |
| -ity / -ty (noun) | a state or quality | humanity · responsibility · liberty |
| -er / -or (noun) | a person or thing that acts | laborer · reporter · oppressor |
| -ist (noun / adjective) | a participant, supporter, or related quality | activist · socialist · racist |
| -ism (noun) | a system, practice, or belief | racism · socialism · activism |
| -ance / -ence (noun) | a state, action, or quality | dominance · acceptance · dependence |
| -ship (noun) | a status, relationship, or practice | citizenship · ownership · leadership |
| -dom (noun) | a state, realm, or condition | freedom · kingdom · serfdom |
| -al (adjective / noun) | related to; an action or result | structural · formal · referral |
| -ic / -ical (adjective) | related to; characterized by | civic · politic · political |
| -ive (adjective) | having a tendency, function, or quality | constructive · active · oppressive |
| -ous / -ious (adjective) | having or full of a quality | clamorous · laborious · autonomous |
| -ful (adjective) | full of; characterized by | respectful · powerful · hopeful · harmful |
| -less (adjective) | without | powerless · landless · homeless |
| -able / -ible (adjective) | able to be; fit for | predictable · removable · credible · legible |
| -y (adjective / noun) | having a quality; a state or activity | wealthy · needy · risky · autonomy |
| -ly (adverb / adjective) | in a manner; having a quality | actively · formally · collectively · friendly |
| -ate (verb) | make; act; perform | dictate · collaborate · elaborate |
| -ize (verb) | make; become; treat as | humanize · dehumanize · normalize |
| -ify (verb) | make; cause to become | justify · rectify · simplify · classify |
| -en (verb / adjective) | make; made of | strengthen · weaken · widen · wooden |
| -ed (verb / adjective) | past action; resulting condition | excluded · constructed · oppressed |
| -ing (verb / noun / adjective) | ongoing action; activity; related quality | organizing · reading · housing · domineering |
An appositive is a noun phrase.
The workers, a coalition across nationalities, organized.
NOUNThe workers
RENAMES THAT NOUNa coalition across nationalities
VERBorganized.
Remove the phrase: The workers organized. The sentence still works. Keep the two commas when you put the appositive back.
YPT 198Sentences are original teaching examples. YPT links lead to the historical reading. Explore the suffixes for word-part references.