British English isn't just about fancy accents - it's a treasure trove of word forms that add flair to the language. We are going to explore some common word forms (nouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs) and how they're used differently.
Why Word Forms Matter in British English
Mastering the different word forms and their different placements in sentences will enhance your communication and writing skills and ensure you convey your meaning more accurately and clearly. There are some nuanced differences between British English and other varieties so it is critical to use the forms of the words correctly in order to avoid any misunderstandings. Additionally, word forms are essential for disambiguating meaning. A poorly chosen word form can lead to confusion or alter the sentence's meaning. Understanding and knowing different word forms is super important if you want to pass a standardised test such as Cambridge or IELTS as there are specific questions and tasks directly related to this part of grammar.
Common Forms of Words in British English
Take a look at the table below for a list of the most common forms of words.
Verb | Noun | Adjective | Adverb |
Act | Activity | Active | Actively |
Accept | Acceptance | Acceptable | |
Add | Addition | Additional | Additionally |
Beautify | Beauty | Beautiful | Beautifully |
Believe | Belief | Believable | Believably |
Bore | Boredom | Boring | Boringly |
Care | Care | Careful | Carefully |
Choose | Choice | Chosen | |
Consider | Consideration | Considerable | Considerably |
Comfort | Comfort | Comfortable | Comfortably |
Confuse | Confusion | Confused | |
Decide | Decision | Decisive | Decisively |
Differ | Difference | Different | Differently |
Enjoy | Joy | Joyful | Joyfully |
Hate | Hatred | Hateful | Hatefully |
Hope | Hope | Hopeful | Hopefully |
Include | Inclusion | Inclusive | Inclusively |
Interest | Interest | Interesting | Interestingly |
Protect | Protection | Protective | Protectively |
Quicken | Quickness | Quick | Quickly |
Secure | Security | Secured | Securely |
Strengthen | Strength | Strong | Strongly |
Succeed | Success | Successful | Successfully |
Think | Thought | Thoughtful | Thoughtfully |
Placement of words
The placement of words in a sentence can be a clue as to what word form it is, or knowing the word form can help you to know where to place it in a sentence.
Basic sentence - Subject + verb + object (SVO).
Adjectives - adjectives generally come before the noun that they modify, a beautiful house, an interesting book.
Exceptions - when an adjective follows a linking verb such as, be, seem, become, the adjective follows the verb, e.g. The sky is blue.
Adverbs - adverbs can modify verbs, adjectives or other adverbs and their placement depends on what they modify.
Modify a verb - usually placed after the verb at the end of the sentence, e.g. He runs quickly.
Modify an adjective or adverb - placed before the word modified, e.g. It is very hot today.
Adverb of frequency (always, often etc.) - placed before the main verb but after the verb 'be', e.g. I always eat breakfast.
Nouns - nouns can function as subjects, objects or complements in a sentence and their placement depends on what their function is.
Subject - comes before the verb, e.g. The cat is sleeping.
Object - comes after the verb, e.g. I saw the dog.
Prepositional phrase - comes after the preposition, e.g. She lives in London.
Verbs - the placement of a verb depends on the sentence structure.
Simple sentences - verb is placed after the subject and before the object, e.g. She reads books.
Questions - the auxiliary verb comes before the subject, e.g. Does she read books?
Negative sentences - add 'not' after the auxiliary verb, e.g. She does not read books.
Tips for Learners
Firstly, focus on mastering the basic sentences; subject + verb + object (SVO).
Practise common patterns listed above.
Be mindful of the exceptions and irregularities (placement of not, or adverbs of frequency).
Read British English materials (books, magazines, online articles/news etc.), this can help you to see examples of word placements and forms of words correctly.
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