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Word Building

Making Nouns from Other Words

Turning a verb or a describing word into a thing: teach becomes teacher.

Mastered by
The -er ending (the person who does it) is usually usable by 4 to 5
Practice items
36
Sections
4

What this skill is

English builds new words out of old ones by bolting an ending on. Add -er to a verb and you get the person who does it: teach, teacher. Add -ness to a describing word and you get the quality itself: happy, happiness. This is called derivation, and it is worth targeting directly, because a child who understands the pattern can work out a word they have never heard before - which is most of what reading comprehension asks of them.

What to expect

-er comes first and comes easily, often overgeneralised in a charming way: a child may call a nurse a "shotter" or a vacuum a "sucker". That is the pattern working correctly on a word that happens not to exist. The abstract endings are much later and much harder, because the resulting word names something you cannot point at.

Try this at home

Play "who does it?" on the way somewhere. Someone who bakes is a ____. Someone who paints is a ____. Someone who farms is a ____. Then flip it: a singer is somebody who ____.

When to refer

A school-age child cannot work out the meaning of a derived word they know the root of ("if somebody who teaches is a teacher, what do you call somebody who builds?").

Print it

Making Nouns from Other Words worksheet36 items across 4 sections, with answer key · PDF

The Person Who Does It (-er)

12 items

Fill in the blank with the word for the person who does each thing.

  1. 1.Someone who teaches is a ____.teacher
  2. 2.Someone who paints is a ____.painter
  3. 3.Someone who bakes is a ____.baker
  4. 4.Someone who sings is a ____.singer
  5. 5.Someone who farms is a ____.farmer
  6. 6.Someone who dances is a ____.dancer
  7. 7.Someone who builds is a ____.builder
  8. 8.Someone who swims is a ____.swimmer
  9. 9.Someone who reads is a ____.reader
  10. 10.Someone who paints houses is a ____.painter
  11. 11.Someone who drives is a ____.driver
  12. 12.Someone who helps is a ____.helper

Turn It Around

8 items

Say what each person does.

  1. 1.A teacher is someone who ____.teaches
  2. 2.A runner is someone who ____.runs
  3. 3.A climber is someone who ____.climbs
  4. 4.A writer is someone who ____.writes
  5. 5.A player is someone who ____.plays
  6. 6.A catcher is someone who ____.catches
  7. 7.A speaker is someone who ____.speaks
  8. 8.A worker is someone who ____.works

Describing Word to Thing

8 items

These endings turn a describing word into the name of the feeling or quality. Fill in the blank.

  1. 1.When you are happy, you feel ____. (-ness)happiness
  2. 2.When you are kind, you show ____. (-ness)kindness
  3. 3.When you are sad, you feel ____. (-ness)sadness
  4. 4.When you are dark, there is ____. (-ness)darkness
  5. 5.When something is soft, you feel its ____. (-ness)softness
  6. 6.When you are brave, you show ____. (-ery or -ness)bravery
  7. 7.When you are quiet, there is ____. (-ness)quietness
  8. 8.When you are silly, everyone laughs at your ____. (-ness)silliness

Verb to Thing

8 items

These endings turn an action into the name of the action. Fill in the blank.

  1. 1.When you move, you make a ____. (-ment)movement
  2. 2.When you pay, you make a ____. (-ment)payment
  3. 3.When you excite someone, there is ____. (-ment)excitement
  4. 4.When you decide, you make a ____. (-ion)decision
  5. 5.When you celebrate, you have a ____. (-ion)celebration
  6. 6.When you invite someone, you send an ____. (-ion)invitation
  7. 7.When you build, you do ____. (-ing)building
  8. 8.When you agree, you make an ____. (-ment)agreement