Adjectives to nouns

A lot of adjectives can be changed to nouns by the addition of a suffix (e.g., brave - bravery, equal - equality,, etc), or by changing other features of the word (e.g., proud - pride, sympathetic - sympathy, etc). Some nouns need a prefix and a suffix, depending on how they are being used (e.g., equal = equality or inequality)

Task 1.
 Look at these sentences, and decide if the nouns in bold are correct or incorrect (the key adjectives are in brackets at the end of each sentence). Look at the meaning of the whole sentence before you decide, and don't forget to check the spelling.

1. I'm not sure you're old enough to be given such a responsibility. (responsible)

2. Although there are several differents between British and American English, there are also
many similarity. (different / similar)

3. It was a terrible lesson, the hotness in the room was unbearable, we were almost falling
asleep with boredom, and our stomachs were rumbling with hungryness. (hot / bored /
hungry)

4. I asked her if she was telling the trueth. (true)

5. The check-in staff said that the flight was late and apologised for the convenience,
although they didn't show much sympathetically. (convenient / sympathetic)

6. They almost died of thirstiness before they were rescued. (thirsty)

7. Your calculations are wrong; there are several accuracies. (accurate)

8. We had to measure the length, the wideth and the deepth of the swimming pool, and then
measure the hight of the diving board. (long / wide / deep / high)

9. She experienced a lot of happyness and lonelyness in her lifetime; her parents died when
she was still in her youth, her first husband left her, and her only child ran away from
home. (happy / lonely / young)

10. He lacked confidence in his ableness, and seemed unaware of his own intelligence.
(confident / able / intelligent)

11. There's a strong probableness, perhaps even a certainty, that he's going to get a grade A
in the exam. (probable / certain)

Task 2. Here are some more adjectives which can be made into nouns. How many can you change?


pessimistic • patient • mature • optimistic • honest • brave
accurate • selfish • possible • inferior • violent • stupid
foolish • anxious • reliable • loyal • popular • warm
necessary • safe • realistic • ill • proud • superior • strong