English·Grammar & Punctuation·procedural
Converting Words into Verbs
Convert nouns and adjectives into verbs by adding suffixes -ate, -ise (-ize), and -ify, understanding how word class changes affect sentence construction
Suggested ages 9–10
Learning journey
Your child is mastering advanced grammar and punctuation — using complex sentence structures with relative clauses, understanding how to change word meanings with prefixes and suffixes, and creating cohesive, well-connected writing.
Evidence of understanding
- Add -ate, -ise, or -ify to nouns or adjectives to form verbs, e.g. pollen → pollinate, advert → advertise, simple → simplify
- Choose the correct verb-forming suffix for a given root and use the resulting verb in a sentence, e.g. 'They needed to classify the animals' from 'class'
- Identify the word-class change when a suffix converts a noun or adjective into a verb and explain how this affects the sentence structure
Assessment prompt
Can Converting Words into Verbs take a word like "active" or "sharp" and turn it into a verb by adding a suffix — knowing that "activate" and "sharpen" are the verb forms?
Standards alignment
Eng.App2.Y5.Word.1GB · uk-nc-2013
Converting nouns or adjectives into verbs
The national curriculum in England: Key stages 1 and 2 framework document · Key Stage 2