Tricky noun forms

In editing or synthesis and transformation, a common question type requires students to convert an adjective or verb into a noun.
For example:

John broke the window as he was careless.
John broke the window due to his carelessness.

The problem is that in English, some words don’t follow this simple rule of adding -ness, -ment, or other endings to become nouns. Hence, here are some tricky noun forms that may appear in SNT you should know.

  1. Humble -> Humility

    Everyone likes John because he is humble. -> Everyone likes John because of his humility.

  2. Hesitate -> Hesitation

    The project was delayed because he hesitated. -> The project was delayed due to his hesitation.

  3. Unstable -> Instability
    The building collapsed as it was unstable. -> The building collapsed due to its instability.

  4. Receive -> Receipt
    He rushed to the hospital when he received the bad news. -> He rushed to the hospital upon the receipt of the bad news.

  5. Deceive -> Deception

    No one trusted him due to him constantly deceiving others. -> No one trusted him due to his constant deception.

  6. Omit -> Omittance

    The application was unsuccessful because he omitted key details. -> The application was unsuccessful due to his omittance of key details.

  7. Perceive -> Perception
    She did not like the new worker as she perceived him as lazy. -> She did not like the new worker due to her perception of him being lazy.

  8. Oppose -> Opposition

    Many people agreed with him opposing the new reforms. -> Many people agreed with his opposition to the new reforms.

  9. Need -> Necessity

    He felt that he did not need to buy the book. -> He felt that there was no necessity to buy the book.

  10. Fragile -> Fragility

    The vase shattered as it was fragile. -> The vase shattered due to its fragility.

  11. Admit -> Admission
    The criminal's sentence was reduced as he admitted his crime. -> The criminal sentence was reduced due to his admission of the crime.

  12. Could not decide -> Indecision / Indecisiveness

    John hesitated as he was unable to decide. -> John hesitated due to his indecisiveness / indecision.

These are among the trickiest ones you may not have known, but do remember some common ones below as well:

Surprised -> Surprise
Shocked -> Shock
Angry -> Anger
Proud -> Pride
Anxious -> Anxiety (not anxiousness)
Assist -> Assistance
Lethargic -> Lethargy
Obey -> Obedience
Comply -> Compliance

Good luck!