Word Forms — Noun, Verb, Adjective, Adverb

Word form questions — the TOEIC favourite

TOEIC Part 5 often gives you four forms of the same word and asks which one fits the sentence. You need to know: is the gap asking for a noun, verb, adjective, or adverb? French speakers struggle because French word forms often look identical or follow different patterns.

How to spot what the sentence needs

Key suffixes to recognise

Nouns: -tion, -ment, -ness, -ity, -ance/-ence. Adjectives: -ive, -ful, -less, -able, -ent/-ant. Adverbs: -ly. Verbs: -ise/-ize, -ify, -ate, -en.

Common mistake

French speakers often say "She works efficient" — say "She works efficiently" instead. French uses the same form for adjective and adverb ("elle travaille efficace" is colloquial French), but English strictly requires the "-ly" adverb form after a verb.