How to convert verbs to nouns, and nouns to adjectives?
I was told that if I put an -ing to the end of a verb, the verb could become an adjective or a noun. For example:
read ā reading
interest ā interesting
talk ā talking
But I also find that not all the nouns related to verbs are formed by adding -ing to them.
I am confused about these nouns, like decision and suggestion.
Why can one not use deciding, suggesting instead?
Best Answer
Adding -ing to a verb can lead to a few grammatical possibilities:
Nouns like decision and suggestion are more abstract and do not refer to an activity. Both these words are classified as nouns due to their noun endings (-ion). In addition, both can be used together with a definite or indefinite article (a / the) while deciding and suggesting cannot. (Just by the way, there are a number of endings that signify that a particular word is a noun.)
The examples given in the question were interesting:
read = verb
reading = gerund (e.g. I like reading)/ present participle (e.g. I am reading)/ adjective (e.g. reading room)
interest = verb (to interest sb/sth) OR noun (an interest in sb/sth)
interesting = adjective
talk = verb OR noun (a talk on sth)
talking = gerund (e.g. Talking is not always useful) / present participle (e.g. We have been talking to each other a lot) / adjective (e.g. a talking doll)
My final thought is that it is often quite difficult to generalise a rule in English. A lot depends on the context in which the part of speech occurs.