Year 6 English: Verbs with -ate, -ise and -ify, made from nouns and adjectives
Part of the Year 6 English the statutory word list, part 2, roots and prefixes chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page
Verbs with -ate, -ise and -ify, made from nouns and adjectives
Many verbs are made from nouns and adjectives. The endings are -ate, -ise and -ify. Some words drop a final letter before the ending. Active becomes activate when the e is dropped. Beauty becomes beautify when the y is dropped.
Verbs made from nouns and adjectives
| Verb | Made from | Working | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| activate | active | drop the e of active, then add -ate: activ + ate | to make something start working |
| normalise | normal | add -ise: normal + ise | to make something return to normal |
| classify | class | add -ify: class + ify | to put things into groups |
| modernise | modern | add -ise: modern + ise | to make something more up to date |
| beautify | beauty | drop the y of beauty, then add -ify: beaut + ify | to make something more beautiful |
| purify | pure | drop the e of pure, then add -ify: pur + ify | to make something clean and free from harmful things |
| computerise | computer | add -ise: computer + ise | to change something to use computers |
| memorise | memory | drop the y of memory, then add -ise: memor + ise | to learn something so you can remember it |
Key ideas
- The verb endings are -ate, -ise and -ify.
- Drop a final e or y from the base word, when the working says so.
- Learn which ending goes with each base word.
Method. Drop the e, then add -ate.
- Find the base word. Active ends in e.active
- Drop the e and add -ate. Drop the e: activ, then add ate.activ + ate
- Write the verb. Activate means to make something start working.activate
- Write the answer. activate
Check. active - e + ate = activate. ✓
Method. Add -ise to the base word.
- Find the base word. Normal is the adjective.normal
- Add the ending. Add -ise: normal + ise.normal + ise
- Write the verb. Normalise means to make something return to normal.normalise
- Write the answer. normalise
Check. normal + ise = normalise. ✓
Method. Drop the y, then add -ify.
- Find the base word. Beauty ends in y.beauty
- Drop the y and add -ify. Drop the y: beaut, then add ify.beaut + ify
- Write the verb. Beautify means to make something more beautiful.beautify
- Write the answer. beautify
Check. beauty - y + ify = beautify. ✓
Watch out
Watch out: beautify and beauty are different words. Drop the y from beauty, but keep the t, before adding -ify.
Exam tip
Grown-up tip. Ask your child to make a verb from the word computer, then to say whether the ending is -ise or -ify.
Exercise 4E Practice: verbs with -ate, -ise and -ify
Method. Look at the word it comes from, then add the verb ending.
- Find the base word. active is the word the verb comes from.active
- Add the ending. Work it out: drop the e of active, then add -ate: activ + ate.activate
- Write the answer. activate
Check. active becomes activate. ✓
Watch out. The verb endings are -ate, -ise and -ify. Learn which ending goes with each word.
Method. Look at the word it comes from, then add the verb ending.
- Find the base word. normal is the word the verb comes from.normal
- Add the ending. Work it out: add -ise: normal + ise.normalise
- Write the answer. normalise
Check. normal becomes normalise. ✓
Watch out. The verb endings are -ate, -ise and -ify. Learn which ending goes with each word.
Method. Look at the word it comes from, then add the verb ending.
- Find the base word. class is the word the verb comes from.class
- Add the ending. Work it out: add -ify: class + ify.classify
- Write the answer. classify
Check. class becomes classify. ✓
Watch out. The verb endings are -ate, -ise and -ify. Learn which ending goes with each word.
Method. Look at the word it comes from, then add the verb ending.
- Find the base word. modern is the word the verb comes from.modern
- Add the ending. Work it out: add -ise: modern + ise.modernise
- Write the answer. modernise
Check. modern becomes modernise. ✓
Watch out. The verb endings are -ate, -ise and -ify. Learn which ending goes with each word.
Method. Look at the word it comes from, then add the verb ending.
- Find the base word. beauty is the word the verb comes from.beauty
- Add the ending. Work it out: drop the y of beauty, then add -ify: beaut + ify.beautify
- Write the answer. beautify
Check. beauty becomes beautify. ✓
Watch out. The verb endings are -ate, -ise and -ify. Learn which ending goes with each word.
Method. Look at the word it comes from, then add the verb ending.
- Find the base word. pure is the word the verb comes from.pure
- Add the ending. Work it out: drop the e of pure, then add -ify: pur + ify.purify
- Write the answer. purify
Check. pure becomes purify. ✓
Watch out. The verb endings are -ate, -ise and -ify. Learn which ending goes with each word.
Method. Look at the word it comes from, then add the verb ending.
- Find the base word. computer is the word the verb comes from.computer
- Add the ending. Work it out: add -ise: computer + ise.computerise
- Write the answer. computerise
Check. computer becomes computerise. ✓
Watch out. The verb endings are -ate, -ise and -ify. Learn which ending goes with each word.
Method. Look at the word it comes from, then add the verb ending.
- Find the base word. memory is the word the verb comes from.memory
- Add the ending. Work it out: drop the y of memory, then add -ise: memor + ise.memorise
- Write the answer. memorise
Check. memory becomes memorise. ✓
Watch out. The verb endings are -ate, -ise and -ify. Learn which ending goes with each word.
Method. Add -ify to the base word.
- Find the base word. Class is the noun.class
- Add the ending. Add -ify: class + ify.classify
- Write the answer. classify
Check. class + ify = classify. ✓
Method. Use the examples in the table.
- Find the base word. Modern is the adjective.modern
- Choose the ending. Modernise is the verb made from modern, so the ending is -ise.modernise
- Write the answer. Use -ise, because modernise is the verb made from modern, and it means to make something more up to date.
Check. modern + ise = modernise. ✓
Method. Find the wrong word, and check the ending.
- Find the word that is wrong. Activat is missing the e at the end.activat
- Write the correct verb. Activate is made from active, dropping the e and adding -ate.activate
- Write the answer. The club will activate the new system next week.
Check. activate has the -ate ending. ✓
Method. Drop the e, then add -ify.
- Find the base word. Pure ends in e.pure
- Drop the e and add -ify. Drop the e: pur, then add ify.pur + ify
- Write the answer. purify
Check. pure - e + ify = purify. ✓
Method. Drop the y, then add -ise.
- Find the base word. Memory ends in y.memory
- Drop the y and add -ise. Drop the y: memor, then add ise.memor + ise
- Write the answer. memorise
Check. memory - y + ise = memorise. ✓
Method. Add -ise to the base word.
- Find the base word. Computer is the noun.computer
- Add the ending. Add -ise: computer + ise.computerise
- Write the answer. computerise
Check. computer + ise = computerise. ✓
Method. Look at the last letter of each base word.
- Look at pure. Pure ends in e, which is dropped.pure
- Look at beauty. Beauty ends in y, which is dropped.beauty
- Write the answer. Pure ends in e, so the e is dropped before -ify; beauty ends in y, so the y is dropped before -ify.
Check. Each base word loses its last letter. ✓
Method. Drop the e, then add -ate.
- Find the base word. Active ends in e.active
- Drop the e and add -ate. Drop the e: activ, then add ate.activ + ate
- Write the answer. activate
Check. active - e + ate = activate. ✓
Method. Add -ise to the base word.
- Find the base word. Normal is the adjective.normal
- Add the ending. Add -ise: normal + ise.normalise
- Write the answer. normalise
Check. normal + ise = normalise. ✓