Word Formation – English Grammar Exercises for B1
You are reading a report about the school’s annual running event. Choose the best option (A, B, C, or D) to complete each sentence.
1 “Yesterday, our sports club hosted the annual spring running ______ on the main campus.”
(A) compete
(B) competitor
(C) competitive
(D) competition
2 “Over 200 ______ from different classes joined the challenging 5-kilometer race.”
(A) competitions
(B) competitors
(C) competes
(D) competitively
3 “A huge thank you to the main ______ of the event, Mr. Davis, for his dedication and hard work.”
(A) organize
(B) organization
(C) organizer
(D) organized
4 “The ______ of such a large sports event took almost three months of careful planning.”
(A) organizer
(B) organization
(C) organizing
(D) organize
5 “Every single ______ received a free t-shirt and a reusable water bottle at the finish line.”
(A) participate
(B) participant
(C) participation
(D) participating
6 “The school principal was very happy with the high student ______ this year.”
(A) participate
(B) participant
(C) participation
(D) participator
7 “The first ______ to cross the finish line was Sarah from Grade 10, breaking the school record.”
(A) run
(B) running
(C) runner
(D) ran
8 “Sarah thanked her personal ______ for helping her build enough stamina over the winter.”
(A) train
(B) training
(C) trainee
(D) trainer
9 “She mentioned that her morning ______ routine was extremely difficult but worth it.”
(A) train
(B) training
(C) trainee
(D) trainer
10 “At 8:00 AM, the ______ used a loud microphone to call all the students to the starting line.”
(A) announce
(B) announcement
(C) announcer
(D) announcing
11 “Before the race began, there was a short ______ about the safety rules on the track.”
(A) announcer
(B) announcement
(C) announce
(D) announced
12 “At the end of the day, the gold medal ______ stood proudly on the podium.”
(A) win
(B) winning
(C) winner
(D) won
13 “Before the race, a professional fitness ______ led a 10-minute warm-up session to prevent injuries.”
(A) instruct
(B) instruction
(C) instructor
(D) instructive
14 “All students listened carefully to the final ______ from the head referee.”
(A) instructors
(B) instructions
(C) instructs
(D) instructing
15 “The sports club ______ made sure that all medical staff were ready in case of emergencies.”
(A) manage
(B) manager
(C) management
(D) manageable
16 “Thanks to their excellent time ______, the entire event finished right on schedule.”
(A) manager
(B) management
(C) manage
(D) managing
17 “There were over 500 ______ cheering loudly from the sides of the track.”
(A) spectate
(B) spectacles
(C) spectators
(D) spectacular
18 “Breaking the school record by two minutes was a truly amazing ______.”
(A) perform
(B) performer
(C) performance
(D) performing
19 “If anyone needed extra water or fruit, a student ______ was always there to help.”
(A) assist
(B) assistant
(C) assistance
(D) assisting
20 “We could not have done this without the financial ______ of our generous local sponsors.”
(A) assistant
(B) assistance
(C) assist
(D) assisted
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (D) competition
- Why it is correct (The Key): A noun is needed to refer to the event itself. Compete (Verb) → Competition (Noun – the event).
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Verb. (B) Noun (refers to a person, but “running competitor” doesn’t fit the context of “hosting” an event). (C) Adjective.
2 (B) competitors
- Why it is correct (The Key): A plural noun referring to the people who took part in the race. Compete (Verb) → Competitors (Noun – people).
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Noun (events/concepts). (C) Verb. (D) Adverb.
3 (C) organizer
- Why it is correct (The Key): A noun referring to a specific person (Mr. Davis). Organize (Verb) → Organizer (Noun – person).
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Verb. (B) Noun (concept/group). (D) Adjective/Past Verb.
4 (B) organization
- Why it is correct (The Key): A noun referring to the abstract process or concept of planning. Organize (Verb) → Organization (Noun – concept).
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Noun (person). (C) Gerund. (D) Verb.
5 (B) participant
- Why it is correct (The Key): Follows “every single” and refers to a person who received a t-shirt. Participate (Verb) → Participant (Noun – person).
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Verb. (C) Noun (concept of taking part). (D) Gerund.
6 (C) participation
- Why it is correct (The Key): Refers to the abstract concept of students taking part. Participate (Verb) → Participation (Noun – concept).
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Verb. (B) Noun (person). (D) Not a standard word (participant is used instead).
7 (C) runner
- Why it is correct (The Key): Refers to the person crossing the finish line. Run (Verb) → Runner (Noun – person).
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Verb/Noun (event). (B) Gerund. (D) Past Verb.
8 (D) trainer
- Why it is correct (The Key): Refers to the professional person who helped Sarah. Train (Verb) → Trainer (Noun – person teaching the skill).
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Verb. (B) Noun (the activity). (C) Noun (the person receiving the training – Sarah is the trainee, not the person she is thanking).
9 (B) training
- Why it is correct (The Key): Refers to the activity or routine. Train (Verb) → Training (Noun – concept/activity).
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Verb. (C) Noun (person). (D) Noun (person).
10 (C) announcer
- Why it is correct (The Key): Refers to the person holding the microphone. Announce (Verb) → Announcer (Noun – person).
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Verb. (B) Noun (the message). (D) Gerund.
11 (B) announcement
- Why it is correct (The Key): Refers to the message or information given. Announce (Verb) → Announcement (Noun – concept/thing).
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Noun (person). (C) Verb. (D) Past Verb.
12 (C) winner
- Why it is correct (The Key): Refers to the person standing on the podium. Win (Verb) → Winner (Noun – person).
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Verb. (B) Adjective/Gerund. (D) Past Verb.
13 (C) instructor
- Why it is correct (The Key): Refers to the person leading the warm-up. Instruct (Verb) → Instructor (Noun – person).
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Verb. (B) Noun (the information given). (D) Adjective.
14 (B) instructions
- Why it is correct (The Key): Refers to the directions or rules given by the referee. Instruct (Verb) → Instructions (Noun – things).
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Noun (people – incorrect because students listen to the rules, not the people, from the referee). (C) Verb. (D) Gerund.
15 (B) manager
- Why it is correct (The Key): Refers to the person in charge of the club. Manage (Verb) → Manager (Noun – person).
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Verb. (C) Noun (the concept of controlling). (D) Adjective.
16 (B) management
- Why it is correct (The Key): Refers to the abstract skill of controlling time. Manage (Verb) → Management (Noun – concept).
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Noun (person). (C) Verb. (D) Gerund.
17 (C) spectators
- Why it is correct (The Key): Refers to the people watching the event. Spectate (Verb) → Spectators (Noun – people).
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Verb. (B) Noun (glasses for eyes). (D) Adjective.
18 (C) performance
- Why it is correct (The Key): Refers to the action or achievement. Perform (Verb) → Performance (Noun – event/result).
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Verb. (B) Noun (person). (D) Gerund.
19 (B) assistant
- Why it is correct (The Key): Refers to the student helping out. Assist (Verb) → Assistant (Noun – person).
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Verb. (C) Noun (the act of helping). (D) Gerund.
20 (B) assistance
- Why it is correct (The Key): Refers to the financial help provided. Assist (Verb) → Assistance (Noun – concept/thing).
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Noun (person). (C) Verb. (D) Past Verb.
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
1 The Power of Word Families (Verb → Noun)
In English, a single root verb can often be transformed into two different types of nouns. When writing a report (like summarizing a sports event), you need to clearly distinguish between the person doing the action and the action/event/concept itself.
2 Nouns for People (The “Doers”)
To talk about the people involved in the event, we typically add these suffixes to the verb:
- -er / -or: * compete → competitor
- organize → organizer
- run → runner
- instruct → instructor
- -ant: * participate → participant
- assist → assistant
3 Nouns for Concepts/Things/Events
To talk about the abstract ideas, the rules, the help, or the event itself, we use different suffixes:
- -tion / -ation: * compete → competition
- organize → organization
- -ment: * announce → announcement
- manage → management
- -ance: * perform → performance
- assist → assistance
4 Exam Strategy (How to avoid traps)
When you see a blank in a B1 test, ask yourself: “Is the sentence talking about a human being, or an abstract idea?”
- “A huge thank you to the main ______.” → You thank a human. Answer: organizer.
- “The ______ took three months.” → A human doesn’t “take three months”; a process does. Answer: organization.