Unit 14: Extreme sports
Past perfect continuous
Select a unit
- 1Pop-ups
- 2Hidden talents
- 3Can't buy me love
- 4Travellers' tales
- 5The colleague from hell
- 6Jurassic mystery: unpacking the past
- 7Career changes
- 8Art
- 9Project management
- 10The dog ate my homework!
- 11The diary of a double agent
- 12Fashion forward
- 13Flat pack skyscrapers
- 14Extreme sports
- 15Food fads
- 16Me, my selfie and I
- 17Endangered animals
- 18A nip and a tuck: cosmetic surgery
- 19I'm really sorry...
- 20Telling stories
- 21Fakes and phrasals
- 22Looking to the future
- 23Becoming familiar with things
- 24From rags to riches
- 25Against the odds
- 26Our future on Mars?
- 27Where is it illegal to get a fish drunk?
- 28Dodgy dating
- 29Annoying advice
- 30I'll have been studying English for thirty weeks
Session 1
Does learning English bring you enjoyment and excitement? Learn a few suffixes to boost your vocabulary!
Activity 2
Know your suffixes?
Singing suffixes
In 6 Minute Vocabulary we learned about the suffixes -ence, -ance and -ment, and how we use them to make nouns from verbs and adjectives.
In this activity we're going to test how well you learned the words from the programme. In the next activity we're going to see if you can use your knowledge of these suffixes to work out the meanings of some words you might not know already - a great way to build vocabulary.
Read the text and complete the activity

To do
So, first we need your help to tell a story. This time we're going to meet a young singer by the name of Sayla Twift.
Fill in the gaps in the sentences using your knowledge of suffixes.
Sayla Twift sings!
6 Questions
Use your knowledge of suffixes and parts of speech to fill the gaps. Remember, the suffixes -ance, -ence and -ment make words into nouns.
Help
Activity
Use your knowledge of suffixes and parts of speech to fill the gaps. Remember, the suffixes -ance, -ence and -ment make words into nouns.
Hint
You need a noun here.Question 1 of 6
Help
Activity
Use your knowledge of suffixes and parts of speech to fill the gaps. Remember, the suffixes -ance, -ence and -ment make words into nouns.
Hint
This one needs a gerund, not a noun.Question 2 of 6
Help
Activity
Use your knowledge of suffixes and parts of speech to fill the gaps. Remember, the suffixes -ance, -ence and -ment make words into nouns.
Hint
You need a noun in the first gap...Question 3 of 6
Help
Activity
Use your knowledge of suffixes and parts of speech to fill the gaps. Remember, the suffixes -ance, -ence and -ment make words into nouns.
Hint
This one looks like it's describing her, so you need an adjective.Question 4 of 6
Help
Activity
Use your knowledge of suffixes and parts of speech to fill the gaps. Remember, the suffixes -ance, -ence and -ment make words into nouns.
Hint
You need a plural noun.Question 5 of 6
Help
Activity
Use your knowledge of suffixes and parts of speech to fill the gaps. Remember, the suffixes -ance, -ence and -ment make words into nouns.
Hint
You need one noun, and one past simple verb.Question 6 of 6
Excellent!Great job!Bad luck!You scored:
Next
We hope that activity has given you some useful experience of using these suffixes. In the next activity we'll look at some patterns that can give you even more confidence!
Session Vocabulary
Nouns ending in –ment:
enjoyment
replacement
announcement
disappointment
excitementNouns ending in –ence:
absence
confidence
independence
patience
difference
silenceNouns ending in –ance:
performance
guidance
insurance
assistance
dominance