Which ending is most commonly used to form a noun from a verb?

• A. Ing
• B. Tion
• C. Ed
• D. Ly

Answer: (B)

Ending -tion is used to turn many verbs into nouns by naming the action or its result. It’s a highly productive suffix in English, so you see it in a lot of common words like action (from act), creation (from create), information (from inform), production (from produce), and formation (from form). This pattern consistently yields abstract nouns that describe the process or product of the verb.

Other endings have different roles. -ing can form a noun indicating the action (a gerund) but it’s also the present participle form of a verb, so its noun use is more about the action in context. -ed marks tense or describes a state, and -ly creates adverbs. So -tion best fits the idea of forming a noun from a verb in a broad and systematic way.