Question

Identify the adjective form of the given word in the bracket to complete the sentence:
Jonathan was not only _______ (deference) towards his superiors, he was dutiful, and diligent as well.

a) deferenciable
b) deferential
c) deferentious
d) deferent

Answer 1

Hint: In order to convert a noun into an adjective, just add the appropriate suffix to the root word. Try to add different suffixes to the given word.

Complete answer:
An adjective is a word naming an attribute of a noun, such as ‘sweet’ and ‘red’. It modifies a noun or a noun phrase.

The given word in brackets is a noun. In order to convert the noun form into an adjective, there are many different suffixes you can add. The suffixes are ‘-ing’, ‘-ful’, ‘-y’, etc. These endings cannot be accurately guessed all the time, and so it is necessary to learn them.

For example, the noun ‘beauty’ can be converted into an adjective by adding the suffix ‘-ful’. So, the letter ‘y’ would be omitted, and the word would become ‘beautiful’.

Now, we know how to convert a noun into an adjective. Let’s look at the given options:

deferenciable - Here, the suffix ‘iable’ has been added to the root word. This is an incorrect suffix, as it not grammatically correct. This is not the adjective form of ‘deference’. So, this is an incorrect option.
deferential - Here, the suffix ‘tial’ has been added to the root word. This is the correct suffix, and it is grammatically correct. This is the correct adjective form of the given word. So, this is the correct option.
deferentious - Here, the suffix ‘tious’ has been added to the root word. This is an incorrect option as it is not grammatically sound. This is not the correct adjective form of the given word. So, this is an incorrect option.
deferent - Here, the word has the suffix ’t’. It is not widely accepted as the correct adjective form, as it is a shorter form of the correct adjective ‘deferential’. So, this is an incorrect option.

Note:
Make sure that the word is grammatically correct, and is spelled correctly. Go through the options one by one in order to find the correct option, with the appropriate suffix.