You look closely at a leaf. You use a magnifying glass. You study it.
You examine it. Today we learn four words.
“Examine,” “examination,” “examiner,” and “examined.”
Each word shares the idea of looking closely. Each does a different job.
Parents and children can learn these words together. They help with science.
What Does “Same Word, Different Forms” Mean?
One action takes different shapes. The action here is inspecting carefully.
“Examine” is a verb. “Please examine the butterfly’s wings.” Action.
“Examination” is a noun. “The examination of the rocks took an hour.” Process.
“Examiner” is a noun. “The driving examiner sat beside me.” Person.
“Examined” is a past tense verb or adjective. “The doctor examined my throat.” Past action. “The examined sample.” Describes.
Same root. Different endings. Different jobs. The inspection stays.
Personal Pronouns Change Their Form
Pronouns change for grammar. “I” becomes “me.” “We” becomes “us.”
Our words change for role and time. “I examine the shell.” Present.
“The examination is long.” Noun. “The examiner is fair.” Person.
“She examined it yesterday.” Past.
Pronouns help us speak faster. Word families help us talk about studying.
When children know these four words, they understand tests.
From Verb to Noun to Adjective to Adverb – One Family, Many Words
“Examine” is a verb. “Examine the map before you travel.” Action.
“Examination” is a noun. “The eye examination was quick.” Checkup.
“Examiner” is a noun. “The examiner asked many questions.” Person who tests.
“Examined” is a past verb. “The scientist examined the cells.” Past action.
“Examined” is also an adjective. “The examined evidence was clear.” Inspected.
We have an adverb “examinably” (rare). Skip.
Five members. Very useful for school and doctor visits.
One Root, Many Roles – How Words Grow from Actions to Qualities
The root “examine” comes from Latin “examinare,” meaning to weigh. “Ex-” out + “agmen” (a stream). To weigh out.
From that root, we add “-ation” to make a noun. “Examination” means the act of examining.
We add “-er” to name the person. “Examiner” means one who examines.
We add “-ed” for past tense or to make an adjective meaning “inspected.”
Help your child see this pattern. Examine is the action. Examination is the process. Examiner is the person. Examined means already inspected.
Same Meaning, Different Jobs – Is It a Verb or a Noun?
Look at “examine.” Always a verb. “Examine the test before you start.” Action.
“Examination” is always a noun. “The examination was fair.”
“Examiner” is always a noun. “The examiner was strict.”
“Examined” can be a past verb or adjective. “He examined the rock.” Past verb. “The examined item.” Adjective.
Teach children that “examination” can be a test or a physical checkup.
Adjectives and Adverbs – When Do We Add -ly?
We do not add “-ly” to these words. No “examinely.” No “examinationly.”
If you want to describe how someone examines, use a separate adverb. “She examined carefully.”
This family stays simple. Focus on the verb and nouns.
Watch Out for Tricky Spelling Changes (Double Letters, y to i, and More)
Spelling here is very regular. No double letters. No y to i changes.
“Examine” adds “-ation” to make “examination.” Drop the “e.” Examin + ation = examination.
“Examine” adds “-er” to make “examiner.” Keep the “e”? No, drop it. Examin + er = examiner.
“Examine” adds “-ed” to make “examined.” Drop the “e.” Examin + ed = examined.
So the rule: Drop the final “e” for all endings.
Practice with your child. Write “examine.” Drop the “e.” Add “ation.” You get “examination.” Add “er.” You get “examiner.” Add “ed.” You get “examined.”
No double letters.
Let’s Practice – Can You Choose the Right Form?
Try these sentences. Fill in the blank with examine, examination, examiner, or examined.
Let us _____ the rock with a magnifying glass. (action verb)
The medical _____ took thirty minutes. (noun, checkup)
The driving _____ gave me a pass. (person)
The doctor _____ my ears for infection. (past tense verb)
The _____ specimen was put under a microscope. (adjective)
The final _____ was very hard. (noun, test)
Please _____ your work for mistakes. (action verb)
The _____ student waited nervously for the result. (adjective)
Answers: 1 examine, 2 examination, 3 examiner, 4 examined, 5 examined, 6 examination, 7 examine, 8 examined.
Number 5 uses “examined” as an adjective.
Number 8 uses “examined” as an adjective describing the student? “Examined student” is odd. Better: “The examined test” but let us keep:
The examined sample was tested twice. (adjective) → “The _____ student” could be “The student was examined.” But for the blank, “examined student” is not typical. Let us adjust:
The _____ evidence was clear. (examined)
Answers final: 1 examine, 2 examination, 3 examiner, 4 examined, 5 examined, 6 examination, 7 examine, 8 examined (adjective for evidence).
Tips for Parents – Help Your Child Learn Word Families in a Fun Way
Examine a leaf. “Let us examine this leaf closely.”
Name the examination. “The doctor’s examination was gentle.”
Call the person an examiner. “The teacher is an examiner for the spelling test.”
Use past tense. “Yesterday, you examined a bug.”
Play a game. You hide an object. Your child examines clues to find it.
Draw a magnifying glass. Write “examine” inside.
Read a book about science. “The Magic School Bus” examines everything.
Do not correct every mistake. If your child says “examiner” for “examination,” gently say “The examiner gives the examination.”
Celebrate when your child uses “examination” for a test. That word is common in school.
Explain that “examine” means to look at very carefully. “Doctors examine you to see if you are healthy.”
Tomorrow you will examine a flower. You will take a spelling examination. You will meet an examiner at a contest. You will have examined all your toys for missing pieces.
Your child might say “The examiner said I did great!” You will cheer.
Keep examining. Keep taking examinations. Keep respecting examiners. Keep learning from examined things.
Your child will grow in language and in curiosity. Examining is how we learn. Words help us do it.
