Suffix · forms nouns
Turns verbs into nouns that name an action or its result: educate becomes education.
Written by Bryan López, English teacher · Updated
The suffix -tion takes a verb and turns it into an abstract noun: the name of an action or its result. From "educate" you get "education"; from "invite" you get "invitation". It is the most productive noun-forming suffix in English. Thousands of everyday words use it. Once you understand how it works, you stop learning one word at a time and start reading patterns instead.
If you speak Spanish, you already have a massive head start: almost every English word ending in -tion has a direct Spanish equivalent ending in -ción. information → información nation → nación attention → atención tradition → tradición This works in both directions. When you see a new -tion word, try swapping -tion for -ción and check whether it exists in Spanish. It almost always does. You just doubled your English vocabulary for free.
This is the single most common mistake non-native speakers make with -tion words, and fixing it immediately makes you sound more natural. The ending -tion is NEVER pronounced as two syllables 'tee-on'. It always sounds like /ʃən/, which rhymes with 'fun' with a soft 'sh' at the start. nation = NAY-shun (not 'na-tee-on') station = STAY-shun education = ej-oo-KAY-shun Second rule: stress always falls on the syllable right before -tion. informAtion, celebrAtion, educAtion. Master these two patterns and you will pronounce thousands of words correctly from day one.
Most verbs form their noun by following one of these patterns:
When the verb ends in a silent -e (create, educate, invite), drop the -e before adding -ion: create → creat + ion → creation. Important: not every verb uses -tion to form its noun. "To move" becomes "movement", not "movetion". Use this pattern to recognise and decode words, not to invent new ones without checking.
-tion/ʃən/ · sounds like 'shun'
Tap the button to hear how the ending sounds. Each word in the table has its own audio.
-tion is not two syllables. It always sounds like "shun". Stress lands on the syllable just before -tion, not on the ending itself.
Stress falls right before -tion, never at the beginning of the word. Try tapping the stressed syllable as you say it out loud.
Not all verbs use -tion to form nouns. Use this pattern to decode words you encounter, not to invent new ones without checking first.
A trick to remember it
Use 'nation' as your anchor word: NAY-shun. Every time you see -tion, hear 'shun'. And when you meet a new -tion word, try swapping it to -ción: you will almost always find the Spanish cognate and instantly understand the meaning.
Exercise 1 · Form the word
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
How is the ending -tion pronounced in the word "station"?
Exercise 3 · Pick the right one
Choose the correct word: "I need more ____ about the course."
The suffix -tion turns verbs into nouns that name an action or its result: educate becomes education. In Spanish it usually maps to -ción.
The ending -tion is pronounced /ʃən/ · sounds like 'shun'. For example, "education".
"educate" becomes "education". It is a typical example of the -tion suffix.
-tion, -ness, -ful, -ly, -able... every ending you need to understand thousands of words at once.