The suffix -tion (pronounced “shun”) usually turns action words into naming words. When you add it to verbs, you often create nouns that describe the act or result of doing something.

Take the verb educate. Add -tion and you get education: the process of learning and being taught. Celebrate becomes celebration: the act of marking a special occasion. Investigate becomes investigation: the act of searching for facts and answers.

This little suffix appears everywhere in English. You'll spot it in creation (making something new), subtraction (taking away), imagination (picturing things in your mind), and hundreds of other words. Sometimes the spelling changes slightly when you add it: protect becomes protection, and decide becomes decision (where the ending sounds the same but looks a bit different).

Understanding -tion helps you decode unfamiliar words. If you see precipitation and know that precipitate can mean to fall or cause to fall, you can figure out that precipitation means rain or snow falling from the sky. Once you recognize this pattern, you've unlocked a huge portion of the English language.