Word formation
Prefixes, suffixes, compounds and phrasal verbs
Word formation is the way new words are built from existing words or roots. The two most common methods are adding a prefix to the beginning of a word and adding a suffix to the end of it. Prefixes usually change the meaning of a word, especially negative prefixes such as un-, in-, im-, il-, ir-, dis- and non-, which give the opposite meaning (happy → unhappy). Suffixes usually change the part of speech: noun-forming suffixes (-tion, -ness, -ment, -ity, -er, -ist), adjective-forming suffixes (-ful, -less, -able, -ous, -ive, -y), the adverb-forming suffix -ly, and verb-forming suffixes (-ise/-ize, -en). English also forms words by joining two words into a compound (blackboard, classroom) or by combining a verb with a particle to make a phrasal verb (give up = stop, look after = take care of). The correct prefix or suffix depends on the base word, so each form must be learned, not guessed. For example: from the adjective 'care' we form 'careful' (adjective), 'carefully' (adverb) and 'careless' (the opposite quality).
Rules
- 1Prefixes change meaning; the negative prefixes are un-, in-, im- (before m/p/b), il- (before l), ir- (before r), dis- and non-.
- 2Suffixes change word class: -tion/-ness/-ment/-ity form nouns, -ful/-less/-able/-ous/-ive form adjectives, -ly forms adverbs, -ise/-ize/-en form verbs.
- 3A person/agent is often formed with -er, -or or -ist (teach → teacher, act → actor, art → artist).
- 4A compound word joins two words into one new word (black + board → blackboard).
- 5A phrasal verb is a verb plus a particle whose meaning is often different from the single verb (give up = stop, look after = take care of).
Practice
10 easy · 10 medium · 10 hard