Word Formation

Prefixes that make opposites, suffixes that turn one part of speech into another, and the rules for forming the plural, with the lists the text-exploration question draws on.

يتكوّن الدرس من 8 أجزاء: Prefixes and Opposites، Suffixes: Forming Nouns، Suffixes: Adjectives and Adverbs، Forming the Plural، Nouns in -ity, -ty and -ness، Adjectives in -ful, -ous, -ic and -y، Verbs in -en and Compounds with self-، Practice and Review.

Prefixes and Opposites

1. What a prefix does

A prefix is added at the beginning of a word. It changes the meaning but never the part of speech: an adjective stays an adjective.

> *possible → impossible* — both are adjectives.

2. The prefixes of opposition

The three prefixes im-, il-, ir- are only variants of in-, chosen so that the word is easier to pronounce. That is why they appear before *m/p*, *l* and *r*.

3. Prefixes that are not negative

The pair over- / under- is useful in the consumer unit: *overconsumption*, *underdeveloped*, *overweight*.

4. Choosing the right prefix

There is no perfect rule, but two habits help:

listen to the first letter of the word: *l* calls for **il-**, *r* calls for **ir-**, *m* and *p* call for **im-**;
learn the word with its opposite as a pair, the way you learn a verb with its participle.

Pairs worth memorising for the four units:

5. Practice

A. Form the opposite.

patient — 2. legal — 3. responsible — 4. honest — 5. complete — 6. logical — 7. correct — 8. able

B. Complete with the right prefix.

The advert was ______ leading: the hotel was nowhere near the beach.
______ consumption of sugar causes obesity.
Do not ______ estimate the difficulty of this exercise.
The two countries decided to ______ operate.

C. Explain the difference.

*unemployed* and *underemployed*
*to use* and *to misuse*

Suffixes: Forming Nouns

1. What a suffix does

A suffix is added at the end of a word. Unlike a prefix, it usually changes the part of speech.

> *to develop* (verb) → *development* (noun) → *developmental* (adjective)

The chain that the exam tests is always the same:

> verb + suffix → noun · noun + suffix → adjective · adjective + suffix → adverb

2. From a verb to a noun

3. From a verb to a person

| Suffix | Examples | | :--- | :--- | | -er | consumer, astronomer, worker, employer, teacher | | -or | inventor, investor, director, actor, editor | | -ist | psychologist, scientist, journalist, economist | | -ant / -ent | assistant, participant, student | | -ee | employee, trainee, examinee *(the person who receives the action)* |

Note the pair -er / -ee: the *employer* gives the work, the *employee* receives it. The same holds for *trainer / trainee* and *interviewer / interviewee*.

4. From an adjective to a noun

5. Nouns in -ing

The -ing form is itself a noun when it names the activity: *advertising, recycling, smoking, meeting, building, training*.

> *Advertising influences consumers.* — here *advertising* is the subject, so it is a noun.

6. Irregular pairs to memorise

7. Practice

A. Give the noun.

to produce — 2. to decide — 3. to invent *(the person)* — 4. responsible — 5. happy — 6. to grow — 7. free — 8. to choose

B. Complete with a noun formed from the word in brackets.

The ______ (develop) of the region took twenty years.
His ______ (fail) was due to a lack of work.
______ (consume) associations defend the buyer.
The ______ (strong) of the argument convinced everybody.

C. Who is who?

The person who employs: ______ · The person who is employed: ______
The person who interviews: ______ · The person who is interviewed: ______

Suffixes: Adjectives and Adverbs

1. From a noun or a verb to an adjective

2. The pair -ful / -less

Many nouns produce two opposite adjectives.

Careful: not every noun takes both. We say *successful* but not *successless*; we say *endless* but not *endful*.

3. From an adjective to an adverb

The rule is simple: add -ly.

> *careful → carefully* · *inventive → inventively* · *quick → quickly*

Spelling adjustments:

adjective in **-y** → **-ily**: *easy → easily*, *happy → happily*;
adjective in **-le** → **-ly**: *simple → simply*, *possible → possibly*;
adjective in **-ic** → **-ically**: *scientific → scientifically*, *automatic → automatically*.

4. Irregular adverbs

The two traps: *hardly* means "almost not" (*I can hardly hear you*), and *lately* means "recently" (*I have not seen him lately*). Neither is the adverb of *hard* or *late*.

5. From an adjective to a verb

6. The complete chain

7. Practice

A. Form the adjective.

danger — 2. science — 3. industry — 4. salt — 5. harm *(both forms)* — 6. attract

B. Form the adverb.

careful — 2. easy — 3. good — 4. scientific — 5. simple

C. Complete the chain.

to produce → ______ (noun) → ______ (adjective)
______ (verb) → strength → strong → ______ (adverb)

D. Choose.

He worked *hard / hardly* all night.
I have *hard / hardly* seen him *late / lately*.

Forming the Plural

1. The regular rule

Add -s to the singular noun.

> *boy → boys* · *girl → girls* · *planet → planets* · *consumer → consumers*

2. Add -es

After -s, -ss, -sh, -ch, -x, -z and usually after -o:

> *gas → gases* · *class → classes* · *dish → dishes* · *watch → watches* · *box → boxes* · *tomato → tomatoes* · *potato → potatoes*

But many words of foreign origin in -o take only -s: *photo → photos*, *piano → pianos*, *radio → radios*.

3. Nouns in -y

consonant + **y** → **-ies**: *country → countries*, *galaxy → galaxies*, *responsibility → responsibilities*;
vowel + **y** → **-s**: *day → days*, *key → keys*, *boy → boys*.

4. Nouns in -f or -fe

The f usually becomes v before -es:

> *life → lives* · *knife → knives* · *leaf → leaves* · *wife → wives* · *thief → thieves* · *half → halves*

Exceptions that keep the f: *roof → roofs*, *chief → chiefs*, *belief → beliefs*, *proof → proofs*.

5. Plurals with a change of vowel

> *man → men* · *woman → women* · *foot → feet* · *tooth → teeth* · *goose → geese* · *mouse → mice*

6. Scientific plurals

These are the ones the astronomy unit tests.

Note that *data* and *media* are plurals; careful writing says *the data are clear*, not *is clear*.

7. Nouns with no change and nouns with no plural

**No change**: *sheep, fish, deer, aircraft, series, species, means*.
**Always plural**: *trousers, scissors, glasses, clothes, goods, savings*.
**Uncountable, so no plural**: *information, advice, knowledge, furniture, equipment, luggage, progress, research, money, water, air*.

> We say *some information*, not *informations*; *a piece of advice*, not *an advice*.

8. Practice

A. Give the plural.

box — 2. country — 3. knife — 4. tooth — 5. hypothesis — 6. phenomenon — 7. photo — 8. roof

B. Correct the mistakes.

He gave me two advices.
The datas is not complete.
Many childs were absent.
I need some informations about the course.

C. Singular or plural verb?

The media (is / are) very influential.
This species (is / are) in danger.
The scissors (is / are) on the table.

Nouns in -ity, -ty and -ness

1. Three suffixes, one job

The suffixes -ity, -ty and -ness all turn an adjective into an abstract noun: the name of a quality, a value or a feeling. They are essential in the ethics unit (*honesty, responsibility, transparency*) and in the unit on feelings (*happiness, loneliness, generosity*).

> responsible → responsibility · safe → safety · kind → kindness

2. The suffix -ity

-ity is added mostly to adjectives of Latin origin. The spelling often changes:

Pronunciation: the stress always falls on the syllable just before -ity: *res-pon-si-BI-li-ty, e-QUA-li-ty, ge-ne-RO-si-ty*.

3. The suffix -ty

A smaller group takes -ty without the *i*:

4. The suffix -ness

-ness is the most productive suffix: it is added to many short English adjectives, and to adjectives in -ful, -less, -ish and -y.

kind → **kindness**, sad → **sadness**, weak → **weakness**, fair → **fairness**, aware → **awareness**
careless → **carelessness**, selfish → **selfishness**, polite → **politeness**
consonant + y → **-iness**: happy → **happiness**, lonely → **loneliness**, lazy → **laziness**
a final *n* is kept before *-ness*: open → **openness**, mean → **meanness**

5. Which one to choose?

There is no absolute rule, but a useful tendency:

adjectives that look Latin (*-able, -ible, -al, -ic, -ous*) usually take **-ity**;
short everyday adjectives and adjectives in *-ful, -less, -ish, -y* usually take **-ness**.

Each adjective normally has one usual noun: we say *generosity*, not *generousness*; *kindness*, not *kindity*; *safety*, not *safeness*.

6. The mistakes to avoid

7. Practice

A. Form the noun.

possible — 2. loyal — 3. lonely — 4. equal — 5. aware — 6. certain — 7. curious — 8. electric

B. Complete with a noun formed from the word in brackets.

Companies must show more ______ (transparent) and ______ (responsible).
Old people often suffer from ______ (lonely).

Adjectives in -ful, -ous, -ic and -y

1. Four suffixes that make adjectives from nouns

2. The spelling rules

3. Pronunciation of -ic

With -ic, the stress falls on the syllable just before the suffix: *he-RO-ic, e-ner-GE-tic, op-ti-MIS-tic, sci-en-TI-fic*. The stress often moves when the noun becomes an adjective: *HE-ro → he-RO-ic*, *EN-er-gy → en-er-GE-tic*.

4. Two pairs with different meanings

5. The suffixes in the units

**Adverts** love adjectives in **-y**: *tasty, crunchy, creamy, juicy, healthy*. They are part of the language of persuasion.
The unit on **feelings** uses many adjectives in **-ful, -ous** and **-ic**: *joyful, hopeful, cheerful, jealous, nervous, anxious, generous, romantic, sympathetic*.

6. The mistakes to avoid

7. Practice

A. Form the adjective.

mystery — 2. peace — 3. energy — 4. salt — 5. courage — 6. sun — 7. hero — 8. ambition

B. Choose.

The country is going through an *economic / economical* crisis.
This small car is very *economic / economical*.

Verbs in -en and Compounds with self-

1. Verbs in -en

The suffix -en turns an adjective (sometimes a noun) into a verb meaning to make or to become that quality.

Points to remember:

a single final consonant after a short vowel is doubled: *sad → sadden*, *fat → fatten*;
the verb can be transitive or intransitive: *They **widened** the road.* · *The road **widened** after the bridge.*
not every adjective accepts *-en*: *big* gives **enlarge**, not *bigen*; *long* gives **lengthen**.

Do not confuse the suffix *-en* (at the end) with the prefix *en-* (at the beginning), which also makes verbs: *rich → enrich, large → enlarge, danger → endanger, courage → encourage*.

In *soften*, *fasten* and *listen* the t is silent: this links the suffix to the lesson on silent letters.

2. Compounds with self-

Self- means *oneself*. It combines with a noun or an adjective to describe what a person does to, for or by himself.

Spelling: compounds with *self-* always take a hyphen. But selfish and selfless, formed with a suffix, are written as one word with no hyphen.

Compare: *She taught herself English.* → *She is self-taught.* The reflexive pronoun and the compound say the same thing in two structures.

3. Practice

A. Form the verb in -en.

weak — 2. wide — 3. short — 4. sad — 5. strong — 6. threat

B. Complete with a compound of self-.

He never went to university; he is ______.
She works for herself; she is ______.

Practice and Review

1. The two questions to ask

When the exam gives you a word and a gap, ask:

**What part of speech does the gap need?** A subject or an object needs a **noun**; a word before a noun needs an **adjective**; a word modifying a verb needs an **adverb**.
**Is the meaning positive or negative?** If negative, a prefix is needed.

> *The of the region took twenty years.* (develop) → after *the* and before *of*, the gap needs a noun: development.

2. Reference table

3. Mixed exercise

A. Complete with the right form of the word in brackets.

Counterfeiting is an ______ (legal) activity.
The ______ (govern) has announced new measures.
She answered all the questions ______ (correct).
This product is ______ (harm) to health.
Consumers demand more ______ (responsible) from companies.
The results were ______ (surprise), and the whole team was ______ (surprise).
We must ______ (strong) our controls.
The ______ (analyse) of the samples took three days. *(plural)*

B. Form the opposite.

legible — 2. regular — 3. agree — 4. advantage — 5. moral — 6. patient

C. Complete the family.

| Verb | Noun | Adjective | Adverb | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | to care | | | | | | success | | | | to pollute | | | — |

4. Answers to check yourself

A. 1. illegal — 2. government — 3. correctly — 4. harmful — 5. responsibility — 6. surprising / surprised — 7. strengthen — 8. analyses.

B. 1. illegible — 2. irregular — 3. disagree — 4. disadvantage — 5. immoral — 6. impatient.

C. to care / care / careful / carefully — to succeed / success / successful / successfully — to pollute / pollution / polluted.

الجزء الأول من الدرس مفتوح للجميع، وبقيته مع الاشتراك.

Word Formation

Prefixes and Opposites

Prefixes and Opposites

1. What a prefix does

2. The prefixes of opposition

3. Prefixes that are not negative

4. Choosing the right prefix

5. Practice

Suffixes: Forming Nouns

Suffixes: Forming Nouns

1. What a suffix does

2. From a verb to a noun

3. From a verb to a person

4. From an adjective to a noun

5. Nouns in **-ing**

6. Irregular pairs to memorise

7. Practice

Suffixes: Adjectives and Adverbs

Suffixes: Adjectives and Adverbs

1. From a noun or a verb to an adjective

2. The pair **-ful / -less**

3. From an adjective to an adverb

4. Irregular adverbs

5. From an adjective to a verb

6. The complete chain

7. Practice

Forming the Plural

Forming the Plural

1. The regular rule

2. Add **-es**

3. Nouns in **-y**

4. Nouns in **-f** or **-fe**

5. Plurals with a change of vowel

6. Scientific plurals

7. Nouns with no change and nouns with no plural

8. Practice

Nouns in -ity, -ty and -ness

1. Three suffixes, one job

2. The suffix -ity

3. The suffix -ty

4. The suffix -ness

5. Which one to choose?

6. The mistakes to avoid

7. Practice

Adjectives in -ful, -ous, -ic and -y

1. Four suffixes that make adjectives from nouns

2. The spelling rules

3. Pronunciation of -ic

4. Two pairs with different meanings

5. The suffixes in the units

6. The mistakes to avoid

7. Practice

Verbs in -en and Compounds with self-

1. Verbs in -en

2. Compounds with self-

3. Practice

Practice and Review

Practice and Review

1. The two questions to ask

2. Reference table

3. Mixed exercise

4. Answers to check yourself

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مواضيع بكالوريا اللغة الإنجليزية

دروس أخرى في اللغة الإنجليزية

5. Nouns in -ing

2. The pair -ful / -less

2. Add -es

3. Nouns in -y

4. Nouns in -f or -fe