How are words formed? Are there any rules by which words are formed? Let’s find out. This article will walk you through what word formation is, the various types of word formation and the rules to be adhered to when forming words. The number of examples given will make your learning process more effective and easier. Check it out.
Table of Contents
- What Is Word Formation?
- Types of Word Formation with Examples
- Rules to be Followed When Forming Words
- Test Your Understanding of Word Formation
- Frequently Asked Questions on Word Formation in English
The English language is known for its wonderful quality of the way in which words and sentences are formed and used. Formation of new words from an existing root word by adding a syllable or another word is the general process; however, there are multiple ways in which it can be done.
Types of Word Formation with Examples
The formation of words is classified into four types based on how the process of formation is carried out. They are:
- By adding prefixes
- By adding suffixes
- Converting from one word class to another
- Forming compound words
Let us look at each type of word formation in detail.
Adding Prefixes
The term ‘prefix’ refers to one or more alphabets added to the stem of a word, mostly to make it negative. The most commonly used prefixes include ‘in-’, ‘un-’, ‘dis-’, ‘im-’, ‘ir-’, etc. Look at the examples given below for a clearer understanding of how prefixes are used to form new words.
Examples of Word Formation by the Addition of Prefixes
- Discipline – indiscipline
- Just – unjust
- Tidy – untidy
- Respect – disrespect
- Understand – misunderstand
- Comfortable – uncomfortable
- Comfort – discomfort
- Responsible – irresponsible
- Honest – dishonest
- Happy – unhappy
- Polite – impolite
- Experience – inexperience
- Practical – impractical
- Important – unimportant
- Legal – illegal
- Ethical – unethical
- Potent – impotent
Adding Suffixes
A suffix is a short syllable added at the end of a base word. The addition of suffixes usually changes the word class of the particular word. The most common suffixes include ‘-ment’, ‘-ness’, ‘-ity’, ‘-ous’, ‘-tion’, ‘-sion’, ‘-al’, ‘-able’, ‘-ible’, ‘-ive’, ‘-ly’, ‘-ate’, ‘-er’, ‘-or’, etc. Check out the following examples to see how suffixes are added.
Examples of Word Formation by the Addition of Suffixes
- Comprehend (verb) – comprehension (noun) – comprehensible (adjective)
- Inform (verb) – information (noun) – informative (adjective)
- Invest (verb) – Investment (noun) – Investor (noun)
- Write (verb) – writer (noun)
- Authorise (verb) – authorisation (noun)
- Move (verb) – movement (noun)
- Add (verb) – addition (noun)
- Happy (adjective) – happiness (noun)
- Conserve (verb) – conservation (noun)
- Wide (Adjective) – widen (verb)
- Manage (verb) – manageable (adjective) – manager (noun)
- Courage (noun) – courageous (adjective)
- Brave (adjective) – bravery (noun)
- Profit (noun) – profitable (adjective)
- Quick (adjective) – quickly (adverb)
- Happy (adjective) – happily (adverb)
- Sad (adjective) – sadness (noun)
Conversion
The process of conversion focuses solely on changing the word class of the particular word. If you have noticed, you would have seen how some nouns are used to perform the role of a verb or an adjective acting like a noun just by the addition of another word or slightly altering the spelling of the actual word.
Examples of Word Formation by Conversion
- The rich should help the poor.
Adjectives such as ‘rich’ and ‘poor’ are used as nouns by using them with the article ‘the’.
- Everyone is talented.
‘Talented’ – a past participle is used as an adjective in the above sentence. The word is formed by adding the suffix ‘ed’ to the end of the noun ‘talent’.
- There will definitely be a lot of ups and downs in life.
Prepositions ‘up’ and ‘down’ are used as nouns by adding ‘s’ to the end of it.
- He texted me about the meeting only at the last minute.
The noun ‘text’ used to refer to a text message sent on a phone is used as a verb in the sentence by adding an ‘ed’ to the end of the word.
- The financial aid had to be approved before we could make a decision.
The noun ‘finance’ is used as an adjective by adding ‘ial’ to the end of it and the verb ‘decide’ is used as a noun by removing ‘de’ and adding ‘sion’ to the word.
Forming Compound Words
Compound words are formed by combining one part of speech with another to form a specific word class. There are many ways in which compound words are formed. Verbs are combined with adjectives to form compound verbs, a present participle is combined with a noun to form a compound noun, two nouns are combined to form a compound noun, an adjective and a noun are combined to form a compound noun, an adverb is combined with a noun to form a compound noun, an adjective is combined with a past participle to form a compound adjective and so on. Take a look at the following examples and go through the articles on compound nouns, compound words and compound adjectives to understand how they work.
Examples of Word Formation by Compounding
- Over (adverb) + load (noun) – Overload
- White (adjective) + wash (verb) – Whitewash
- Black (adjective) + board (noun ) – Blackboard
- Cup (noun) + board (noun) – Cupboard
- Short (adjective) + hand (noun) – Shorthand
- Swimming (present participle) + pool (noun) – Swimming pool
- Three (adjective) + legged (past participle) – Three-legged
- Break (verb) + Down (preposition) – Breakdown
- Up (preposition) + town (noun) – Uptown
- Copy (verb) + writer (noun) – Copywriter
- Sun (noun) + rise (verb) – Sunrise
- Count (verb) + down (preposition) – Countdown
- Flash (verb) + mob (noun) – Flash mob
- Master (noun) + piece (noun) – Masterpiece
- Round (adjective) + table (noun) – Round-table
Rules to be Followed When Forming Words
Formation of words can be a very interesting exercise, but you have to be really careful when you are adding inflections or affixes. There are a few things you will need to bear in mind when you are forming words. Take a look at the following points to learn what they are.
- Before making any change to the stem of the word, try to analyse what is the kind of meaning you want the word to convey and what role the word will have to play in the sentence.
- In most cases, the beginning of the base word remains the same. Only when prefixes are added the word has a syllable added to the beginning of it. Notice that even in this case, the word is retained as such.
- When suffixes are added, there are many instances where you will have to remove the last one or more alphabets of the word and add the suffix. However, there are words like ‘movement’ where the suffix is just added without any change in the spelling of the base word.
- Here is one way to easily know which suffix has to be added to form a particular word class – most often, nouns end in ‘er’, ‘or’, ‘ist’, ‘ian’, ‘ion’, ‘ment’, ‘ness’, and ‘ity’; verbs end in ‘ise’, ‘ate’ and ‘en’; adjectives end in ‘able’, ‘ible’, ‘ive’, ‘ic’, ‘ed’, ‘ing’ and ‘al’; and adverbs normally end in ‘ly’.
- When words are formed by conversion, be very careful. Make sure you know that you are converting them accurately and using them in the sentence properly.
- When forming compound words, see to it that you hyphenate them if necessary, use the right combination of words and do not just mix and match any word.
- Changing from one tense to another also can also be considered a type of word formation, as the word is inflected to indicate the twelve different tenses in the English language.
- Forming degrees of comparison can also be put under word formation. In this case, the comparative and superlative degrees are formed by adding ‘er’ and ‘est’ to the end of the adjective. The comparative and superlative degrees of polysyllabic words are formed by using ‘more’ and ‘most’, respectively, along with the adjective.
Test Your Understanding of Word Formation
Exercise 1 – Add Prefixes and Suffixes
Add prefixes and suffixes to the following words.
1. Passion____
2. Remember____
3. ____conscious
4. Sense____
5. ____acceptable
6. Entertain____
7. ____representation
8. Neat____
9. Invent____
10. ____interpret
Answers for Exercise 1
1. Passionate
2. Remembrance
3. Unconscious/Subconscious
4. Sensible/Senseless
5. Unacceptable
6. Entertainment
7. Misrepresentation
8. Neatly/Neatness
9. Invention
10. Misinterpret
Exercise 2 – Conversion of Words
Go through the following words and convert them as directed.
1. Money (convert into adjective)
2. Brave (convert into noun)
3. Clean (convert into noun)
4. Prayer (convert into adjective)
5. Resemblance (convert into verb)
6. Slow (convert into adverb)
7. Treat (convert into noun)
8. Confession (convert into verb)
9. Vary (convert into adjective)
10. Beauty (convert into verb)
Answers for Exercise 2
1. Monetary
2. Bravery
3. Cleanliness
4. Prayerful
5. Resemble
6. Slowly
7. Treatment
8. Confess
9. Various/variable
10. Beautify
Exercise 3 – Form Compound Words
Go through the words in the box given below and use them to form ten compound words.
up, table, spend, load, green, machine, case, make, estimate, over, self
1. _______ confident
2. Washing _______
3. Time _______
4. Under _______
5. _______sufficient
6. Up_______
7. _______set
8. Suit_______
9. _______over
10. _______thrift
Answers for Exercise 3
1. Overconfident
2. Washing machine
3. Timetable
4. Underestimate
5. Self-sufficient
6. Upload
7. Upset
8. Suitcase
9. Makeover
10. Spendthrift
Frequently Asked Questions on Word Formation in English
What is word formation?
Word formation is the process by which new words are formed by adding an affix, another word or converting from one word class to another by removing and adding alphabets.
What are the four types of word formation?
The four types of word formation include:
- Addition of prefix
- Addition of suffix
- Conversion from one word class to another
- Forming compound words
Give some examples of word formation.
Here are some examples of the various types of word formation for your reference:
- Practical – impractical (prefix)
- Purpose – purposeful (suffix)
- Silent – silence (conversion)
- Dining + room – Dining room (compound word)
- Small – smaller – smallest (degrees of comparison)
Types of Word Formation Processes
Compounding
Compounding forms a word out of two or more root morphemes. The words are called compounds or compound words.
In Linguistics, compounds can be either native or borrowed.
Native English roots are typically free morphemes, so that means native compounds are made out of independent words that can occur by themselves. Examples:
mailman (composed of free root mail and free root man)
mail carrier
dog house
fireplace
fireplug (a regional word for ‘fire hydrant’)
fire hydrant
dry run
cupcake
cup holder
email
e-ticket
pick-up truck
talking-to
Some compounds have a preposition as one of the component words as in the last 2 examples.
In Greek and Latin, in contrast to English, roots do not typically stand alone. So compounds are composed of bound roots. Compounds formed in English from borrowed Latin and Greek morphemes preserve this characteristic. Examples include photograph, iatrogenic, and many thousands of other classical words.
Note that compounds are written in various ways in English: with a space between the elements; with a hyphen between the elements; or simply with the two roots run together with no separation. The way the word is written does not affect its status as a compound. Over time, the convention for writing compounds can change, usually in the direction from separate words (e.g. email used to be written with a hyphen. In the 19th century, today and tomorrow were sometimes still written to-day and to-morrow. The to originally was the preposition to with an older meaning ‘at [a particular period of time]’. Clock work changed to clock-work and finally to one word with no break (clockwork). If you read older literature you might see some compound words that are now written as one word appearing with unfamiliar spaces or hyphens between the components.
Another thing to note about compounds is that they can combine words of different parts of speech. The list above shows mostly noun-noun compounds, which is probably the most common part of speech combination, but there are others, such as adjective-noun (dry run, blackbird, hard drive), verb-noun (pick-pocket, cut-purse, lick-spittle) and even verb-particle (where ‘particle’ means a word basically designating spatial expression that functions to complete a literal or metaphorical path), as in run-through, hold-over. Sometimes these compounds are different in the part of speech of the whole compound vs. the part of speech of its components. Note that the last two are actually nouns, despite their components.
Some compounds have more than two component words. These are formed by successively combining words into compounds, e.g. pick-up truck, formed from pick-up and truck , where the first component, pick-up is itself a compound formed from pick and up. Other examples are ice-cream cone, no-fault insurance and even more complex compounds like top-rack dishwasher safe.
There are a number of subtypes of compounds that do not have to do with part of speech, but rather the sound characteristics of the words. These subtypes are not mutually exclusive.
Rhyming compounds (subtype of compounds)
These words are compounded from two rhyming words. Examples:
There are words that are formally very similar to rhyming compounds, but are not quite compounds in English because the second element is not really a word—it is just a nonsense item added to a root word to form a rhyme. Examples:
This formation process is associated in English with child talk (and talk addressed to children), technically called hypocoristic language. Examples:
bunnie-wunnie
Henny Penny
snuggly-wuggly
Georgie Porgie
Piggie-Wiggie
Another word type that looks a bit like rhyming compounds comprises words that are formed of two elements that almost match, but differ in their vowels. Again, the second element is typically a nonsense form:
Derivation Derivation is the creation of words by modification of a root without the addition of other roots. Often the effect is a change in part of speech.
Affixation (Subtype of Derivation)
The most common type of derivation is the addition of one or more affixes to a root, as in the word derivation itself. This process is called affixation, a term which covers both prefixation and suffixation.
Blending
Blending is one of the most beloved of word formation processes in English. It is especially creative in that speakers take two words and merge them based not on morpheme structure but on sound structure. The resulting words are called blends.
Usually in word formation we combine roots or affixes along their edges: one morpheme comes to an end before the next one starts. For example, we form derivation out of the sequence of morphemes de+riv+at(e)+ion. One morpheme follows the next and each one has identifiable boundaries. The morphemes do not overlap.
But in blending, part of one word is stitched onto another word, without any regard for where one morpheme ends and another begins. For example, the word swooshtika ‘Nike swoosh as a logo symbolizing corporate power and hegemony’ was formed from swoosh and swastika. The swoosh part remains whole and recognizable in the blend, but the tika part is not a morpheme, either in the word swastika or in the blend. The blend is a perfect merger of form, and also of content. The meaning contains an implicit analogy between the swastika and the swoosh, and thus conceptually blends them into one new kind of thing having properties of both, but also combined properties of neither source. Other examples include glitterati (blending glitter and literati) ‘Hollywood social set’, mockumentary (mock and documentary) ‘spoof documentary’.
The earliest blends in English only go back to the 19th century, with wordplay coinages by Lewis Carroll in Jabberwocky. For example, he introduced to the language slithy, formed from lithe and slimy, and galumph, (from gallop and triumph. Interestingly galumph has survived as a word in English, but it now seems to mean ‘walk in a stomping, ungainly way’.
Some blends that have been around for quite a while include brunch (breakfast and lunch), motel (motor hotel), electrocute (electric and execute), smog (smoke and fog) and cheeseburger (cheese and hamburger). These go back to the first half of the twentieth century. Others, such as stagflation (stagnation and inflation), spork (spoon and fork), and carjacking (car and hijacking) arose since the 1970s.
Here are some more recent blends I have run across:
mocktail (mock and cocktail) ‘cocktail with no alcohol’
splog (spam and blog) ‘fake blog designed to attract hits and raise Google-ranking’
Britpoperati (Britpop and literati) ‘those knowledgable about current British pop music’
Clipping Clipping is a type of abbreviation of a word in which one part is ‘clipped’ off the rest, and the remaining word now means essentially the same thing as what the whole word means or meant. For example, the word rifle is a fairly modern clipping of an earlier compound rifle gun, meaning a gun with a rifled barrel. (Rifled means having a spiral groove causing the bullet to spin, and thus making it more accurate.) Another clipping is burger, formed by clipping off the beginning of the word hamburger. (This clipping could only come about once hamburg+er was reanalyzed as ham+burger.)
Acronyms
Acronyms are formed by taking the initial letters of a phrase and making a word out of it. Acronyms provide a way of turning a phrase into a word. The classical acronym is also pronounced as a word. Scuba was formed from self-contained underwater breathing apparatus. The word snafu was originally WW2 army slang for Situation Normal All Fucked Up. Acronyms were being used more and more by military bureaucrats, and soldiers coined snafu in an apparent parody of this overused device. Sometimes an acronym uses not just the first letter, but the first syllable of a component word, for example radar, RAdio Detection And Ranging and sonar, SOund Navigation and Ranging. Radar forms an analogical model for both sonar and lidar, a technology that measures distance to a target and and maps its surface by bouncing a laser off it. There is some evidence that lidar was not coined as an acronym, but instead as a blend of light and radar. Based on the word itself, either etymology appears to work, so many speakers assume that lidar is an acronym rather than a blend.
A German example that strings together the initial syllables of the words in the phrase, is Gestapo , from GEheime STAats POlizei ‘Sectret State Police’. Another is Stasi, from STAats SIcherheit ‘State Security’. Acronyms are a subtype of initialism. Initialisms also include words made from the initial letters of a Phrase but NOT pronounced as a normal word — it is instead pronounced as a string of letters. Organzation names aroften initialisms of his type. Examples:
NOW (National Organization of Women)
US or U.S., USA or U.S.A. (United States)
UN or U.N. (United Nations)
IMF (International Monetary Fund)
Some organizations ARE pronounced as a word: UNICEF
MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving)
The last example incorporates a meaning into the word that fits the nature of the organization. Sometimes this type is called a Reverse Acronym or a Backronym.
These can be thought of as a special case of acronyms.
Memos, email, and text messaging (text-speak) are modes of communication that give rise to both clippings and acronyms, since these word formation methods are designed to abbreviate. Some acronyms:
NB — Nota bene, literally ‘note well’. Used by scholars making notes on texts. (A large number of other scholarly acronyms from Latin are used, probably most invented in the medieval period or Renaissance, not originally in Latin)
BRB — be right back (from 1980s, 90s)
FYI — for your information (from mid 20th century)
LOL — laughing out loud (early 21st century) — now pronounced either /lol/ or /el o el/; has spawned compounds like Lolcats).
ROFL — rolling on the floor laughing
ROFLMAO — rolling on the floor laughing my ass off
Reanalysis
Sometimes speakers unconsciously change the morphological boundaries of a word, creating a new morph or making an old one unrecognizable. This happened in hamburger, which was originally Hamburger steak ‘chopped and formed steak in the Hamburg style, then hamburger (hamburg + er), then ham + burger
Folk etymology
A popular idea of a word’s origin that is not in accordance with its real origin.
Many folk etymologies are cases of reanalysis in which the word is not only reanalysis but it changes under the influence of the new understanding of its morphemes. The result is that speakers think it has a different origin than it does.
Analogy
Sometimes speakers take an existing word as a model and form other words using some of its morphemes as a fixed part, and changing one of them to something new, with an analogically similar meaning. Cheeseburger was formed on the analogy of hamburger, replacing a perceived morpheme ham with cheese. carjack and skyjack were also formed by analogy.
Novel creation
In novel creation, a speaker or writer forms a word without starting from other morphemes. It is as if the word if formed out of ‘whole cloth’, without reusing any parts.
Some examples of now-conventionalized words that were novel creations include blimp, googol (the mathematical term), bling, and possibly slang, which emerged in the last 200 years with no obvious etymology. Some novel creations seem to display ‘sound symbolism’, in which a word’s phonological form suggests its meaning in some way. For example, the sound of the word bling seems to evoke heavy jewelry making noise. Another novel creation whose sound seems to relate to its meaning is badonkadonk, ‘female rear end’, a reduplicated word which can remind English speakers of the repetitive movement of the rear end while walking.
Creative respelling
Sometimes words are formed by simply changing the spelling of a word that the speaker wants to relate to the new word. Product names often involve creative respelling, such as Mr. Kleen. © Suzanne Kemmer
Word Forms
Recognize meanings of noun, verb, adjective and adverb forms
Multiple Word Forms vs. Limited Word Forms
Imagination is an example of a noun with verb, adjective and adverb word forms. All share the meaning «the forming of images in the mind that are not actually present». Additional word definitions vary slightly and keep close to the central meaning.
His writing was
MULTIPLE WORD FORMS, SHARED MEANING | |
---|---|
CONTEXT | WORD FORM |
NOUN | |
ADJECTIVE | |
ADVERB | |
Revolution is an example of a word that has some but not all four word forms. Notice that the adjective and adverb forms have meanings that depart from «rebellion to authority» and take on a meaning closer to «rebellion of mind or feeling».
The singer sang about social
revolted. revolt (V) «rebelled «
revolutionary. (innovative, rebellious)
revolting¹. (disgusting or rebellious)
—none— «in a revolutionary manner»
imagination (N) — the natural ability of imagining, or of forming mental images or concepts of what is not actually present to the senses; the word can be both a count noun (He had quite an imagination! ) when speaking specifically and a noncount noun (He had imagination.) when speaking in general.
rebel (N) — go against or take action against a social convention (the usual way of doing things) or a government or institution
revolt (V) — (1) rebel or break away from authority; (2) turn away in mental rebellion, disgust; (3) rebel in feeling; (4) feel horror. (at) He revolted at seeing their brutality.
¹revolting (Adj) — (1) disgusting, repulsive, distasteful, awful; (2) rebellious They are revolting. (unclear meaning)
revolution (N) — (1) an overthrow of a government, a rebellion; (2) a radical change in society and the social structure; (3) a sudden, complete or marked change in something; (4) completion of a circular movement, one turn.
revolutionary (Adj) — (1) a sudden complete change; (2) radically new or innovative; outside or beyond established procedure, principles; (3) related to a country’s revolution (period); (3) revolving, turning around like a record
«John Lennon» by Charles LeBlanc licensed by CC BY-SA 2.0 (size changed and «poster» filter applied)
Word Form Entry into English
Source of word and the addition of other forms
Word Forms
Historically, a word entered the English language, or was borrowed, primarily as one form—a noun, a verb or an adjective. In time, additional forms were added to the original word so that it could function in other ways. The table below includes words and their approximate entry dates as well as additional word forms and their appearance dates.
There is no formal or exact way of knowing which suffix to add when changing a word from one form to another. The methods of adding suffix forms vary. Some patterns exist, depending on whether the origin of the word is M >uninterested, disinterested and not interested.
A word may not have all four word forms. For example, the noun fun is w >fun (1675-85) and funny (1750-60). But usage of fun as a verb is rare and as an adverb is non-existent.
A word may have two similar forms that co-exist. For example, a word may enter English or be borrowed more than once. The noun chief (leader) entered into usage in M >chef (head cook) from French in 1835-45.
A word may be newly coined (made up) and not yet have other forms. For example, the word selfie is w >twerk can be used as a verb, but can one say a twerk (noun), twerky (adjective) or twerkily (adverb)?
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Word Formation
Word formation occurs when compounding, clipping or blending existing words to create new words. Below we will cover the definition of these terms and give you several examples of each.
Compounding Words
Compounding words are formed when two or more lexemes combine into a single new word. Compound words may be written as one word or as two words joined with a hyphen. For example:
- noun-noun compound: note + book → notebook
- adjective-noun compound: blue + berry → blueberry
- verb-noun compound: work + room → workroom
- noun-verb compound: breast + feed → breastfeed
- verb-verb compound: stir + fry → stir-fry
- adjective-verb compound: high + light → highlight
- verb-preposition compound: break + up → breakup
- preposition-verb compound: out + run → outrun
- adjective-adjective compound: bitter + sweet → bittersweet
- preposition-preposition compound: in + to → into
Compounds may be compositional, meaning that the meaning of the new word is determined by combining the meanings of the parts, or non-compositional, meaning that the meaning of the new word cannot be determined by combining the meanings of the parts. For example, a blueberry is a berry that is blue. However, a breakup is not a relationship that was severed into pieces in an upward direction.
Compound nouns should not be confused with nouns modified by adjectives, verbs, and other nouns. For example, the adjective black of the noun phrase black bird is different from the adjective black of the compound noun blackbird in that black of black bird functions as a noun phrase modifier while the black of blackbird is an inseparable part of the noun: a black bird also refers to any bird that is black in color while a blackbird is a specific type of bird.
Clipping Words
Clipping is the word formation process in which a word is reduced or shortened without changing the meaning of the word. Clipping differs from back-formation in that the new word retains the meaning of the original word. For example:
- advertisement – ad
- alligator – gator
- examination – exam
- gasoline – gas
- gymnasium – gym
- influenza – flu
The four types of clipping are back clipping, fore-clipping, m >gas from gasoline. Fore-clipping is removing the beginning of a word as in gator from alligator. M >flu from influenza. Complex clipping is removing multiple parts from multiple words as in sitcom from situation comedy.
Blending Words
Blending is the word formation process in which parts of two or more words combine to create a new word whose meaning is often a combination of the original words. Below are examples of blending words.
- advertisement + entertainment → advertainment
- biographical + picture → biopic
- breakfast + lunch → brunch
- chuckle + snort → chortle
- cybernetic + organism → cyborg
- guess + estimate → guesstimate
- hazardous + material → hazmat
- motor + hotel → motel
- prim + sissy → prissy
- simultaneous + broadcast → simulcast
- smoke + fog → smog
- Spanish + English → Spanglish
- spoon + fork → spork
- telephone + marathon → telethon
- web + seminar → webinar
Blended words are also referred to as portmanteaus.
Word Formation Sample Downloads
For more complete lists of English words formed through compounding, clipping, and blending, please download the following free printable vocabulary lists:
Learning Vocabulary With Word Forms
How to Use Word Forms to Improve and Broaden Your English Vocabulary
- TESOL Diploma, Trinity College London
- M.A., Music Performance, Cologne University of Music
- B.A., Vocal Performance, Eastman School of Music
There are a wide variety of techniques used to learn vocabulary in English. This learning vocabulary technique focuses on using word forms as a way to broaden your English vocabulary. The great thing about word forms is that you can learn a number of words with just one basic definition. In other words, word forms relate to a specific meaning. Of course, not all of the definitions are the same. However, the definitions are often closely related.
Start off by quickly reviewing the eight parts of speech in English:
Examples
Not all eight parts of speech will have a form of each word. Sometimes, there are only noun and verb forms. Other times, a word will have related adjectives and adverbs. Here are some examples:
Noun: student
Verb: to study
Adjective: studious, studied, studying
Adverb: studiously
Some words will have more variations. Take the word care:
Noun: care, caregiver, caretaker, carefulness
Verb: to care
Adjective: careful, careless, carefree, careworn
Adverb: carefully, carelessly
Other words will be especially rich because of compounds. Compound words are words made up by taking two words and putting them together to create other words! Take a look at words derived from power:
Noun: power, brainpower, candlepower, firepower, horsepower, hydropower, powerboat, powerhouse, powerlessness, powerlifting, powerpc, powerpoint, superpower, willpower
Verb: to power, to empower, to overpower
Adjective: empowered, empowering, overpowered, overpowering, powerable, powered, powerful, powerless
Adverb: powerfully, powerlessly, overpoweringly
Not all words have so many compound word possibilities. However, there are some words that are used to construct numerous compound words. Here’s a (very) short list to get you started:
Exercises for Using Your Words in Context
Exercise 1: Write a Paragraph
Once you’ve made a list of a few words, the next step will be to give yourself the opportunity to put the words you’ve studied into context. There are a number of ways to do this, but one exercise I especially like is to write an extended paragraph. Let’s take a look at power again. Here’s a paragraph I’ve written to help me practice and remember words created with power:
Writing a paragraph is a powerful way to help you remember words. Of course, it takes plenty of brainpower. However, by writing out such a paragraph you will empower yourself to use this words. For example, you might find creating a paragraph in powerpoint on a PowerPC takes a lot of willpower. In the end, you won’t feel overpowered by all these words, you’ll feel empowered. No longer will you stand there powerlessly when confronted with words such as candlepower, firepower, horsepower, hydropower, because you’ll know that they are all different types of power used to power our overpowering society.
I’ll be the first to admit that writing out a paragraph, or even trying to read such a paragraph from memory might seem crazy. It certainly isn’t good writing style! However, by taking the time to try to fit as many words made up with a target word you’ll be creating all sorts of related context to your word list. This exercise will help you imagine what type of uses can be found for all these related words. Best of all, the exercise will help you ‘map’ the words in your brain!
Exercise 2: Write Sentences
An easier exercise is to write out individual sentences for each word in your list. It’s not as challenging, but it’s certainly an effective way to practice the vocabulary you’ve taken the time to learn.
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LIMITED WORD FORMS, VARYING IN MEANING | |
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Word formation is a very important aspect of most languages, and English is no exception. The term «word formation» refers to the processes through which new words are created. Given its significance in the English language and in Cambridge English exams, this short article will outline the basic word formation processes. Let’s go!
- Compounding
- Derivation: prefixes and suffixes
- Conversion
- Blending
- Abbreviation
- Clipping
- Acronyms
- Novel creation
- Creative re-spelling
- Loan words
- Download this post as a PDF
Compounding
It means creating a word by adding up two or more different words. Compound words have a new meaning, which is obviously related to the meanings of the other words. For example:
- book + case = bookcase
- sign + post = signpost
- watch + man = watchman
Not all compound words are written together. Sometimes they can by hyphenated (con guión) or separate, such as «traffic lights» or «ice-cream». Some, such as «ice-cream» can be written with our without a hyphen.
Derivation: prefixes and suffixes
This process is normally done through suffixation or prefixation, that is to say, adding a suffix or a prefix. For instance:
- urgent (adjective) + -cy = urgency (noun)
- ir- + responsible (adjective) + -y = irresponsibly (adverb)
- national (adjective) + -ise = nationalise
Conversion
Conversion happens when a word changes from one word class to another. For instance, the verb to google is formed from the noun Google; or the noun read (as in a good read) is formed from the verb to read. For example:
- I emailed this document to John. (emailed is a verb formed from the noun email)
- He was bullied at school as a child. (bullied is a verb formed from the noun bully)
Blending
This involves taking a part of two different words to make a new word, like merging two words based on the sounds of these words. This is extremely popular in the English language, and it produces hundreds of new words every year whose meanings is a mixture of the meanings of the original words. In some cases, these are informal, but there are many that have become a natural part of standard English. Let’s see some examples:
- channel + tunnel = chunnel
- motor + hotel = motel
- work + alcoholic = workaholic
Abbreviation
When we abbreviate a word, we form another word by shortening it or simply by using only part of the word:
- Perambulator –> pram
- Veterinary –> vet
In general, we can talk about two types of abbreviation: clipping and acronyms.
Clipping
This means literally clipping the word, which means «cutting» the word to make it shorter. This normally makes the word more informal and/or appealing. Some examples are:
- advertisement = ad
- hamburger = burger
- demonstration = demo
Acronyms
Acronyms, which are a form of abbreviation, are words formed by using only the first letter(s) of the words. By creating an acronym, we are reducing the meaning of a whole phrase o sentence to a single word. Let’s see some popular examples:
- laughing out loud = LOL
- United Nations = UN
- radio detection and ranging = radar
Novel creation
This basically means coming up with a completely new word without any of the processes above. These words are typically referred to as «neologisms». Some examples are:
- puzzle
- bash
- gimmick
- gadget
Creative re-spelling
This involves spelling a word differently in order to make it more practical, attractive, or to fulfil some particular aim, usually commercial. For example:
- because –> bcoz
- light –> lite
- forever –> 4eva
- Combat –> Kombat
Loan words
In linguistics, a loan happens when we take a word directly from a foreign language. Some examples of loan words in English are:
- solo
- pizza
- tapas
- negro
- carpe diem
- cul de sac
In general, when we loan a word, the spelling doesn’t usually change. However, some other changes may occur, like creating a plural form which doesn’t exist in the original language. As for pronunciation, we usually pronounce them with an «English accent», so it varies slightly from the original pronunciation.
As far as Cambridge English exams go, it’s derivation (prefixes & suffixes) that concerns us most, as it is present in two of the parts of the section of Use of English B2 and Use of English C1.
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Suffixes in English: 40 Most Common
Hey.
Source: https://corp.lingualeo.com/ru/2016/11/16/suffiksyi-v-angliyskom-yazyike/
Formation of adjectives in English
The formation of adjectives in English is a rather important and interesting topic. Of course, you can speak English at a fairly high level without going into such details, but such information will not be superfluous.
As in Russian, English adjectives can be derived from other parts of speech. These are usually verbs and nouns. Adjectives are formed using suffixes and prefixes. So, first things first.
Formation of English adjectives using prefixes
Prefixes, or prefixes, are added at the beginning of a word and change its meaning. Usually they change the meaning of the adjective to the opposite, negative. A few examples:
- un— (unlucky)
- in— (invisible)
- dis— (discontent)
- il— (illegal)
- ir— (irrational)
- im— (immovable)
There are several prefixes that change the meaning of a word, but without a negative meaning:
- pre— (pre-emptive)
- hyper— (hypertensive, hyperactive)
Formation of English adjectives using suffixes
There are a lot of varieties of English adjectives formed in the suffix way. As an example, there is a picture with the main suffixes, as well as a few examples of words.
- ful (wonderful, graceful)
- less (pointless, careless)
- able (vulnerable, tolerable)
- ible (terrible, permissible)
- ant (pleasant, hesitant)
- ent (different, patient)
- ic (scientific, iconic)
- ive (active, impressive)
- y (angry, dirty)
- ing (interesting, worrying)
- ed (confused, excited)
- al (general, typical)
- (i) an (Victorian, American)
- You reprise the theme of the (gorgeous, famous)
- ish (childish, Irish)
There is also a classification of English adjectives according to the parts of speech from which they are derived. Adjectives can be formed from nouns, verbs, as well as from other adjectives using various suffixes and prefixes, examples of which have already been considered. The very form of the word may also change. For example, the adjective long is formed from the noun length with a change at the root of the word.
Source: https://english-bird.ru/forming-adjectives/
Suffixes in English — types, education, application
›Learning a language› Vocabulary ›Word formation› Suffixes in English with different parts of speech
Remember those moments in Russian lessons when you were asked to parse a word by defining its prefix, root, suffix and ending? Perhaps this event only caused you headaches, but fear not, everything will be different in English. Let’s not analyze the entire morphological analysis at once, but consider only the suffixes in the English language, which have many interesting features.
A suffix or just the English suffix is a morpheme for word formation in English, which usually comes after the root. In simple words, a suffix is one or more letters, thanks to which a word can change its part of speech, for example, from a verb to a noun:
Verb | Noun |
read | reader (reader) |
Or, in general, acquire a different meaning:
Noun / Verb | Noun |
bruise (bruise / wrinkle) | bruiser (fighter) |
There are no specific rules regarding suffixes in English. That is, you cannot take one suffix, which, for example, forms nouns, and use it with all words in a row. Suffixes are not always attached to words that look similar or have the same root letter. Nevertheless, a certain logic in their use shines through, and therefore, knowing the suffixes and their functions, you can learn to intuitively form words.
English suffixes: location
As mentioned earlier, English suffixes, like Russian ones, follow immediately after the root:
Root | Suffix |
length | en |
lengthen |
Suffixes can be followed by an ending:
Root | Suffix | End |
direct | or | s |
Directors |
One sentence can contain both a prefix and a suffix:
Console | Root | Suffix |
im | patient | ly |
impatiently |
The suffix can change if the word is used in plural:
Singular | Plural |
opportunity (opportunity) | opportunities |
Having dealt with the peculiarities of the location and use of suffixes in the word, let’s move on to their types.
Suffixes in English: species
Suffixes can be used to form almost all independent parts of speech. Based on this, they are divided into 5 categories:
- Noun suffixes
- Vertex suffixes
- Adjective suffixes
- Adverb suffixes
- Numeral suffixes
Let’s analyze each group separately. Note that there are very, very many suffixes in the English language, and therefore we will consider only the most used of them.
Noun suffixes
The group of suffixes for the formation of nouns is perhaps the most voluminous. It includes:
- participate in the formation of inanimate nouns from verbs. Table for clarity:
Verb | Noun |
printer (a printer) | |
ventilate | ventilationor (fan) |
project (project) | projector (projector) |
- and also in the formation of nouns expressing a person who is engaged in what the verb denotes. To make it clearer, let’s turn to examples:
Verb | Noun |
—er | |
chase (to chase) | chaser |
run | runner |
call (to call) | caller (caller) |
-gold | |
object (object) | objector (objector / objector) |
compete (to compete) | competitor |
survive | survivor |
Often these suffixes are used to form vocabulary words:
rescue | rescuer |
sail | sailor |
teach | teacher (teacher) |
act (play / act) | actor (actor) |
wait | waiter |
- A couple of these professions can be used in conjunction with the -ess (-ress) suffix, perhaps the only feminine suffix used in English:
Masculine nouns | Feminine nouns |
actor (actor) | actress (actress) |
waiter | waitress (waitress) |
steward (steward) | stewardess |
- In addition to professions, the following nouns can be changed using the suffix:
Masculine nouns | Feminine nouns |
God | goddess |
prince | princess |
count (count) | countess (countess) |
lion (lion) | lioness (lioness) |
- — of — a suffix that is used to indicate the person to whom the action is directed, that is, this suffix is the opposite of the -er and -or suffixes:
-er / -or | — of |
interviewer | interviewee (interviewee) |
employer | employee |
addresser (addresser / sender) | addressee (addressee / recipient) |
- -ian — another suffix with which you can express the type of activity. Words are formed from nouns, examples:
Nouns | Nouns with -ian |
sparrowic (music) | musician (musician) |
academy | academicician (academician) |
Physic (medicine) | physician |
history | historian (historian) |
The same functions are performed by suffixes:
Nouns | Suffixed nouns |
-ent | |
study (study) | student |
residency (residence) | resident |
-ant | |
account | accountant |
merchantry (trade) | merchant |
- -ist, is usually used with professions related to the scientific field:
Nouns | Nouns with -ist |
science | scientist |
zoology | zoologist |
cynology (cynology) | cynologist |
And with music:
guitar (guitar) | guitarist (guitarist) |
cello (cello) | cellist |
piano | pianist (pianist) |
Although this suffix is often found in nouns that express supporters of some views and their perception of the world. In this case, the English suffix performs the same function as the Russian suffix -ist, forming almost identical words:
Buddhist |
realist |
nihilist |
atheist |
- -ism Is another English suffix that is similar to Russian -ism. It denotes concepts related to the ideological currents and beliefs of a person:
Catholicism |
liberalism (liberalism) |
Marxism |
Source: https://speakenglishwell.ru/suffiksy-v-anglijskom-yazyke/
Enjoy learning English online with Puzzle English for free
For knowledge of a foreign language, a wealth of vocabulary is no less important than an understanding of grammar. The more words a person speaks, the freer he feels in a foreign language environment.
The variety of vocabulary is largely determined by the richness of word formation in the English language. The construction of new words is based on general principles. And the one who knows these principles feels much more confident among unfamiliar vocabulary.
The structure of the word and its change
New words are learned gradually. Most often, at first we only understand them in texts or someone else’s speech, and only then we begin to actively use them in ours. Therefore, mastering new vocabulary is a long process and requires patience from the student, active practice of reading, listening and working with a dictionary.
One of the methods to quickly expand your vocabulary is to master the ways of word formation in English. Having understood the principles by which words are built, it is possible to derive the meanings of its cognate words from an already known word.
The building blocks for every word are the root, prefixes and suffixes. The root is the part of the word that carries the main meaning. A word cannot exist without a root. Whereas prefixes and suffixes are an optional part, however, when added to the root, it is they that help form new words. Therefore, when describing word formation in English, we will separate prefix and suffix methods.
All prefixes and suffixes have their own meaning. It is usually quite blurry and serves to change the basic meaning of the word. When a prefix or suffix (or both) is added to the root, their value is added to the root value. This is how a new word turns out.
The formation of new words can lead not only to a change in meaning, but also to change parts of speech. Suffixes are more common in this function. By adding to the root, they translate a word from one part of speech to another, for example, they make an adjective from a verb or a verb from a noun.
So, from one root a whole group can be formed, all the elements of which are interconnected. Therefore, word formation helps learners of English to see the semantic relationships between words and better navigate the variety of vocabulary.
You can get a new word not only through prefixes and suffixes. Another way is compounding, in which two roots are combined into one word, forming a new meaning. In addition, word formation includes the reduction of words and the creation of abbreviations.
Prefixes as a way of word formation in English
A prefix (the term «prefix» is also used) is an element of a word that is placed before the root. Prefix word formation is rarely used by the English language to change parts of speech (as an exception, the prefix «en-» / «em-» for the formation of verbs can be called). But prefixes are actively used to change the meaning of a word. The prefixes themselves can have different meanings, but among them there is a large group of prefixes with a similar function: to change the meaning of a word to the opposite.
1. Prefixes with negative values:
- un-: unpredictable (unpredictable), unable (unable)
- dis-: disapproval, disconnection
Source: https://puzzle-english.com/directory/wordbuilding
Features of word formation in English
Good afternoon friends! Today I and the teacher of English, Ekaterina, would like to tell you what word formation in English is. The processes of the emergence of new words can be observed in every language.
And in languages related by origin, the methods of replenishing the dictionary will be very similar, and may even have the same names in the meaning. British and Russian have a number of similar techniques for forming new words.
Let’s dwell on each of them in more detail, and you will see that Word Formation in English is very similar to Russian, and in some respects even simpler.
Plus suffix
Affixing is one of the most common and well-known ways to get new words. You just need to add a suitable suffix or prefix — and the new word is ready.
But if it seems to you that in Russian adding morphemes to the root of a word is very easy, then remember that the most frequent mistakes that we make in spelling words are found in suffixes, and there are a lot of spelling rules for their spelling, not to mention exceptions …
Compared to Russian, the British affixation is very simple: for each part of speech, separate types of morphemes are characteristic:
- Verb suffixes — help to form a predicate from adjectives, nouns.
— en or -ize, -ise you add to words in order to give them the meaning of «becoming like the original word»: thick (thick) — thicken (thicken, become thick);
modern (new) — modernize (modernized, modernize);
— ify, fy will help you get a word that means transformation into what the original word said: simple (simple) — simplify (simplify).
— ate is attached to nouns to denote transformation into something or when we show that we are exposed to the initial word: granule (granules) — granulate (granulate).
- Suffixes of nouns — are needed to get the names of objects, professions, phenomena from words denoting a sign of an object and an action.
- By adding -er, -or will get the person doing this action or profession:
Run (run) — runner (runner), act (play) — actor (actor). - A verbal noun denoting a process can be denoted by using –ing: dance (to dance) — dancing (to dance)
- The two suffixes –ness and –ty / -ity will help to form words from adjectives that mean a property or quality, state or condition: kind (kind) — kindness (kindness), major (large) — majority (majority).
- Abstract concepts meaning concepts related to the original word can be obtained using a number of suffix morphemes: -ment, — ance (y) / — ence (y), -dom, -ion / -tion / -sion / -ssion, -ure, -hood, -ship, -th: neighbor — neighborhood, move — movement, translate — translation, educate — education , friend (friend) — friendship (friendship).
- Nationality or professional identity can be specified using -an / -ian: Italia — Italian (Italian)
- It is possible to show that a person belongs to a certain movement or profession by adding –ist — just like in Russian: piano (piano) — pianist (pianist).
The correct use of morphemes to form nouns will help you greatly increase your vocabulary. Often, it is possible to understand which affix should be added at the level of intuition and auditory perception of the language.
Exercises will help you develop these skills. Try the following activity and check your hearing. It is necessary to form new words using the indicated bases and morphemes.
Well, how did it work? If you are in doubt about the correctness of adding an affix, try entering the resulting word into an electronic translator. And of course, try to remember the resulting lexical units.
All these rules will come in handy when preparing for international exams in English.
- To indicate a trait, quality or property of an item, you will need the following morphemes:
-al, -ic, -ical, — ous, -ful, -ly / -y (for nouns), -ant / -ent, -ive, -able / -ible, -ite (for actions), -ary, -ate, -ed. - Lack of quality or feature is always indicated with –less: use — useless.
• as part of a word in an adjective indicates the similarity bird (bird) — bird- (similar to a bird). - Nationality can be shown by several suffixes, for which there is no specific rule for their use. These are –ish, -ese, -ian / -an: Spain — Spanish.
- By adding –ern to the cardinal point, you get the same adjective: south — southern.
Consider the examples in the table to better understand the principles of adding morphemes:
- Separately, we can single out the prefix way of forming words. Each prefix has its own meaning, as in Russian:
You also need to know how to form a verb in English, and there is a separate article about this.
Changing nothing
Conversion words are very common in English. This is not a characteristic feature of the appearance of new words for Russian, but it allows you to significantly increase your vocabulary, simply by looking at all the meanings of a word in the dictionary.
Conversion as a way of word formation consists in the fact that the whole word, completely unchanged, passes from one part of speech to another. Therefore, often in the dictionary opposite a foreign word, you can see several translations with the signs adj (adjective), n (noun), v (verb), adv (adverb), which mean different parts of speech.
For example plant (plant, plant) — to plant (plant).
One plus one makes one
Another common way of word formation is word composition. For us to understand its meaning is very simple: merged two roots — got a new meaning: smoke-free (smokeless). These roots can be written together or with a hyphen.
Strokes and sounds
You can get a new part of speech by changing the stress in the word or one of the sounds: export (export) — to export (export).
And you certainly can’t help but stop at the abbreviation, because the British are so fond of abbreviating words and even whole phrases, replacing letters with an apostrophe. As a result of this reduction, we all got the well-known e-mail, which was originally an electronic mail (electronic message).
Now that you have plenty of exercise, sit back and check out the article on England’s coastline with beaches and the Titanic Museum.
Now you see that it is not so difficult to increase your vocabulary, you just need to remember the words you know and try to form other parts of speech from them.
Marina Rusakova’s school will help you improve your English. You will be able to memorize words without memorization by the method of associations, these words you will remember for 10 years, even if you do not learn the language. Understand rules with verbs, prepositions, times. Learn to comprehend English by ear, you will understand what bloggers, anchors in the news are saying and you will understand films.
I hope my story today was helpful to you.
Subscribe and learn languages with us! You will also receive as a gift a basic phrasebook in three languages, English, German and French. Russian transcription will tell you the pronunciation of words, even if you don’t know the language.
I was with you, Natalya Glukhova, I wish you a good day!
Don’t forget to tell your friends about it! You will find new interesting and useful information in my blog.
(2 4,50 of 5)
- Payments in Germany in connection with the coronavirus for pensioners
Source: https://vivaeurope.ru/languages/english/gramatika/slovoobrasovanije
The ending is ous in English. Suffixes in adjectives in English: the nuances of word-formation definitions
A large number of new words in the English language are formed by attaching suffixes and prefixes to the root of a word.
Suffixing is the process of forming new words using suffixes, prefixing is a similar process where prefixes are involved.
Common noun suffixes:
- The suffix -age forms, which show the action or its result (leakage — leakage, coverage — coverage), and nouns expressing the essence of a concept or quantity (acreage — area in acres, voltage — voltage). Due to the ambiguity of some neologisms, the meaning can expand to the name of the place (orphanage — orphanage).
- Suffix—al added to some verbs to form abstract nouns that denote an action or its result: arrival — arrival, recital — presentation, referral — direction.
- The suffix -ance (with its variants -ence / -ancy / -ency), when attached mainly to verbs, forms action names: absorbance — absorption, riddance — elimination.
This suffix is closely related to -cy / -ce, which are involved in the formation of nouns from adjectives that have suffixes -ant / -ent.
- Suffix -ant forms that are related to a person (especially in the technical or business sphere: applicant — candidate, defendant — defendant) or to substances involved in biological, chemical or physical processes: attractant — attractant, dispersant — dispersant.
Most of the producing words are verbs of Latin origin.
- Suffixes -cy / -ce join productively with adjectives ending in -ant / -ent (convergence — interaction, efficiency — efficiency) and nouns ending in -ant / -ent: agency, agency, presidency, presidency.
- Suffix -dom semantically similar to -hood and -ship, which denote similar concepts.
This suffix is attached to nouns to form common nouns, which denote regions, kingdoms or territories: kingdom — kingdom, maoridom — Maori kingdom.
- The suffix -ee participates in the formation of nouns, which denote persons who inadvertently appear in a context without volitional action on their part: biographee — the one about whom the biography is being written; standee — a person who is forced to stand (for example, on a bus).
- Suffix -eer forms nouns, the meaning of which can be expressed as follows: «a person who has business or is associated with someone / something»: auctioneer — auctioneer, budgeter — budgetary, mountaineer — climber, cameleer — camel driver.
- The suffix -er in derivative words indicates that persons from the context are active participants in the events: teacher — teacher, singer — singer.
Also, this suffix is used to form nouns indicating the place of origin or residence: Londoner — a resident of London, Highlander — Scottish Highlander.
- Suffix— (e) ry forms nouns with the meaning of a place where certain actions are performed or specific services can be provided: bakery — bakery, carwashery — washing.
- Derivatives with a suffix — (e) ry can also denote aggregate concepts: confectionery — confectionery, pottery — earthenware.
- The -ess suffix refers to a small number of derivative nouns that denote female people and animals: princess — princess, tigress — tigress.
- Suffix -ful indicates that the noun acts as a divisible object that has a capacity: cupful — a full cup, handful — a handful, tumblerful — 240 ml, a measure of the volume of liquid.
- The suffix -hood forms nouns that denote states and aggregate concepts: childhood — childhood, beggarhood — poverty.
- Suffix -ism forms nouns from this part of speech and adjectives denoting state, position, attitude, belief, system of theories: Parkinsonism — Parkinsonism, conservatism — conservatism, Marxism — Marxism.
- The -ist suffix forms words that in most cases have a matching -ism noun pair.
Semantically, this suffix denotes a person who is dealing with something: a careerist is a careerist, a fundamentalist is a fundamentalist.
- Suffix -ity forms nouns that denote quantity, state or quality and are mainly of Latin origin: curiosity — curiosity, profundity — depth.
- The -ness suffix is the most productive in the English language and can be attached to almost any adjective: witness — wisdom, darkness — darkness.
- Suffix -ship forms nouns that denote state or position: friendship — friendship, membership — membership.
Verb → noun
-AL | Refuse-refusal |
-ANCE/ENCE | |
-ATION/TION | Locate location |
-SION | Impress-impression |
-URE | Press pressure |
-MENT | Punish Punishment |
-AGE |
Source: https://chemistry-gid.ru/kapitanskaya-dochka/okonchanie-ous-v-angliiskom-yazyke-suffiksy-v-prilagatelnyh-v.html
Suffixes in English — Learn All
There can be confusion between suffixes and endings in English (both are often called word endings), besides, English terminology in this matter is slightly different from Russian. Therefore, let’s start with the basic concepts.
The ending is an inflectional morpheme. It changes the form of a word, but not its meaning, and at the same time carries a grammatical load:
- pencil — pencils (ending indicates plural)
- work — worked (the ending indicates the elapsed time)
The suffix, in turn, is a derivational morpheme. Suffixes in English create new words, either by changing the meaning of the original one, or by converting one part of speech to another:
- red — reddish (red — reddish)
- teach — teacher (teach — teacher)
There are very few endings in English — these are -s (-es), -ed and -ing. There are a lot of suffixes in English. In this article, we will consider only the most common ones.
Profession and occupation suffixes (-er, -ent, -ess)
The -er suffix is perhaps the most common and productive for «doers.» With it, you can form a noun from almost any verb.
- write> writer — write> writer
- bake> baker — oven> baker
- paint> painter — paint> painter
Most modern words denoting the performer of an action are formed precisely with his help. This also applies to inanimate objects.
- printer — printer
- scanner — scanner
Many words that come from French and Latin have the -or suffix:
- doctor — doctor
- tailor — tailor
- actor — actor
The English suffix -ist often denotes an activity related to science and medicine:
- scientist — scientist
- dentist — dentist
- biologist — biologist
It also denotes an adherent of any views and beliefs:
- pacifist — pacifist
- communist — communist
- realist — realist
Other suffixes in English of words of Latin and Greek origin:
Suffix -ian:
- musician — musician
- librarian — librarian
- mathematician — mathematician
Suffix -ent:
- student — student
- resident — resident, resident
- agent — agent
Suffix -ant:
- informant — informant
- assistant — assistant
- confidant — confidant
The -ess suffix is one of the few «feminine» suffixes in English:
- waitress — waitress
- actress — actress
- princess — princess
Process, action, phenomenon suffixes (-ment, -ion, -ism)
The suffix in English -ment is needed when forming verbal nouns and means an action or its result:
- movement — movement
- entertainment — entertainment
- concealment — concealment
The -ion suffix also denotes an action, process, or result of that process:
- revolution — revolution
- isolation — isolation
- restriction — restriction
The suffix -ism denotes a system of views, beliefs:
- racism — racism
- communism — communism
- pacifism — pacifism
State, quality, property suffixes (-ance / -ence, -dom, -hood, -ity, -ness, -ship, -th)
The -ance / -ence suffix in a noun usually matches the -ant / -ent suffix in an adjective:
- different — difference
- important — importance (important — importance)
- independent — independence
The suffixes in English -hood and -ship mean a person’s condition associated with his age, social relations, and sometimes activity; or a group of people united by this state.
- childhood — childhood
- motherhood — motherhood
- priesthood — clergy
- friendship — friendship
- internship — internship, internship
The suffix -dom means states and properties of a broader meaning:
- freedom — freedom
- wisdom — wisdom
- martyrdom — Martyrdom
The suffix in English -ness means possession of some quality and serves to form nouns from adjectives:
- kindness — kindness
- usefulness — usefulness
- vastness — vastness
The -th suffix more often means physical properties:
- strength — strength
- length — length
- warmth — warm
The suffix -ity means property, quality, and is common for words of Latin origin:
- brevity — brevity
- velocity — speed
- purity — purity
Adjective suffixes
The suffix -ful in English means possession of quality (and is related to the adjective full — «full»):
- beautiful — beautiful
- useful — useful
The -less suffix is opposite in meaning to the previous one and means lack of quality:
- careless — carefree
- harmless — harmless
The suffix -able, -ible characterizes the property or accessibility for any action:
- edible — edible
- portable — portable, portable
- admirable — admirable
The suffixes -ic and -al mean «related, related»:
- heroic — heroic
- mythic — mythical
- cultural — cultural
- musical — musical
The -ous suffix also carries a characteristic:
- dangerous — dangerous
- nutritious — nutritious
The English suffix -ish has several meanings:
expresses similarity (in terms of appearance, behavior)
- girlish — girlish
- childich — childish, childish
- foolish — stupid
weakens the meaning of an adjective
- reddish — reddish
- narrowish — narrowish
means nationality, language or country
- English — English
- Swedish — Swedish
The suffix -ive means possession of a property, the ability:
- attractive — attractive
- sedative — sedative
The English suffix -y is used to form many simple adjectives:
- rainy — rainy
- dirty — dirty
- sunny — sunny
Vertex suffixes
Verb suffixes are not so diverse and almost all have the meaning of «doing something» or «becoming something.»
Suffix -ate
- motivate — to motivate
- activate — activate
Suffix -en
- lengthen — lengthen
- strengthen — strengthen
Suffix -ify
- verify — confirm
- clarify — to clarify
Suffix -ize, -ise
- visualize — render
- neutralize — neutralize
Adverb suffix
Adverbs are formed with just one suffix in English -ly:
- loudly — loudly
- beautifully — beautifully
- politely — politely
We read further:
10 ways to tell an adjective from an adverb in English
What are the types of sentences in English
5 simple rules for word order in English
Adverb, know your place!
Source: https://skyeng.ru/articles/chto-vy-ne-znali-o-suffiksah-v-anglijskom
Formation of nouns in English: suffixes, prefixes, etc.
To do it right assignments 26 — 31 from section «Grammar and Vocabulary» on the Unified State Exam in English, You need to know the most used prefixes and suffixes of nouns.
I want to say right away that the article will be long, so be patient and read it to the end.
Helpful advice:
Be sure to learn all the words from this article, as they are selected from real assignments of past years, which were proposed for implementation on the exam in English.
Work separately with each block, spelling out the words, even if they seem familiar to you.
Remember that in assignments 26 — 31 along with your ability to form new words using various affixes, your spelling skills are assessed!
Education model: Verb + er = Noun
When adding a suffix — er to a verb or noun, a noun is formed, denoting a profession, occupation of a person, as well as the names of some objects:
To write — writer, to sing — singer, to drive — driver, to teach — teacher, to examine — examiner, to learn — learner, to build — builder, to loaf — loafer (quitter)
Trumpet — trumpeter (trumpeter), bank — banker (banker), finance — financier (financier)
To contain — container (container), to dust — duster (duster), to grate — grater (grater), to mix — mixer (mixer), to shake — shaker (shaker), to blend — blender (blender), to open — opener (can-opener)
Mince (minced meat) — mincer (meat grinder)
Exception: to lie (lie) — LIAR (liar / liar)
Education model:Verb + or = noun
When adding a suffix — or a noun denoting a profession, occupation of a person is formed to the verb (these are mainly nouns of Latin and French origin):
To act — actor (actor), to advise — advisor / —er (advisor, consultant), to animate — animator (animator), to conduct — conductor (conductor), to create — creator (creator), to decorate — decorator (decorator, painter, wallpaper passer), to direct — director (director, director), to educate — educator (teacher), to illustrate — illustrator (illustrator), to invent — inventor (inventor), to invest — investor (investor, contributor), to instruct — instructor (instructor), to translate — translator (translator), to sail — sailor (sailor), to visit — visitor (visitor), to conquer — coqueror (conqueror)
Here are some more nouns with the suffix —or, to remember:
doctor, professionalor, sculptureor, sponsor, ancestor (ancestor), tutor, mentor (mentor)
Education model: Noun + ist = Noun
When adding a suffix -ist a noun is formed to the noun, denoting a profession, occupation of a person:
art — art (artist), cello — cell (cellist), chemistry — chem (chemist, pharmacist), drama — dramat (playwright), ecology — ecolog (ecologist), economics — econom (economist), geology — geolog (geologist), genetics — genetic (geneticist), guitar — guitar (guitarist), journal — journal (journalist), medal — medal (medalist), meteorology — meteorolog (meteorologist), optimism — optim
Source: https://crownenglishclub.ru/dlya-nachinayushhih/obrazovanie-sushhestvitelnyh-v-anglijskom-yazyke-suffiksy-pristavki-i-dr.html
Plural in English — online lessons for beginners
Read the entire lesson and do a short, easy listening exercise (a translation is shown after each assignment). In the second block of the exercise, you will be asked to write the same phrases under dictation, so listen and read carefully the phrases that you compose in the first block.
Start exercise
In most cases, the plural in English is formed very simply — the ending “-s» or «-Is«, which read differently depending on the consonant in front of it — voiced or voiceless:
For words ending in «s, ss, ch, tch, x» (hissing or whistling sounds), the ending «-Is«, Which reads loudly [of].
In a side-by-side exercise (see the main exercise below), an English noun is shown; to see it in the plural, just click on the word.
In the lesson exercise, beginners will be able to compose phrases on their own — click on the English words to translate the phrase proposed in Russian. A few words that we will meet in the exercise:
- to want [that uOnt] — to want (the verb following the verb «to want» requires the use of a particle «to«- I want to help you — I want to help you) to have [tu hEv] — to have one [uan] — one
Features of the use of plural nouns
Grammatical addition: in English, the plural can be in «countable nouns«. There are a number of nouns that are used only in the singular (we emphasize, in English; the use of words in Russian and English can both coincide and diverge, but we need to get out of the habit of making comparisons with the native language, and plunge into the logic of English):
- money [mani] — money hair [hea] — hair advice [adv] — advice
A number of other nouns are used only in the plural form:
- glasses [glAsiz] — glassesgoods [goodz] — goods trousers [trauzez] — trousers people [people] — people (singular, but implies the plural)
A number of English nouns form the plural in a special way:
- man — men [men] — [men] — man / men, people woman — women [umen] — [wiming] — woman / women (we prepare the organs of speech for pronouncing [y], but immediately pronounce the next sound) child — children [child] — [chIldren] — child / children
A separate lesson will be devoted to these features of the plural in English; now it is important for beginners to remember the basic rule for the formation of the plural.
Plural adjectives
Adjectives in english do not change in the plural and do not change by gender:
- good guy [good boy] — good boy good boys [good boys] — good boys good girl [good girl] — good girl good girls [good girls] — good girls
A noun before another noun can act as an adjective; in this case, it is not used in the plural:
- life situations — life situations
▲ Start online exercise
Next: Articles A, AN, THE and a bit of TO. • Tutor: preparation for the exam and exam, passing international exams.
• «My day» / «Working day» / «My day off»
• TEST elementary / intermediate
Source: http://english.prolingvo.info/beginner/plural.php
Suffixes in English — how to spell English suffixes correctly? — SPEAK ENGLISH
English suffixes, like Russian ones, are the elements of a word following the root. They help us form new words. Some suffixes change the part of speech, for example, turning a verb into a noun. You should also not forget about those suffixes that, changing the form of a word, do not affect its very meaning.
If you have at least a little understanding of the suffixes table in English, then any word-formation «delights» in English will seem like child’s play.
Moreover, having understood the principles of constructing new words using prefixes and suffixes (by the way, prefixes are significantly inferior to suffixes in terms of flexibility and prevalence), a language learner can easily translate masculine nouns into feminine ones, form a nationality or profession.
It turns out that it is not at all necessary to set records for the number of words learned. Indeed, in English, as in Russian, there is the concept of «single-root words» that differ from each other only by suffixes and prefixes. Therefore, knowing, for example, the meaning of the verb paint (to paint, to paint), you will easily understand that a painter is an artist.
Word-building and form-building suffixes: differences
Some English suffixes are considered by Russian speakers as endings. For example, some English textbooks call the suffix -ed an ending. All Suffixes in English are divided into two large groups: form-building and word-building. Thanks to the first, the word does not change its meaning, only the form changes. Compare short and shorter.
Word-forming suffixes in English form a new word with a different meaning, albeit often similar to the meaning of the original word. For example, neighbor is a neighborhood.
Shaping suffixes in english
So, in English, unlike Russian, one word can take not so many forms. This is due to the fact that in English many grammatical meanings of a word, such as gender, verb tense, etc., are expressed not by the word itself, but by various auxiliary elements (articles, auxiliary verbs, etc.).
In Russian, an adjective alone (depending on case, number, gender) can have more than 20 forms. For example, beloved — beloved — beloved — beloved, etc. In English, the adjective favorite (beloved) may not change at all, but we can guess about its exact form from the context (environment): This is my favorite book (This is my favorite book) ).
— He is my favorite writer.
However, in some cases, English words do change shape. And for this, there are five formative suffixes in English that are important to remember: -ed, -est, -ing, -s (-es), -er.
Now it’s worth understanding English words that can take different forms. So, the English suffix -ed is needed in order to form the second and third forms of the regular verb. For example, finish is finished.
The suffixes -er and -est in English are used to form comparative forms of adjectives. We use these suffixes with short adjectives like close (close), big (big), etc. The suffix -er is used for the comparative form, and -est for the excellent one. For example, close — closer — closest.
Among English suffixes, -s and -es are widespread.
They apply in the following cases:
Source: https://ekaterina-alexeeva.ru/nachinayushhim/suffiksy-v-anglijskom-yazyke-kak-pravilno-pisat-anglijskie-suffiksy.html
Word formation. Noun suffixes in English (grade 9)
This is a lesson from the cycle «Word formation in English» and in it we will consider the common noun suffixes: -er / or, -tion, -ing, -ness, -ence / ance (5). Exercises on word formation of a noun will help you understand how nouns are formed in English using suffixes, as well as prepare for English exams in the form of the OGE and USE.
for posting on other Internet resources is prohibited. EnglishInn.ru.
Basic noun suffixes in English (grade 9)
Remember 5 main noun suffixes.
- er / or (worker)
- tion (informaproduction)
- ing (reading)
- ness (happyness)
- ence / ance (difference)
Next, let’s dwell in more detail on each of them.
1. Suffixes of nouns formed from a verb
- -er / or (doer suffix) dance — dancer work — workercollect — collector
invent — inventor
- -tion (process suffix) collect — collection
invent — invention
- -ingsuffer — suffering warn — warning
mean — meaning
Remember three suffixes -er (-or), -tion, -ing, with the help of which nouns are formed from the verb.
2. Suffixes of nouns formed from an adjective
- -nessill — illness
kind — kindness
- -ance / -ence (corresponding adjectives have suffixes: -ant / -ent) important — importance
different — difference
Remember two suffixes: -ness, -ence (ance), with the help of which nouns are formed from an adjective.
Suffixes of nouns in English. Exercises
Suffixes -ness & -tion Are the most common noun suffixes.
Exercise 1. Suffix -ness. Translate these nouns and indicate the adjectives from which they are derived.
foolishness, happiness, seriousness, illness, readiness, richness, strangeness, carelessness, whiteness, cleverness, greatness, brightness
Note.
Source: http://englishinn.ru/slovoobrazovanie-suffiksyi-sushhestvitelnyih-v-angliy.html
Methods of forming nouns in English
How to replenish vocabulary more than 3 times without memorizing? Adopt this method and — voila! Vocabulary enlarged before our eyes.
This method is word formation. How does this work for nouns?
Briefly — about the main thing Usually the topic is studied indefinitely. There is a more effective method: covering the entire «puzzle» at a time. Seeing a clear picture, you can easily refine the little things without negativity.
So, the formation of nouns in English assumes skills:
- convert a noun from a verb and vice versa;
- use affixes;
- put a different emphasis;
- replace the consonant at the root;
- form compound words.
Many do not assume how many words they ALREADY know. They simply do not know how to use this wealth competently.
Having learned 5 skills, you can refer to the dictionary just to check it.
1. Conversion
Nouns in English are related to verbs in an interesting way: they can be the same word. This method is called conversion… This is the first skill. Using it, it is easy to guess about the translation of 60% of English words. Moreover, verbs can be converted not only into nouns, but also into adjectives.
The examples below will help you understand the phenomenon of conversion.
Example: love = to love / love.
Verb convergent word noun
dream, dream | dream | dream |
call | name | name, title |
lift up | lift | lift, lift |
to send | ||
milk | milk | milk |
pour | water | water |
mind | mind | mind, opinion |
Many are embarrassed that in translation into Russian, both words are not the same root. But the language is different.
It’s funny, but the British created it for themselves! For native speakers, these are absolutely identical words: to milk — milk (milk), to name — name (name — name).
2. Affixation
This «scary» word means suffixes plus prefixes. All prefixes are of two types: negative and significant.
Acquaintance with negative ones has already taken place through borrowing: dysfunction, antispam, deflation. Significant — different in meaning, but amenable to logic.
Prefixes
2 groups of prefixes will allow you to find the meaning of a word by context without a dictionary. If you learn the meaning of each prefix separately, the brain starts to panic, it looks for the right algorithm. It takes time, and speech slows down.
And most importantly, the desire to study the language at all disappears.
Example: everyone knows the prefixes «dis-«, «de-«, «anti-«. But for some reason they do not notice them in English!
An important detail: most negative prefixes of nouns work with verbs.
Negative prefixes
Console | Examples |
anti- | Antistress, antipode, antispam. |
dis- | Disharmony, disqualification. |
de- | Depiction, departure. |
mis- | Misfortune, misunderstanding. |
as- | Sedition, separation. |
not- | Nonconformist, nonstop. |
Significant prefixes
Most are present in their native language, in borrowings.
You can check the skill of forming nouns in English using a dictionary, but after an independent attempt.
For example, form words: disqualification, pseudoscience, professional, extraordinary, hyperactive, and others. Such training is enjoyable and helps to understand the language.
Attachment type | Examples of prefixes |
involvement | Anti-, co-, con-, contra-, vice-. |
censures |
Source: https://www.study.ru/courses/elementary/obrazovanie-sushchestvitelnyh
Plural of Nouns
In English, everything countable nouns * used both in the singular and in the plural.
* Countable Nouns denote items that can be counted (one, two, three, four, five, etc.): one apple, two apples, three apples; one story, two stories, three stories.
Countable and uncountable nouns
The main way of forming the plural
In English, the plural of nouns is formed by attaching an ending -s (-es) to a noun in the singular:
a pen — pens (handle — handles)
a book — books (book — books)
a box — boxes (box — boxes)
Features of attaching the ending -s (-es)
If a noun ends in -s, -ss, -sh, -ch, -tch, -z, -x, then the ending is added -Is:
a bus — buses (bus — buses)
a glass — glasses (glass — glasses)
a bush — bushes (bush — bushes)
a bench — benches (bench — benches)
a match — Played (match — matches)
a fox — foxes (fox — foxes)
If a noun ends in consonant + y, then -y changes to i, and added -Is:
a baby — babies (baby — babies)
a story — stories (story — stories)
a city — cities (city — cities)
If a noun ends in vowel + y, then the ending is simply added -s:
a toy — toys (toy — toys)
a tray — trays (tray — trays)
a monkey — m (monkey — monkeys)
If a noun ends in -f or -faiththen -f changes to -v, and added -Is:
a leaf — leaves (leaf — leaves)
a thief — thieves (thief — thieves)
a wife — wives (wife — wives)
a knife — knives (knife — knives)
But in some cases, nouns ending in -f, the ending is simply added -s:
a roof — roofs (roof — roofs)
a cliff — cliffs (rock — rocks)
a chief — chiefs (leader — leaders)
a dwarf — dwarfs (gnome — gnomes)
If a noun ends in -o, then the ending is added -Is:
a tomato — tomatoes (tomato — tomatoes)
a hero — heroes (hero — heroes)
In some cases, for nouns ending in -o, the ending is added -s:
a photo — beautiful photos (photography — photographs)
a kilo — kilos (kilogram — kilograms)
a piano — pianos (piano — multiple pianos)
a radio — radios (radio — multiple radio)
a video — videos (video — several videos)
a studio — (studio — studios)
There are also nouns on -o, the plural of which can be formed by adding -s or -Is, while the -es form is used more often:
a memento — mementoes / mements (souvenir — souvenirs)
a mosquito — mosquitoes / Mosquitoes (mosquito — mosquitoes)
a tornado — tornadoes / torandos (hurricane — hurricanes)
a volcano — volcanoes / volcanoes (volcano — volcanoes)
a zero — zeoroes / zeroes (zero — zeros)
Special plural forms of nouns
There are nouns in English, the plural of which must be remembered:
a man [mæn] — men (man — men)
a woman [ˈwʊmən] — women [ˈWɪmɪn] (woman — women)
a child [tʃaɪld] — children [ˈTʃɪl.
drən] (child — children)
a tooth [tuːθ] — teeth [tiːθ] (tooth — teeth)
a foot [fʊt] — feet [fiːt] (foot — feet)
a mouse [maʊs] — mice [maɪs] (mouse — mice)
a goose [ɡuːs] — geese [ɡiːs] (goose — geese)
a louse [laʊs] — face [laɪs] (louse — lice)
an ox [ɒks] — oxen [ˈⱰksn] (bull — bulls)
Remember also nouns in which the plural form coincides with the singular form:
one deer — two deer (one deer — two deer)
one fish — two fish (one fish — two fish)
one sheep — two sheep (one ram — two rams)
one series — two series (one episode — two episodes)
one species — two species (one kind — two kinds)
one aircraft — two aircraft (one plane — two planes)
one spacecraft — two spacecraft (one spaceship — two spaceships)
one salmon — two salmon (one salmon — two salmon)
one cod — two code (one cod — two cod)
one moose — two mosses (one moose — two moose)
one means — two means (one remedy — two remedies)
one offspring — two Offspring (one offspring — two offspring)
Please note that the same noun can be either countable or uncountable, depending on its lexical meaning. For example, salmon (salmon) in the meaning of «kind of fish» is a countable noun, therefore, has the plural form:
I was very excited when I caught a salmon… — I was delighted when I caught the salmon.
I was very excited when I caught two salmon… — I was delighted when I caught two salmon.
Source: https://myefe.ru/reference/nouns/plurals
Adverb in English
An adverb is a word that defines the meaning of a verb, adjective, other adverb, or noun phrase. Most adverbs are formed by adding the suffix –ly to the adjective.
Rules for the formation of adverbs in English
1. To form an adverb in English from an adjective that ends in — l, you need to add the suffix –ly.
Example: careful-carefully.
2.Adjectives ending in — y, when forming an adverb in English, take the suffix — ily.
Will take: lucky-luckily.
3. The suffix Ble is changed to bly.
Example: responsible-responsibly.
Mode of action adverb
The adverb of the mode of action characterizes the verb. It describes the way in which an action is performed.
Example: She did the work carefully. Carefully characterizes the verb to describe the quality of the action.
Adverb of place or location
The adverb of place indicates where the action takes place.
Example: They live locally. (She lives in this area.)
Adverb of time
The adverb of time indicates when an action is performed or its duration, or how often this action is performed.
Example:
— He did it yesterday. (When) — He did it yesterday. (When)
— They are permanently busy. (Duration) — They are constantly busy. (Duration)
— She never does it. (Frequency) — She never does that. (How often)
Adverb of Degree in English
The degree adverb increases or decreases the effect of the verb.
Example: I completely agree with you. (I totally agree with you.) This increases the effect of the verb, while the adverb `partially` decreases it.
Adverbs characterizing adjectives
An adjective can be defined by an adverb. It usually comes before the adjective, with the exception of the adverb enough, which follows it.
Example:
— That`s really good. (This is really good.)
— It was a terribly difficult time for all of us. (It was a terribly difficult time for all of us.)
— It wasn`t good enough. (It wasn’t good enough.) The word enough follows the adjective.
Adverbs characterizing adverbs
An adverb can define another adverb. As with adjectives, the adverb comes before the adverb it defines, while enough is the exception.
Example:
— She did it really well. (She did it very well.)
— He didn`t come last night, funnily enough. (He didn’t show up last night, which is funny enough.)
Noun adverb
An adverb can characterize a noun to indicate a time or place.
Example:
— The concert tomorrow. (Tomorrow’s concert)
Source: http://www.the-world.ru/narechie
Ways of word formation in English
Learning English vocabulary is much easier if you understand how words are formed and what parts they consist of. Today we will look at the main ways of word formation in English. By understanding the basic principles and ways of forming words, you will not get lost in all the variety of English vocabulary.
1. Affixation
Affixation Is the formation of new words by adding prefixes and suffixes. In linguistics, prefixes and suffixes are called affixes, which is why this method of word formation bears this name. Affixation is the most common way to create new words.
Depending on what exactly is added to the word stem (prefix or suffix), prefix and suffix are distinguished. If both are added, then the method of formation is prefix-suffix.
The advantage of affixing is that suffixes and prefixes give us a lot of information about a word.
Suffixes indicate part of speech. If you carefully analyze English words, then you probably noticed that there are special suffixes for nouns, adjectives, adverbs, verbs, thanks to which you immediately determine which part of speech is in front of you. In addition, suffixes can give additional meanings to words. In this article, I will not dwell on the meanings of all suffixes, but I will give a few examples of how suffixes work in English:
teacher — suffix –Er indicates that the word is a noun, and also that it is the name of a profession or occupation
Beautiful — suffix –Ful indicates that the word is an adjective
Lucky — suffix –Ate also adjective suffix
fortunately — suffix –Ly indicates that the word is an adverb
information — suffix –Ation indicates that the word is a noun
informative — suffix –Ive indicates that this is an adjective
informatively — suffix –Ly indicates that the word is an adverb
stability — suffix –Ity indicates that the word is a noun
stabilizes — suffix –Ise indicates that we have a verb
Please note that not one, but two suffixes can be added to the stem, as, for example, when forming an adverb from an adjective that already has a suffix.
As for the prefixes, they do not change the part of speech, but affect the meaning of the word. For example, they make the word negative:
dishonest — dishonest
irrational — irrational
unimportant — unimportant
In addition to changing the sign from plus to minus, prefixes can give words a variety of shades of meaning. There are a lot of prefixes in English, each of them can be devoted to a separate article. Here I will give just a few examples to illustrate how the set-top boxes work:
prehistoric — prehistoric
overeat Overeat
replace — move
international — international
Knowing the meanings of prefixes and suffixes, you can increase your active and passive vocabulary. Firstly, you will be able to independently form new parts of speech, and change the meanings of words. And secondly, you will easily guess what the new words that you come across mean.
2. Composition
There are many so-called compounds in the English language. These words are formed by the fusion of two stems. A word constructed in this way takes on a new meaning. Many verbs, nouns, adjectives are formed by word composition:
hair + to cut = the haircut — a haircut
driving + license = a driving license — rights
baby + to sit = to babysit — look after the child
brain + to wash = to brainwash — brainwash
well + dressed = well-dressed — well dressed
green + eye = green-eyed — green-eyed
Some adverbs and pronouns are also formed in this way:
every + where = everywhere — everywhere, everywhere
any + time = anytime — Anytime
some+body= somebody — somebody
3. Conversion
Sometimes you know a word and you know it’s a verb. And suddenly you meet him again — and it is a noun. This is how it works conversion — the transition of a word from one part of speech to another. In this case, the spelling and pronunciation of the word does not change. This can be confusing, but the good news is that, although the meaning of a word changes with the transition, it still often remains close to the original word.
There are different types of conversion. The most common of these is the transition from noun to verb and from verb to noun:
an email — to email a host — to host a name — to name to call — a call to visit — a visit (to visit — visit)
to date — a date (to date — the one with whom you are dating: a guy or a girl)
Adjectives can be converted to verbs and nouns:
to empty — empty dry — to dry clean — to clean final — a final
rich — the rich
4. Changing stress
To my surprise, many have never heard of this word formation method and confuse it with conversion. Although some linguists consider it as an example of conversion, in order to avoid mistakes, it is more expedient to consider it separately.
When we perceive a word in a text, at first glance it seems that it simply «passed» into another part of speech, because it is written in the same way as the corresponding verb or noun.
However, not all so simple. Some words do not just convert, but also change the stress! Surprised? Let’s look at some examples, you may have mispronounced many of them:
to permit
Source: https://enginform.com/article/slovoobrazovanie-v-angliyskom
Words in English public website
Ling 216
Rice University
Prof. S. Kemmer
Types of Word Formation Processes
Compounding
Compounding forms a word out of two or more root morphemes. The words
are called compounds or compound words.
In Linguistics, compounds can be either native or borrowed.
Native English roots are
typically free morphemes, so that means native compounds are made out of
independent words that can occur by themselves. Examples:
mailman (composed of free root mail and free root man)
mail carrier
dog house
fireplace
fireplug (a regional word for ‘fire hydrant’)
fire hydrant
dry run
cupcake
cup holder
email
e-ticket
pick-up truck
talking-to
Some compounds have a preposition as one of the component words as in the
last 2 examples.
In Greek and Latin, in contrast to English, roots do not typically stand
alone. So compounds are composed of bound roots. Compounds formed in
English from borrowed Latin and Greek morphemes preserve this
characteristic. Examples include photograph,
iatrogenic, and many thousands of other classical words.
Note that compounds are written in various ways in English:
with a space between the elements; with a hyphen between the
elements; or simply with the two roots run together with no separation.
The way the word is written does not affect its status as a
compound. Over time, the convention for writing compounds can change,
usually in the direction from separate words (e.g. email used to be written with a hyphen.
In the 19th century, today and tomorrow were sometimes still written to-day and to-morrow. The to originally was the preposition to with an older meaning ‘at [a particular period of time]’.
Clock work changed
to clock-work and finally to one word with no break
(clockwork). If you read older literature you might see some
compound words that are now written as one word appearing
with unfamiliar spaces or hyphens between the components.
Another thing to note about compounds is that they can combine words
of different parts of speech. The list above shows mostly noun-noun
compounds, which is probably the most common part of speech
combination, but there are others, such as adjective-noun (dry
run, blackbird, hard drive), verb-noun (pick-pocket,
cut-purse, lick-spittle) and even verb-particle (where
‘particle’ means a word basically designating spatial expression that
functions to complete a literal or metaphorical path), as in
run-through, hold-over. Sometimes these compounds are
different in the part of speech of the whole compound vs. the part of
speech of its components. Note that the last two are actually nouns,
despite their components.
Some compounds have more than two component words. These are formed
by successively combining words into compounds, e.g. pick-up truck,
formed from pick-up and truck , where the first component,
pick-up is itself a compound formed from
pick and up. Other examples are ice-cream
cone, no-fault insurance and even more complex compounds like
top-rack dishwasher safe.
There are a number of subtypes of compounds that do not have to do
with part of speech, but rather the sound characteristics of the
words. These subtypes are not mutually exclusive.
Rhyming compounds (subtype of compounds)
These words are compounded from two rhyming words. Examples:
lovey-dovey
chiller-killer
There are words that are formally very similar to rhyming compounds,
but are not quite compounds in English because the second element is
not really a word—it is just a nonsense item added to a root word to
form a rhyme. Examples:
higgledy-piggledy
tootsie-wootsie
This formation
process is associated in English with child talk (and talk addressed
to children), technically called hypocoristic language. Examples:
bunnie-wunnie
Henny Penny
snuggly-wuggly
Georgie Porgie
Piggie-Wiggie
Another word type that looks a bit like rhyming compounds
comprises words that are formed of
two elements that almost match, but differ in their vowels.
Again, the second element is typically a nonsense form:
pitter-patter
zigzag
tick-tock
riffraff
flipflop
Derivation
Derivation is the creation of words by modification of a root without
the addition of other roots. Often the effect is a change in part of
speech.
Affixation (Subtype of Derivation)
The most common type of derivation is the addition of one or more affixes to a
root, as in the word derivation itself. This process is called
affixation, a term which covers both prefixation and suffixation.
Blending
Blending is one of the most beloved of word formation processes in
English. It is especially creative in that speakers take two words
and merge them based not on morpheme structure but on sound structure.
The resulting words are called blends.
Usually in word formation we combine roots or affixes along their
edges: one morpheme comes to an end before the next one starts. For example, we
form derivation out of the sequence of morphemes
de+riv+at(e)+ion. One morpheme follows the next and each one has
identifiable
boundaries. The morphemes do not overlap.
But in
blending, part of one word is stitched onto another word, without any
regard for where one morpheme ends and another begins. For example,
the word swooshtika ‘Nike swoosh as a logo symbolizing
corporate power and hegemony’
was formed from swoosh and swastika. The swoosh
part remains whole and recognizable in the blend, but the tika part is
not a morpheme, either in the word swastika or
in the blend. The blend is a perfect merger of form, and also of
content. The meaning contains an implicit analogy between the
swastika and the swoosh, and thus conceptually blends them into one
new kind of thing having properties of both, but also combined
properties of neither source. Other examples include glitterati (blending
glitter and literati) ‘Hollywood social set’, mockumentary (mock and
documentary) ‘spoof documentary’.
The earliest blends in English only go back to the 19th century, with
wordplay coinages by Lewis Carroll in Jabberwocky. For example, he
introduced to the language slithy, formed from lithe and
slimy, and galumph, (from gallop and
triumph. Interestingly galumph has survived as a word in
English, but it now seems to mean ‘walk in a stomping, ungainly way’.
Some blends that have been around for quite a while include brunch
(breakfast and lunch), motel (motor hotel), electrocute (electric and
execute), smog (smoke and
fog) and cheeseburger (cheese and hamburger).
These go back to the first half of the twentieth
century. Others, such as stagflation (stagnation and inflation),
spork (spoon and fork), and carjacking (car and hijacking) arose
since the 1970s.
Here are some more recent blends I have run across:
mocktail (mock and cocktail) ‘cocktail with no alcohol’
splog (spam and blog) ‘fake blog designed to attract hits and
raise Google-ranking’
Britpoperati (Britpop and literati) ‘those knowledgable about current British pop music’
Clipping
Clipping is a type of abbreviation of a word in which one part is
‘clipped’ off the rest, and the remaining word now means essentially the same
thing as what the whole word means or meant. For example, the word
rifle is a fairly modern clipping of an earlier compound
rifle gun, meaning a gun with a rifled barrel. (Rifled means
having a spiral groove causing the bullet to spin, and thus making it
more accurate.) Another clipping is burger, formed by clipping
off the beginning of the word hamburger. (This clipping could
only come about once hamburg+er was reanalyzed as ham+burger.)
Acronyms
Acronyms are formed by taking the initial letters of a phrase
and making a word out of it. Acronyms provide a way of turning a phrase into a word. The classical acronym is also
pronounced as a word. Scuba was formed
from self-contained underwater breathing apparatus. The
word snafu was originally WW2 army slang for Situation
Normal All Fucked Up. Acronyms were being used more and more by
military bureaucrats, and soldiers coined snafu in an
apparent parody of this overused device. Sometimes an acronym uses not just the first letter, but the first syllable of a component word, for example radar, RAdio Detection And Ranging and sonar, SOund Navigation and Ranging. Radar forms an analogical model for both sonar and lidar, a technology that measures distance to a target and and maps its surface by
bouncing a laser off it. There is some evidence that lidar was not coined as an acronym, but instead as a blend of light and radar. Based on the word itself, either etymology appears to work, so many speakers assume that lidar is an acronym rather than a blend.
A German example that strings together the initial syllables of the
words in the phrase, is Gestapo , from GEheime STAats POlizei
‘Sectret State Police’. Another is Stasi, from STAats
SIcherheit ‘State Security’.
Acronyms are a subtype of initialism. Initialisms also include words made from the initial letters of a Phrase but NOT pronounced as a normal word — it is instead pronounced as a string of letters. Organzation names aroften initialisms of his type. Examples:
NOW (National Organization of Women)
US or U.S., USA or U.S.A. (United States)
UN or U.N. (United Nations)
IMF (International Monetary Fund)
Some organizations ARE pronounced as a word:
UNICEF
MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving)
The last example incorporates a meaning into the word that fits the nature of the organization. Sometimes this type is called a Reverse Acronym or a Backronym.
These can be thought of as a special case of acronyms.
Memos, email, and text messaging (text-speak) are modes of communication
that give rise to both clippings and acronyms, since these
word formation methods are designed to abbreviate.
Some acronyms:
NB — Nota bene, literally ‘note well’. Used by scholars making notes
on texts. (A large number of other scholarly acronyms from Latin are
used, probably most invented in the medieval period or Renaissance,
not originally in Latin)
BRB — be right back (from 1980s, 90s)
FYI — for your information (from mid 20th century)
LOL — laughing
out loud (early 21st century) — now pronounced either /lol/ or /el o
el/; has spawned compounds like Lolcats).
ROFL — rolling on the floor laughing
ROFLMAO — rolling on the floor laughing my ass off
Reanalysis
Sometimes speakers unconsciously change the morphological boundaries of a word, creating a new morph or making an old one unrecognizable. This happened in hamburger, which was originally Hamburger steak ‘chopped and formed steak in the Hamburg style, then hamburger (hamburg + er), then ham + burger
Folk etymology
A popular idea of a word’s origin that is not in accordance with its real origin.
Many folk etymologies are cases of reanalysis in which the word is not only reanalysis but it changes under the influence of the new understanding of its morphemes. The result is that speakers think it has a different origin than it does.
Analogy
Sometimes speakers take an existing word as a model and form other words using some of its morphemes as a fixed part, and changing one of them to something new, with an analogically similar meaning. Cheeseburger was formed on the analogy of hamburger, replacing a perceived morpheme ham with cheese.
carjack and skyjack were also formed by analogy.
Novel creation
In novel creation, a speaker or writer forms a word without starting
from other morphemes. It is as if the word if formed out of ‘whole
cloth’, without reusing any parts.
Some examples of now-conventionalized words that were novel creations
include blimp, googol (the mathematical term),
bling, and possibly slang, which emerged in the last 200
years with no obvious etymology. Some novel creations seem to display
‘sound symbolism’, in which a word’s phonological form suggests its
meaning in some way. For example, the sound of the word bling
seems to evoke heavy jewelry making noise. Another novel creation whose sound seems
to relate to its meaning is badonkadonk, ‘female rear end’, a
reduplicated word which can remind English speakers of the repetitive
movement of the rear end while walking.
Creative respelling
Sometimes words are formed by simply changing the spelling of a word
that the speaker wants to relate to the new word. Product names
often involve creative respelling, such as Mr. Kleen.
© Suzanne Kemmer