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
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:
Verb
Noun
Pronoun
Adjective
Adverb
Prepositions
Conjunction
Interjection
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:
air
any
back
ball
room
day
earth
fire
grand
hand
home
land
light
news
rain
show
sand
some
time
water
wind
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.
Definitions of word form
-
noun
the phonological or orthographic sound or appearance of a word that can be used to describe or identify something
-
synonyms:
descriptor, form, signifier
see moresee less-
types:
- show 9 types…
- hide 9 types…
-
plural, plural form
the form of a word that is used to denote more than one
-
singular, singular form
the form of a word that is used to denote a singleton
-
ghost word
a word form that has entered the language through the perpetuation of an error
-
base, radical, root, root word, stem, theme
(linguistics) the form of a word after all affixes are removed
-
etymon, root
a simple form inferred as the common basis from which related words in several languages can be derived by linguistic processes
-
citation form, entry word, main entry word
the form of a word that heads a lexical entry and is alphabetized in a dictionary
-
abbreviation
a shortened form of a word or phrase
-
acronym
a word formed from the initial letters of the several words in the name
-
apocope
abbreviation of a word by omitting the final sound or sounds
-
type of:
-
word
a unit of language that native speakers can identify
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘word form’.
Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors.
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The ‘Word Formation Process’ is regarded as the branch of Morphology, and it has a significant role in expanding the vocabulary that helps us communicate very smoothly. The main objectives of the word-formation process are to form new words with the same root by deploying different rules or processes.
In other words, we can say that the word-formation process is a process in which new words are formed by modifying the existing terms or completely changing those words.
Let us see the fundamental word-formation processes in linguistics:
Derivation
‘Derivation’ is a significant word-formation process that attaches derivation affixes to the main form to create a new word. Affixes (prefixes or suffixes) are regarded as bound morphemes.
A morpheme is the smallest meaningful syntactical or grammar unit of a language that cannot be divided without changing its meaning. In contrast to the free morpheme, a bound morpheme doesn’t have any independent meaning, and it needs the help of a free morpheme to form a new word.
Let us see some examples of derivation in the below table:
Base Forms | New Words |
Appear | Disappear |
Justice | Injustice |
Lighten | Enlighten |
Friend | Friendship |
Happy | Happiness |
Back Formation
‘Back-Formation’ is a word-formation process that eliminates the actual derivational affix from the main form to create a new word. However, Back-Formation is contrary to derivation in terms of forming new words. Let us see some examples of Back-Formation in the below table:
Base Forms | Back Formation |
Insertion | Insert |
Donation | Donate |
Precession | Process |
Obsessive | Obsess |
Resurrection | Resurrect |
Conversion
In conversion, a word of one grammatical form converts into another without changing spelling or pronunciation. For example, the term ‘Google’ originated as a noun before the verb.
A few years ago, we only used the term as a noun (search it on Google), but now we say ‘Google it. Let us see some examples of conversion in the below table:
Noun | To Verb |
Access | – to access |
– to google | |
– to email | |
Name | – to name |
Host | – to host |
Verb | To Noun |
To hope | Hope |
To cover | Cover |
To increase | Increase |
To attack | Attack |
Compounding
‘Compounding’ is a word-formation process that allows words to combine to make a new word. Compounding words can be formed as two words joined with a hyphen. Let us see some examples in the below table:
Words | Compounding Words |
Class+room | Classroom |
Note+book | Notebook |
Break+up | Breakup |
Brother+in+law | Brother in law |
High+light | Highlight |
Clipping
‘Clipping’ is another essential word-formation process that reduces or shortens a word without changing the exact meaning. In contrast to the back-formation process, it reserves the original meaning.
Clipping is divided into four types. They are:
- Back Clipping
- Fore Clipping
- Middle Clipping
- Complex Clipping
Every Clipping has different roles in words when they are assigned. Back Clipping removes the end part of a word; Fore Clipping removes the beginning part of a word; Middle Clipping reserves the middle position. Finally, Complex Clipping removes multiple pieces from multiple words.
Let us see some examples in the below table:
Words | Clippings |
Advertisement | Ad |
Photograph | Photo |
Telephone | Phone |
Influenza | Flue |
Cabletelegram | Cablegram |
Blending
In the ‘Blending’ word-formation method, the parts of two or more words combine to form a new word. Let us see some examples in the below table:
Words | Blendings |
Breakfast+lunch | Brunch |
Biographical+picture | Biopic |
Motor+hotel | Motel |
Spanish+English | Spanglish |
Telephone+marathon | Telethon |
Abbreviation
‘Abbreviation’ is another famous and widely used word-formation method used to shorten a word or phrase. In the modern era, ‘Abbreviation is becoming more popular. Nowadays, people used to use it everywhere. Let us see some examples in the below table:
Words/Phrases | Abbreviation |
Junior | Jr. |
Mister | Mr. |
Mistress | Miss. |
Doctor | Dr. |
Department | Dept. |
Bachelor of Arts | B.A. |
Master of Arts | M.A. |
Master of Business Administration | MBA |
Acronyms
An Acronym is a popular word-formation process in which an initialism is pronounced as a word. It forms from the first letter of each word in a phrase, and the newly formed letters create a new word that helps us speedy communication. For example, ‘PIN’ is an initialism for Personal Identification Number used as the word ‘pin.’
However, let us see some other famous examples of acronyms in the below table for a better understanding:
Acronyms | Words/Phrases |
HIV | Human Immunodeficiency Virus |
AIDS | Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome |
NASA | National Aeronautics and Space Administration |
ASAP | As Soon As Possible |
AWOL | Absent Without Leave |
Borrowing
‘Borrowing’ is another word-formation process in which a word from one language is borrowed directly into another language. Let us see some English words which are borrowed from another language:
Algebra | Arabic |
Cherub | Hebrew |
Murder | French |
Pizza | Italian |
Tamale | Spanish |
Conclusion
Now we know that Word-Formation Processes are the methods by which words are formed by deploying different types of rules. We can create new words by following the above word-formation methods.
We need to do one thing: we have to follow the fundamental rules or processes of word formation.
Azizul Hakim is the founder & CEO of englishfinders.com. He is a passionate writer, English instructor, and content creator. He has completed his graduation and post-graduation in English language and literature.
Sometimes, it can be really difficult to remember how to use words which have similar meanings but different forms. For example:
Difficult — adjective — not easy to do. E.g. «That test was really difficult.»
Difficulty — noun — the fact or condition of being difficult. E.g. «You can decide the level of difficulty when you play this game.»
In the following sentences, which form of the missing word do you think you need?
Lesson by Caroline
Want more? Try this lesson: Learn word forms!
- 1. It is always ___ to make sure all the children eat properly.
A. necessary (adjective)
B. necessity (noun) - 2. ___, I would eat cereal for breakfast, but today I had toast.
B. ordinarily (adverb)
A. ordinary (adjective) - 3. My brother is so ___, he never tells me anything.
A. secret (noun)
B. secretive (adjective) - 4. I really ___ with my students. I know how hard it can be to be away from your parents.
B. sympathy (noun)
A. sympathise (verb) - 5. Having a house in the country can be ___, because it is difficult to get anywhere.
B. problem (noun)
A. problematic (adjective) - 6. Anna is so ___, her life is like a soap opera.
B. dramatic (adjective)
A. drama (noun) - 7. I think Nelson Mandela is such an ___.
A. inspiring (adjective)
B. inspiration (noun) - 8. Please put the plates back ___.
A. carefully (adverb)
B. careful (adjective) - 9. Did he ___ well to the medicine?
B. react (verb)
A. reaction (noun) - 10. Please could you ___ this sentence for me?
A. translation (noun)
B. translate (verb)
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Word formation
Nowadays, the terms ‘word formation’ does not have a clear cut, universally accepted usage. It is sometimes referred to all processes connected with changing the form of the word by, for example, affixation, which is a matter of morphology. In linguistics, morphology is the study of words, how they are formed, and their relationship to other words in the same language. It analyzes the structure of words and parts of words, such as stems, root words, prefixes, and suffixes. In its wider sense word formation denotes the processes of creation of new vocabulary units. There are numerous word formation processes.
Clipping
Clipping is the word formation process which consists in the reduction of a word to one of its parts (Marchand: 1969). Clippings are, also, known as “shortenings.”Clipping mainly consists of the following types:
- Back clipping b. Fore-clipping c. Middle clipping d. Complex clipping
Back clipping
Back clipping or apocopation is the most common type, in which the beginning is retained. The unclipped original may be either a simple or a composite. For example: ad (advertisement), cable (cablegram), doc(doctor), exam (examination), gas (gasoline), math (mathematics), memo(memorandum), gym (gymnastics, gymnasium) mutt (muttonhead), pub(public house), pop (popular concert), trad (traditional jazz), fax(facsimile).
Fore-clipping
Fore-clipping or aphaeresis retains the final part. For Example: phone(telephone), varsity (university), chute (parachute), coon (raccoon), gator(alligator), pike (turnpike).
Middle clipping
In middle clipping or syncope, the middle of the word is retained. For Example: flu (influenza), tec (detective), polly (apollinaris), jams (pyjamas), shrink (head-shrinker).
Complex clipping
Clipped forms are also used in compounds. One part of the original compound most often remains intact. For examples are: cablegram (cabletelegram), op art (optical art), org-man (organization man)
Sometimes both halves of a compound are clipped as in navicert (navigation certificate). In these cases it is difficult to know whether the resultant formation should be treated as a clipping or as a blend, for the border between the two types is not always clear.
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
- laboratory – lab
- mathematics – math
- memorandum – memo
- photograph – photo
- public house – pub
- raccoon – coon
- reputation – rep
- situation comedy – sitcom
- telephone – phone
Types of clipping
There are four types of clipping:
Back clipping
In this type the beginning is retained:
Examples:
ad = advertisement
cable = cablegram
doc = doctor
exam = examination
fax = facsimile
gas = gasoline
gym = gymnastics, gymnasium
memo = memorandum
pub = public house
pop = popular music
Fore-clipping
The final part is retained:
Examples:
chute = parachute
coon = raccoon
gator = alligator
phone = telephone
Middle clipping
The middle part is retained.
Example:
flu = influenza
fridge = refrigerator
Complex clipping
Clipping may also occur in compounds. In complex clipping, one part of the original compound most often remains intact. But sometimes both halves of a compound are clipped:
Examples:
cablegram= cable telegram
op art = optical art
org-man= organization man
linocut = linoleum cut
navicert = navigation certificate
sitcom = situation comedy
When both halves are clipped, as in navicert, it becomes confusing whether to consider the resultant formation as clipping or as blending.
Clipped forms, shortened abbreviations of words, have a checkered history. Some are acceptable in formal writing, and others aren’t. When writing in academic contexts, in business writing, or another formal environment, take note of the status of these common clipped forms:
- Burger: If ever a reference to this fast food staple makes its way into formal writing, the short form of hamburgeris just as likely to appear as the long form.
- Bus: Omnibus(Latin for “all”), a word for a horse-drawn public-transportation conveyance, gave the right of way to its short form around the time such vehicles became motorized.
- Copter: The full form, helicopter, is best for formal writing.
- Deli: Though this word has been in use for at least a half century, delicatessen, from the German word for “delicacies,” is best for formal usage.
- Exam: Examinationwas clipped back in the late 1800s and has long since been used even in formal writing.
- Flu: The short form of influenza(Italian for “influence,” from the medieval supposition that illness was the result of celestial perturbations) is several hundred years old and has long been acceptable even in formal medical texts.
- Fridge: This term, unusual not only in that the full form, refrigerator, has been clipped at both ends but also in that the spelling has been altered to reflect the pronunciation, is suitable for informal writing only.
- Gas: Gasolineis much more likely to appear in formal writing than its clipped form.
- Gator: This clipped form of alligator, in spite of its nearly 200-year-old tenure in the English language, is considered slang.
- Gym: Most formal references to a school building for athletic activities will use the full form, gymnasium,
- Memo: So pervasive is this clipped form of memorandumthat many people may not even know its origins. (The full word ultimately derives from the Latin for “memory.”)
- Movie: Even more taken for granted than memo is this diminutive form of “moving picture,” which, if you step back from it, may appear silly looking and juvenile. Formal writing often refers to the medium as film or cinema, but movieis also acceptable.
- Phone: The original term, telephone, is still often used in formal writing, but the clipped form is just as likely to be used.
- Plane: Plane has become as acceptable as airplanein formal writing.
- Pro: Professional, the full form, is the preferred usage in formal contexts.
- Quake: This clipped form of earthquakeis, despite long usage, still considered informal.
- Tie: The full form, necktie, is all but obsolete. (Perhaps the clothing accessory will be, too, before long.)
- Typo: This slang for “typographical error” is over a century old but is still considered substandard usage.
Some more examples:
auto – automobile | mike – microphone |
bike – bicycle | mum – chrysanthemum |
burger – hamburger | pen – penitentiary |
co-op – cooperative | champ – champion |
con – convict | pike – turnpike |
cuke – cucumber | rev – revolution |
dorm – dormitory | rhino – rhinoceros |
ref – referee | specs – spectacles; specifications |
stats – statistics | stereo – stereophonics |
lunch – luncheon | sub – submarine |
grad – graduate | taxi – taxicab |
tux – tuxedo | teen – teenager |
hippo – hippopotamus | van – caravan |
limo – limousine | vet – veteran; veterinarian |
alum – alumni | bro – brother |
mart market |
Clipped Words Used in Sentences
advertisement | ad |
All company’s spend a lot of money on ads |
hamburger | burger |
Burger does not suit old people |
omnibus | bus |
The tourist bus broke down near Paris |
helicopter | copter |
The copter forces landed in the disturbed areas to stem the communal violence |
demonstration | demo |
BPL company conducted a demo at Paris corner of easy washing |
ampere | amp |
It is an 40 amp bulb |
motor bike | bike |
Ajith had just brought a very expensive bike. |
suitcase | case |
There are bundles of currency notes inside the case. |
pressure cooker | cooker |
Cookers are now available for even $20/- |
discotheque | disco |
Disco is not a part of Italian culture |
diskette | disc |
I saved all the word documents in a Compact disc |
gasoline | gas |
Gas has become an expensive fuel for low income group families. |
bridegroom | groom |
Groom is wanted for a 22 year old Cristian community girl drawing $8000/-PM in an MNC. |
gymnasium | gym |
My uncle goes to the gym early morning. |
killogram | kilo |
Get me a kilo of mangoes. |
memorandum | memo |
The managing director issued a memo to the head clerk. |
micro phone | mic |
This mic doesn’t work properly. |
non-vegetarian | non-veg |
He is a non-veg. |
spectacles | specs |
She cannot read without specs. |
storehouse | store |
Jems works in a store. |
fountain pen | pen |
Pen is mightier than sward |
perambulator | param |
The mother took the child out in a param. |
university | varsity |
London varsity has renovated its auditorium |
vegetarian | veg |
She regularly eats her dinner in a veg mess. |
veterinary surgeon | vet |
I took my cat to the vet. |
fascimile | Fax |
I got a fax copy of the conference notice yesterday. |
handkerchief | karchief |
I have lost my karchief yesterday. |
aeroplane | plane |
Sarah was excited as she was to travel by plane for the first time. |
laboratory | lab |
This college has five labs. |
refrigerator | fridge |
Having firdge is not a luxury but a necessity. |
pantaloons | pants |
The clown at the circus wore a very loose pants. |
tubelight | tube |
The tube of our hall didn’t work from yesterday. |
mathematics | maths |
She is our maths teacher. |
centum | cent |
We have been living in the 21st cent. |
bicycle | cycle |
David presented a cycle to John on his birthday. |
alchemist | chemist |
We have a chemist on the corner of our street. |
influenza | flu |
I was suffering from flu. |
examination | exam |
She is preparing for her exam. |
luncheon | lunch |
I invited my close friends for lunch. |
photograph | photo |
My friend got my photo to keep it with herself. |
signature | sign |
Akbar’s sign is totally illegible. |
newscast | news |
Every day I watch news in the TV. |
telephone | phone |
I contacted him over phone. |
mummy | mum |
Where is your mum? |
daddy | dad |
Where does your dad work? |
identity | ID |
Please, show me your ID. |
curiosity | curio |
We visited a curio shop. |
demarcate | mark |
They marked the boundaries. |
tram car | tram |
We travelled in a tram in London. |
public house | pub |
The couple were found in a local pub. |
fanatic | fan |
He is a fan of Arnold Schwarzenegger. |
telephone | phone |
Our Principal contacted the chief guest over the phone. |
taxicab | taxi |
I hired a taxi to go home. |
topbrass | brass |
The meeting was attended by diplomats and the top military brass. |
newsflash | flash |
We interrupt this programme to bring you a flash. |
okay | ok |
Did the head office ok the proposal? |
rehabilitate | rehab |
Lora saved all her money in order to send her husband for a rehab programme. |
popmusic | pop |
Michael Jackson is the king of pop. |
pathway | path |
The tourist chose the wrong path when they went for sight-seeing. |
hitchhike | hitch |
Can you give me a hitch till Mount Road? |
zoological park | zoo |
The little children love to visit a zoo. |
Clip Word |
Original Word |
Clip Word |
Original Word |
wig | periwig | margarine | oleomargarine |
lube | lubricate | mend | amend |
miss | mistress | pants | pantaloons |
mod | modern | bust | burst |
caf | cafeteria | pen | penitentiary |
calc | calculus | pep | pepper |
canter | Canterbury gallop | perk | percolate |
cent | centum | perk | perquisite |
chem | chemistry | photo | photograph |
chemist | alchemist | pike | turnpike |
clerk | cleric | pop | popular |
coed | coeducational student | prof | professor |
curio | curiosity | prom | promenade |
deb | debutante | cab | cabriolet |
deli | delicatessen | doc | doctor |
drape | drapery | rev | revolution |
exam | examination | scram | scramble |
fan | fanatic | sport | disport |
gab | gabble | still | distill |
tails | coattails | sub | submarine |
hack | hackney | trig | trigonometry |
iron | flatiron | trump | triumph |
jet | jet aircraft | varsity | university |
pianoforte | piano | public house | pub |
Acronyms
Acronyms and initialisms are abbreviations, such as NATO, LASER, and IBM that are formed using the initial letters of words or word parts in a phrase or name. Acronyms and initialisms are usually pronounced in a way that is distinct from that of the full forms for which they stand: as the names of the individual letters (as in IBM), as a word (as in NATO), or as a combination (as in IUPAC). Another term, alphabetism, is sometimes used to describe abbreviations pronounced as the names of letters.
Categories of acronyms
- Pronounced as a word, containing only initial letters: FNMA: (Fannie Mae) Federal National Mortgage Association, NATO: North Atlantic Treaty Organisation
- Pronounced as a word, containing non-initial letters: Amphetamine: Alpha-methyl-phenethylamine ,Gestapo: GeheimeStaatspolizei (“secret state police”)
- pronounced only as the names of letters: BBC: British Broadcasting Corporation, DNA: deoxyribonucleic acid
- shortcut incorporated into name: W3C: (double-u three cee)- World Wide Web Consortium, W3M: (three em) originally Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company
- Recursive acronyms, in which the abbreviation itself is the expansion of one initial (particularly enjoyed by the open-source community): VISA: VISA International Service Association, GNU: GNU’s Not Unix!
- pseudo-acronyms are used because, when pronounced as intended, they resemble the sounds of other words: ICQ: “I seek you” , IOU: “I owe you“
- multi-layered acronyms: GAIM: GTK+ AOL Instant Messenger, i.e. GIMP Tool Kit America OnLine Instant Messenger, i.e. GNU Image Manipulation Program Tool Kit America OnLine Instant Messenger, i.e. GNU’s Not Unix Image Manipulation Program Tool Kit America OnLine Instant Messenger, VHDL: VHSIC Hardware Description Language, i.e. Very High Speed Integrated Circuits Hardware Description Language
What Is the Difference Between an Abbreviation and an Acronym?
Abbreviations and acronyms are shortened forms of words or phrases. An abbreviation is typically a shortened form of words used to represent the whole (such as Dr. or Prof.) while an acronym contains a set of initial letters from a phrase that usually form another word (such as radar or scuba).
Abbreviations and acronyms are often interchanged, yet the two are quite distinct. The main point of reference is that abbreviations are merely a series of letters while acronyms form new words.
Each one allows writers to make large blocks of text easier to read. Beware that both abbreviations and acronyms are typically considered informal and should be carefully considered before including them in more formal writings.
Abbreviations or Acronyms
There’s a great deal of overlap between abbreviations and acronyms. It’s worth pointing out that an acronym is a type of abbreviation because acronyms are shortened forms of words and phrases.
Abbreviations
Let’s take a closer look at abbreviations. As we know, an abbreviation is a shortened form of a word or phrase, such as Mr. for Mister, or hr. for hour that is still said as the full word or words.
There are millions of common abbreviations used every day. Let’s take a look at some of the popular ones we see and/or use almost daily.
- When you write your address, you likely write “St.” or “Ave.” instead of “Street” or “Avenue”.
- When you record the date, you likely abbreviate both the days of the week (Mon., Tues., Wed., Thurs., Fri., Sat., and Sun.) and the months of the year (Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec.).
- Often, we use the abbreviation “Ex.” for the word “example”.
- Measurements are commonly reduced to abbreviations such as “cm” for “centimeters” or “in.” for “inch”.
- How about “vs.”? That’s another popular abbreviation, shortened from the word “versus”.
Tightening “December” to “Dec.” is an abbreviation because “Dec.”is simply a written shorthand for the full word. It’s not an acronym since “Dec.” isn’t said as a word.
You may have wondered why some abbreviations, like those for ounce (oz) and pound (lb) use letters that aren’t part of the original word. In these cases the abbreviations are based on older forms of the word.
Acronyms
An acronym, technically, must spell out another word. This is a good point of reference to help you distinguish between abbreviations and acronyms. Another good way to differentiate them is that acronyms don’t just shorten words, they often simplify a long organization name, scientific term or idea.
Some acronyms create new words that are so commonly used, we forget they’re actually a series of letters from a longer word or phrase. For example, when we go scuba diving, we rarely consider the fact that scuba is an acronym of self-contained underwater breathing apparatus.
Then there are initialisms which cause some confusion. Would you consider “VIP” to be an acronym? Technically, it’s an initialism. Initialisms are a series of initial letters of words or a phrase that form an abbreviation but aren’t pronounced as a word. We enunciate each letter.
NBA is another initialism. How about when you text “rofl”? That’s another initialism, as is “BLT”. Many consider initialisms to be a subset of acronyms-therefore whether you pronounce ASAP as a word or enunciate each letter, it’s still an acronym-but be aware that others say it is another form of abbreviation.
Like abbreviations, acronyms and initialisms are used daily and most people can interpret the meaning of common acronyms without much thought.
Let’s test our knowledge with a few more examples:
Acronyms (form new words) | Initialisms (pronounce each letter) |
radar (radio detection and ranging) | ATM (automated teller machine) |
scuba (self-contained underwater breathing apparatus) | NFL (National Football League) |
NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) | FAQ (frequently asked questions) |
laser (light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation) | brb (be right back) |
POTUS (President of the United States) | idk (I don’t know) |
gif (graphics interchange format) | a/c (air conditioning) |
SIM card (subscriber identification module) | aka (also known as) |
ZIP code (zone improvement plan) | fyi (for your information) |
AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) | lcd (liquid crystal display) |
taser (Thomas A. Swift’s Electric Rifle) | ufo (unidentified flying object) |
Keep it Short
Abbreviations and acronyms are shortened versions of words and phrases that help speed up our communication. Initialisms act in the same way. Before you use any type of abbreviation consider your audience; are you writing something formal or informal? Will everyone understand the meaning of your abbreviated word or letters? If you need to explain the abbreviation, write out the word or phrase in full first followed by the abbreviation in parentheses.
Blending:
A blend is a word formed from parts of two other words. These parts are sometimes, but not always, morphemes. A blend is different from a portmanteau word in that a portmanteau refers strictly to a blending of two function words, similar to a contraction.
Formation of Blendings: Most blends are formed by one of the following methods:
- The beginning of one word is added to the end of the other. For Example: brunch (breakfast and lunch).
- The beginnings of two words are combined. For Example: cyborg (cybernetic and organism)
- One complete word is combined with part of another word. For Example: guesstimate (guess and estimate)
- Two words are blended around a common sequence of sounds. For Example: Californication (from a song by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, is a blend of California and fornication)
- Multiple sounds from two component words are blended, while mostly preserving the sounds’ order. Poet Lewis Carroll was well known for these kinds of blends. This method is difficult to achieve and is considered a sign of Carroll’s verbal wit. For Example: slithy (lithe and slimy).
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. For example:
- 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
- afterthoughtful (afterthought + thoughtful)
- agitprop (agitation + propaganda)
- alcopop (alcohol + pop)
- bash (bat + mash)
- Breathalyzer (breath + analyzer)
- camcorder (camera + recorder)
- clash (clap + crash)
- docudrama (documentary + drama)
- electrocute (electricity + execute)
- emoticon (emote + icon)
- faction (fact + fiction)
- fanzine {fan + magazine)
- flare (flame + glare)
- flirtationship (flirting + relationship)
- glimmer (gleam + shimmer)
- guitarthritis (guitar + arthritis)
- infotainment (information + entertainment)
- Jazzercize (jazz + exercise)
- moped (motor + pedal)
- motorcade (motor + cavalcade)
- palimony (pal + alimony)
- pulsar (pulse + quasar)
- slanguage (slang + language)
- smash (smack + mash)
- splatter (splash + spatter)
- sportscast (sports + broadcast)
- squiggle (squirm + wriggle)
- stagflation (stagnation + inflation)
- staycation (stay home + vacation)
- telegenic (television + photogenic)
- textpectation (text message + expectation)
- transistor (transfer + resistor)
- twirl (twist + whirl)
- workaholic (work + alcoholic)
- simulcast (simultaneous + broadcast)
- smog (smoke + fog)
- ginormous (giant + enormous)
- internet (international + network)
- because (by + cause)
- emoticon (emotion + icon)
- spanglish (spanish + english)
- smassy (smart + sassy)
- malware (malicious + software)
- pixel (picture + element)
- bash (bang + smash)
- oxbridge (oxford + cambridge)
- cellophane (cellulose + diaphane)
- televangelist (television + evangelist)
- slithy (lithe + slimy)
- email (electronic + mail)
- bionic (biology + electronic)
Borrowing
Borrowing is just taking a word from another language. The borrowed words are called loan words. A loanword (or loan word) is a word directly taken into one language from another with little or no translation. By contrast, a calque or loan translation is a related concept whereby it is the meaning or idiom that is borrowed rather than the lexical item itself. The word loanword is itself a calque of the German Lehnwort. Loanwords can also be called “borrowings”.
Great number of English words have been borrowed from other languages. These are sometimes referred to as loanwords.
Examples: algebra – Arabic, bagel – Yiddish, cherub – Hebrew, chow mein – Chinese, fjord – Norwegian, galore – Irish, haiku – Japanese, kielbasa – Polish, murder – French, near – Sanskrit, paprika – Hungarian, pizza – Italian, smorgasbord – Swedish, tamale – Spanish, yo-yo – Tagalog
Loanwords
English has many loanwords. In 1973, a computerized survey of about 80,000 words in the old Shorter Oxford Dictionary (3rd edition) was published in Ordered Profusion by Thomas Finkenstaedt and Dieter Wolff. Their estimates for the origin of English words were as follows:
- French, including Old French and early Anglo-French: 28.3%
- Latin, including modern scientific and technical Latin: 28.24%
- Germanic languages, including Old and Middle English: 25%
- Greek: 5.32% •No etymology given or unknown: 4.03%
- Derived from proper names: 3.28%
- All other languages contributed less than 1%
However, if the frequency of use of words is considered, words from Old and Middle English occupy the vast majority. Examples: Biology, boxer, ozone from German Jacket, yoghurt, kiosh from Turkish Pistol, robot from Czech
Coinage
Coinage is the invention of totally new words. The typical process of coinage usually involves the extension of a product name from a specific reference to a more general one. For example: Kleenex, Xerox, and Kodak. These started as names of specific products, but now they are used as the generic names for different brands of these types of products.
Coinages are words invented by accident or intentionally mainly from no evident source. It should be pointed out that many coinages have come into existence by using brand names instead of the object being referred to. It is common that coinages are regularly called neologisms.
Example: aspirin, escalator, heroin, band-aid, factoid, Frisbee, Google, kerosene, Kleenex, Laundromat, linoleum, muggle, nylon, psychedelic, quark, Xerox, zipper, coalgate
Derivation
In linguistics, derivation is the process of forming a new word on the basis of an existing word. Example: happi-ness and un-happy from happy, or determination from determine. Derivation is the process of forming a new words by means of Affixation (Prefix, Infix and Suffix)
A derivational suffix usually applies to words of one syntactic category and changes them into words of another syntactic category. For example: the English derivational suffix -ly changes adjectives into adverbs (slow → slowly). Examples of English derivational patterns and their suffixes: adjective-to-noun: -ness (slow → slowness) adjective-to-verb: -ise (modern → modernise) in British English or – ize (archaic → archaicize) in American English and Oxford spelling adjective-to-adjective: -ish (red → reddish) adjective-to-adverb: -ly (personal → personally) noun-to-adjective: -al (recreation → recreational) noun-to-verb: -fy (glory → glorify) verb-to-adjective: -able (drink → drinkable) verb-to-noun (abstract): -ance (deliver → deliverance) verb-to-noun (concrete): -er (write → writer)
Compounding
A compound is a lexeme (a word) that consists of more than one other lexeme. It can be categorized in to two i.e. endocentric and exocentric.
An endocentric compound consists of a head, i.e. the categorical part that contains the basic meaning of the whole compound, and modifiers, which restrict this meaning. For example: The English compound doghouse, where house is the head and dog is the modifier, is understood as a house intended for a dog. Endocentric compounds tend to be of the same part of speech (word class) as their head, as in the case of doghouse.
Exocentric compounds do not have a head, and their meaning often cannot be transparently guessed from its constituent parts. For example: The English compound white-collar is neither a kind of collar nor a white thing. In an exocentric compound, the word class is determined lexically, disregarding the class of the constituents. For example: a must-have is not a verb but a noun.
English language allows several types of combinations of different word classes: N + N — lipstick , teapot, A + N — fast food, soft drink ,V + N — breakfast, sky-dive, N + V — sunshine, babysit, N + A –capital-intensive, waterproof, A + A —deaf-mute, bitter-sweet.
Creative respelling:
Creative Respelling is a word formation that employs the strategy of altering letter(s) of a word. The word formed so is an example of Creative respelling. It is a deliberate attempt creating misspelled word. Examples are nite (night), thanx (thanks), lite (light) etc.
Change of spelling is often used in commercials and slogans. For example Kleenex tissues, Mortal Kombat (game), Qwikster (movie-by-mail service). Misspelling quite often gives rise to brand names.
Sometimes words are formed by simply changing the spelling of a word that the speaker wants to relate to the new word. Brand or Product names often involve creative respelling, such as Mr. Kleen or Krunch.
Exercise: PROCESSES OF WORD FORMATION
1.Compounding
Compounding is simply the joining of two or more words into a single word, as in hang glider, airstrip, cornflakes, busybody, downpour, cutoff, skywarn, alongside, breakfast, long-haired, devil-may-care, high school.
2. Derivation
Derivation is the forming of new words by combining derivational affixes or bound bases with existing words, as in disadvise, emplane, deplane, teleplay, ecosystem, coachdom, counsellorship, re-ask.
I. Indicate by the first letter the process of formation represented by each of the words below.
Compounding derivation
- roughneck _ 6. pop _
- codgerhood _ 7. cream puff _
- clink (of glasses) _ 8. wheeze _
- doodad _ 9. weirdoism _
- dacron _ 10. exflux _
3. Clipping
Clipping means cutting off the beginning or the end of a word, or both, leaving a part to stand for the whole: lab, dorm, prof, exam, gym, prom, math, psych, mike…
II Give the original words from which these clipped words were formed.
- curio __________
- disco __________ 10. memo __________
- taxi __________ 11. Fred __________
- cab __________ 12. Al __________
- deli __________ 13. Tom __________
- vibes __________ 14. Joe __________
- gin __________ 15. Phil __________
- hype __________
III Give the original words from which these clipped words were formed.
- sport (game) __________ 6. wig __________
- pike (road) __________ 7. cute __________
- bus __________ 8. Gene __________
- van __________ 9. Beth __________
- chute __________ 10. Tony __________
Clipped words are formed not only from individual words but from grammatical units, such as modifier plus noun. Paratrooper, for example, is a clipped form of parachutist trooper.
IV Give the originals of these clipped words.
- Amerindian ____________________
- maître d’ ____________________
- contrail ____________________
- taxicab ____________________
- moped ____________________
- comsat ____________________
- agribusiness ____________________
4. Acronym
Acronym is the process whereby a word is formed from the initials or beginning segments of a succession of words. In some cases the initials are pronounced, as in MP (military police, or Member of Parliament). In others the initials and/or beginning segments are pronounced as the spelled word would be. For example, NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) and radar (radio detecting and ranging).
V Pronounce these acronyms and give their originals.
- RV ____________________
- NOW ____________________
- UNESCO ____________________
- OK ____________________
- scuba ____________________
- OPEC ____________________
- WASP ____________________
- ICBM ____________________
- jeep ____________________
- laser ____________________
5. Blending
Blending is the fusion of two words into one, usually the first part of one word with the last part of another, as in gasohol, from gasoline and alcohol.
VI Give the originals of these blends:
- flunk _________________
- happenstance _________________
- stagflation _________________
- simulcast _________________
- gelignite _________________
- smog _________________
- dumbfound _________________
- telecast _________________
- dandle _________________
- splatter _________________
VII Give the blends that result from fusing these words.
- transfer + resistor = _________________
- automobile + omnibus = _________________
- escalade + elevator = _________________
- blare or blow + spurt = _________________
- squall + squeak = _________________
Exercise -1: Identify the process of word formation responsible for each of the following words. Try to determine the process before you consult a dictionary, though it may be necessary for you to do so.
a. curio | h. margarine | o. (the) hereafter | v. boojum |
b. (to) laze | i. dystopia | p. amphetamine | w. gaffe-slack |
c. (to) network | j. serendipity | q. (a) construct | x. psycho |
d. (to) cohere | k. diesel | r. (the) chunnel | y. walkie-talkie |
e. (a) sitcom | l. (a) ha-ha | s. guestimate | z. bonfire |
f. (the) muppets | m. (to) make up | t. canary | v. boojum |
g. (a) what-not | n. (to) total | u. brain-gain | w. gaffe-slack |
Exercise -2: The words in column A have been created from the corresponding words in column B. Indicate the word formation process responsible for the creation of each word in column A.
Column A | Column B | |
a. | stagflation | stagnation + inflation |
b. | nostril | nosu + thyrl ‘hole’ (in Old English) |
c. | bookie | bookmaker |
d. | van | caravan |
e. | Amerindian | American Indian |
f. | CD | compact disc |
g. | RAM | random access memory |
h. | televise | television |
i. | xerox | xeroxography |
j. | telathon | television + marathon |
k. | sci-fi | science fiction |
l. | elect | election |
m. | deli | delicatessen |
n. | scuba | self-contained underwater breathing apparatus |
o. | scavenge | scavenger |
p. | hazmat | hazardous material |
Exercise- 3: Identify the syntactic pattern in each of the following compounds and express it in a lexical rule. Example: gravedigger N + V + -er > N
a. hovercraft | g. setback | m. dugout | s. badmouth | y. lukewarm |
b. dairyman | h. meltdown | n. hardhearted | t. redhead | z. law-abiding |
c. bath-towel | i. blackout | o. homesick | u. birth control | aa. far-reaching |
d. goldfish | j. stand-in | p. proofread | v. breakfast | bb. homemade |
e. inroads | k. turnout | q. overqualified | w. thoroughgoing | cc. clean-cut |
f. bystander | l. money-hungry | r. overachieve | x. quick-change | dd. fighter-bomber |
ee. earthenware | ff. snowplow | gg. baking powder | hh. drip-coffee | ii. wisecrack |
Exercise- 4: The following words are compounds which also include derivational affixes. Analyze the words, identifying the roots and their parts of speech, as well all the affixes and their function as nominalizer, verbalizer, adjectivalizer, or adverbializer.Example: housekeeper
house (root – noun) + keep (root – verb) + -er (nominalizer)
a. flightworthiness | e. handicraft | i. antiaircraft |
b. chatterbox | f. broken-hearted | j. machine-readable |
c. owner-occupied | g. safety-tested | k. chartered accountant |
d. freedom-loving | h. worldly-wise | i. antiaircraft |
Exercise- 5: Analyze the following words into morphs using the model given below:
Word | Prefix(es) | Root | Suffix(es) |
inequality | in- | equal | -ity |
a. hospitalization | e. transcontinental | i. unforgettable | m. postcolonial | q. hypersensitivity |
b. invisibly | f. ungrammatical | j. impropriety | n. unlikelihood | r. unfriendliness |
c. uninteresting | g. reinforcement | k. disfunctional | o. relationship | s. interdependence |
d. undercooked | h. prototypical | l. inconsiderate | p. asymmetrical | t. monotheism |
Exercise- 6: Underline examples of COMPOUNDING and AFFIXATION:
- Headhunters are invading university campuses in search of fresh talents among undergraduates.
- The price of oil reached its all-time-high yesterday.
- Joblessness rallies as the economy slows down.
- Governments have responded to tax-flight in many different ways.
- New mega-mergers are expected in the media-world.
- Consumers everywhere have been merrily spending with their credit cards.
Exercise- 7: CLIPPING: give the entire word of the following clipped forms and translate them:
lab ……………………………………………………………………
Dems ……………………………………………………………………..
flu ……………………………………………………………………
ads ………………………………………………………………………
Inc. ……………………………………………………………………
rev ………………………………………………………………………
The Fed …………………………………………………………………..
Feds ………………………………………………………………………
Exercise- 8: BLENDING: give the two words forming the following blends and translate them:
Sci-fi ……………………………
e-tailing ………………………
hi-fi ……………………………
stagflation …………………
brunch ………………………
AMEX ………………………
medicare ……………………
econometric ………………
Exercise- 9: ACRONYMS: give the extended phrase and the Italian/English equivalents of the following abbreviations:
OECD ………………………………………………………………………………………………
POW …………………………………………………………………………………………………
GDP ……………………………………………………………………………………………………….
MEPs ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
IVA ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
OMC ………………………………………………………………………………………….
Exercise- 10: Write the original words against the clipped words.
Clipped Word | Original Word | Clipped Word | Original Word | Clipped Word | Original Word |
ad (marketing) | groom | pub (bar) | |||
bro | hippo | ref (library) | |||
butt | lab (dog) | sci-fi | |||
cig | lunch | script (medicine) | |||
con (prison) | math | spec (detail) | |||
copter | pants | still (alcohol) | |||
dorm | perk (benefit) | van (vehicle) | |||
gas (fuel) | piano | vet (military) | |||
abs | doc (movies) | phone | |||
amp (music) | fan (sports) | quad (campus) | |||
app (technology) | gator | rehab | |||
cab (taxi) | hack (taxi) | rep (status) | |||
chemist | lab (science) | scram | |||
clerk | limo | sub (nautical) | |||
coke (drug) | narc | trump (cards) | |||
demo (construction) | perk (coffee) | uni (school) | |||
ammo | congrats | mag | |||
blog | deb | meth | |||
bop (music) | deke (sports) | mum (flower) | |||
bot | exam | photo | |||
fab (awesomeness) | sax | ||||
cab (wine) | Fed | trig | |||
bye | bye | razz (sound) | |||
calc (math) | calc (math) | repo | |||
canter | canter | rev (engine) | |||
champ | champ | rhino | |||
comp (theatre) | comp (theatre) | sitcom | |||
dis | dis | super (apartment) | |||
gab | gab | ump | |||
grad (student) | grad (student) | ute (truck) | |||
bronc | intercom | reb (US Civil War) | |||
cab (train) | lav (bathroom) | reverb | |||
chute | lude | sub (teaching) | |||
cop (police) | mod (trendy) | tec (police) | |||
fax | Net (technology) | varsity | |||
fess | pop (music) | vet (medicine) | |||
hood (location) | quack (medicine) | wig | |||
improv | quake | za |
On these pages we look at vocabulary categorised by word class (verbs, nouns, adjectives etc) and by word form (contractions, prefixes, suffixes etc). These pages deal mainly with vocabulary, for example word lists, meanings and sample sentences with the words in context. But see also the grammar of word classes.
Word Classes
Modern grammars normally recognise four major word classes (verb, noun, adjective, adverb) and five other word classes (determiners, preposition, pronoun, conjunction, interjection), making nine word classes (or parts of speech) in total. But note that some grammarians use different systems and may recognise eight or ten different word classes.
Verbs
Verbs are action or state words like: run, work, study, be, seem
Nouns
Nouns are words for people, places or things like: mother, town, Rome, car, dog
Adjectives
Adjectives are words that describe nouns, like: kind, clever, expensive
Adverbs
Adverbs are words that modify verbs, adjectives or other adverbs, like: quickly, back, ever, badly, away generally, completely
Prepositions
Prepositions are words usually in front of a noun or pronoun and expressing a relation to another word or element, like: after, down, near, of, plus, round, to
Pronouns
Pronouns are words that take the place of nouns, like: me, you, his, it, this, that, mine, yours, who, what
Interjections
Interjections have no grammatical value — words like: ah, hey, oh, ouch, um, well
Word Forms
Prefixes with Prefixes Quiz
List of prefixes with examples: non-, inter-, post-
Suffixes
Lists of suffixes and examples in use: -ation, -al, -ize
Words starting with mono- and poly-
Lists of words starting with the combining forms mono- and poly-
Contractions
Shortened forms of words and phrases, common in speech: I’m, aren’t, here’s, gonna
WH Question Words
The words we use to make question word questions: WHo, WHat, HoW
Without grammar very little can be conveyed; without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed.D.A. Wilkins, Linguistics in Language Teaching