Learning word forms in english

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.

Suffixes in English: 40 Most Common

как образовывать слова в английском языке

Hey.

Source: https://corp.lingualeo.com/ru/2016/11/16/suffiksyi-v-angliyskom-yazyike/

Formation of adjectives in English

как образовывать слова в английском языке

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

как образовывать слова в английском языке

›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
print 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)
  1. — 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)
  1. -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
  1. -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
  1. -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.
  1. By adding -er, -or will get the person doing this action or profession:
    Run (run) — runner (runner), act (play) — actor (actor).
  2. A verbal noun denoting a process can be denoted by using –ing: dance (to dance) — dancing (to dance)
  3. 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).
  4. 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).
  5. Nationality or professional identity can be specified using -an / -ian: Italia — Italian (Italian)
  6. 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.

  1. 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.
  2. 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).
  3. 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.
  4. 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:

  1. 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).
  2. Suffixal added to some verbs to form abstract nouns that denote an action or its result: arrival — arrival, recital — presentation, referral — direction.
  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. 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.
  6. 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.

  7. 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).
  8. 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.
  9. 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.

  10. 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.
  11. Derivatives with a suffix — (e) ry can also denote aggregate concepts: confectionery — confectionery, pottery — earthenware.
  12. The -ess suffix refers to a small number of derivative nouns that denote female people and animals: princess — princess, tigress — tigress.
  13. 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.
  14. The suffix -hood forms nouns that denote states and aggregate concepts: childhood — childhood, beggarhood — poverty.
  15. 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.
  16. 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.

  17. Suffix -ity forms nouns that denote quantity, state or quality and are mainly of Latin origin: curiosity — curiosity, profundity — depth.
  18. The -ness suffix is ​​the most productive in the English language and can be attached to almost any adjective: witness — wisdom, darkness — darkness.
  19. 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. 

  1. er / or (worker)
  2. tion (informaproduction)
  3. ing (reading)
  4. ness (happyness)
  5. ence / ance (difference)

Next, let’s dwell in more detail on each of them.

1. Suffixes of nouns formed from a verb

  1. -er / or (doer suffix) dance — dancer work — workercollect — collector

    invent — inventor

  2. -tion (process suffix) collect — collection

    invent — invention

  3. -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

  1. -nessill — illness

    kind — kindness

  2. -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:

  1. convert a noun from a verb and vice versa;
  2. use affixes;
  3. put a different emphasis;
  4. replace the consonant at the root;
  5. 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 email mail
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

Learn English Grammar: Lesson 8 – Word Forms

Sometimes you can look at a word and guess its part of speech. For example, if a word ends in -tion or -ation, it is probably a noun.

  • Ex: (a) The teacher’s selection of questions is usually good.
  • Ex: (b) The action of the police was very rapid.
  • Ex: (c) The teacher will give us an examination

If you want to use these three words as verbs instead of nouns, you must change the word form. The verb forms are select, act, and examine.

  • Incorrect:  (d) The teacher selections good questions.
  • Correct: (e) The teacher selects good questions.

Why is (d) wrong? Why is (e) correct?

The answer is that you must use a verb form, not a noun form.

Here are four examples of useful word formation patterns:

  • verb + -(a)tion -> noun       select -> selection
  • verb + -able -> adjective      chew -> chewable
  • verb + -ment -> noun announce -> announcement
  • adjective + -ly adverb slow slowly

Learn English Grammar: Lesson 9,10 – Noun Basics, Count Nouns

Word formation is a very important aspect of most languages, and English is no exception. The term «word formation» refers to the processes through which new words are created. Given its significance in the English language and in Cambridge English exams, this short article will outline the basic word formation processes. Let’s go!

word formation processes in english

  1. Compounding
  2. Derivation: prefixes and suffixes
  3. Conversion
  4. Blending
  5. Abbreviation
    • Clipping
    • Acronyms
  6. Novel creation
  7. Creative re-spelling
  8. Loan words
  9. Download this post as a PDF

Compounding

It means creating a word by adding up two or more different words. Compound words have a new meaning, which is obviously related to the meanings of the other words. For example:

  • book + case = bookcase
  • sign + post = signpost
  • watch + man = watchman

Not all compound words are written together. Sometimes they can by hyphenated (con guión) or separate, such as «traffic lights» or «ice-cream». Some, such as «ice-cream» can be written with our without a hyphen.

Derivation: prefixes and suffixes

This process is normally done through suffixation or prefixation, that is to say, adding a suffix or a prefix. For instance:

  • urgent (adjective) + -cy = urgency (noun)
  • ir- + responsible (adjective) + -y = irresponsibly (adverb)
  • national (adjective) + -ise = nationalise

Conversion

Conversion happens when a word changes from one word class to another. For instance, the verb to google is formed from the noun Google; or the noun read (as in a good read) is formed from the verb to read. For example:

  • I emailed this document to John. (emailed is a verb formed from the noun email)
  • He was bullied at school as a child. (bullied is a verb formed from the noun bully)

Blending

This involves taking a part of two different words to make a new word, like merging two words based on the sounds of these words. This is extremely popular in the English language, and it produces hundreds of new words every year whose meanings is a mixture of the meanings of the original words. In some cases, these are informal, but there are many that have become a natural part of standard English. Let’s see some examples:

  • channel + tunnel = chunnel 
  • motor + hotel = motel
  • work + alcoholic = workaholic

Abbreviation

When we abbreviate a word, we form another word by shortening it or simply by using only part of the word:

  • Perambulator –> pram
  • Veterinary –> vet

In general, we can talk about two types of abbreviation: clipping and acronyms.

Clipping

This means literally clipping the word, which means «cutting» the word to make it shorter. This normally makes the word more informal and/or appealing. Some examples are:

  • advertisement = ad
  • hamburger = burger
  • demonstration = demo

Acronyms

Acronyms, which are a form of abbreviation, are words formed by using only the first letter(s) of the words. By creating an acronym, we are reducing the meaning of a whole phrase o sentence to a single word. Let’s see some popular examples:

  • laughing out loud = LOL
  • United Nations = UN
  • radio detection and ranging = radar

Novel creation

This basically means coming up with a completely new word without any of the processes above. These words are typically referred to as «neologisms». Some examples are:

  • puzzle
  • bash
  • gimmick
  • gadget

Creative re-spelling

This involves spelling a word differently in order to make it more practical, attractive, or to fulfil some particular aim, usually commercial. For example:

  • because –> bcoz
  • light –> lite
  • forever –> 4eva
  • Combat –> Kombat

Loan words

In linguistics, a loan happens when we take a word directly from a foreign language. Some examples of loan words in English are:

  • solo
  • pizza
  • tapas
  • negro
  • carpe diem
  • cul de sac

In general, when we loan a word, the spelling doesn’t usually change. However, some other changes may occur, like creating a plural form which doesn’t exist in the original language. As for pronunciation, we usually pronounce them with an «English accent», so it varies slightly from the original pronunciation.

As far as Cambridge English exams go, it’s derivation (prefixes & suffixes) that concerns us most, as it is present in two of the parts of the section of Use of English B2 and Use of English C1.

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Word formation is of crucial importance in language learning. It gives a chance to enrich the vocabulary with the help of already-known roots and words. In this article, we will discuss affixation (adding suffixes and prefixes to the root) as a great word formation tool.

1. It is important for learners to know how to form nouns, adjectives, verbs, and adverbs. If the teacher intends to devote the lesson to noun formation suffixes, he/she may prepare a poster activity with a chart of different noun formation suffixes.

word formation Skyteach

Learners are given a pack of verbs and they need to classify these verbs according to the appropriate noun formation suffIx (e.g. move, friend, revise, appear). This is a very useful activity since the learners work in groups and they come up with the forms rather than being provided with them. See an example of the chart below.

The same activity can be applied while teaching adjective or verb formation suffixes or prefixes.

2. A maze, aimed at recapping suffixes and prefixes, is a great revision activity of word formation. Students try to exit the maze looking for words which follow the same word formation rules. The task might be the following:

  • find the right path choosing adjectives whose opposites start with the prefix in-.
  • find adjectives which form nouns by adding ance/ ity, etc
  • find the words with the correct word formation.

Students are timed and it adds extra competition spirit into the activity.
See an example of the maze activity here.

3. 3. The teacher prepares two sets of word card: prefixes/suffixes and words that fit the chosen prefixes/suffixes to create new words. Students select one card from the Words pile and try to match it with the appropriate prefix /suffix to make a new word, note the new word down, put the Words card aside, and continue until they have no Words cards left. They can play individually/in pairs, in groups, against the clock or against each other to make as many correct words as possible.

The example provided here is targeted at revising noun suffixes -ment, -tion, and -sion.

Parts of Speech Bingo is an old but a tried-and-tested way of not only teaching but also revising word formation. Teacher selects words he/she intends the students to revise and prepares bingo cards. The game can be played either in this way when learners call out names of parts of speech (noun, verb, adjective, adverb), students cross out one word at a time (even if they have several nouns on their bingo card) or read out a sentence with a gap. Students who have the fitting word say it out loud and cross it out.

5. Students stand/sit in a circle, you (or any other student) select a category (word building suffix or prefix), students pass the ball around saying the words without repeating them and you monitor whether they are correct. The first person to say the wrong word/not say anything at all is eliminated (leaves the circle). The game goes on until there are two players left. Change suffixes/prefixes for each new round. It is a super engaging game and helps the learners dig deep to find a word which fits the category.

All these games are nice tools to help learners memorize word formation affixes. In order to reinforce the material, learners may be asked to come up with sentences where they need to use some of the given words, make up stories, ask questions to their partners. In this way, the knowledge of these words seems more purposeful to them and they enjoy this great way of expanding their vocabulary.

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