English - Prefixes and Suffixes

A. COMMON PREFIXES

anti (against) anti-roads protestors anti-government troops

inter (between international match interstate highways

mini (small) minicomputer mini-bar

mis (wrongly) mishear miscalculate

multi (many) multi-coloured multimillionaire

over (too much) overeating overcrowded

post (after) post-war World postgraduate

pre (before) pre-match prehistoric

re (again) reunion reread

semi (half) semicircle semi-skilled work

super (big superstore super-tanker

under (too little) underweight underpaid

non (no) non-smoker non-stop

bi (dos) bilingual bilateral

co (together) cooperate co-pilot

B. NEGATIVE PREFIXES

in- Inconsiderate. Incomplete

im- if the word begins with m or p Immature. Imperfect. Immoral. Impolite

ir- if the word begins with r Irregular. Irrational. Irresponsible

il- if the word begins with | lllegal. Irrational

un- Undo. Unfair. Uncomfortable

dis- Dislike. Disability

de- Decrease

mis- Misunderstand. Misadventure

mal- Malformed
 EXERCICE

1. Write the opposite of the words bellow using negative prefixes.

1. Efficiency. 6. acceptable

2. fair 7. relevant

3. Legally 8. real

4. ability 9. visible

5. lucky 10. approve

2. Find the opposites of the words bellow.

1. Advantage 8. courage

2. offensive 9. responsible

3. appear. 10. appoint

4. illusion 11. believe

5. close 12. interested

6.arm 13. content

7. trust, 14. proper.

3. Now complete the sentences with the correct form of the words from exercise

1. The police arrested the street musicians because they were performing

2. Speaking other languages is a very useful

3. 0n a clear day the French coast is clearly from the cliffs of Dover.

4.1 have a problem with people who arrive late.

5. He was very. not to be accepted by the university.

6. 'm not interested, furthermore, it's totally. to me.

7. She wasn't given a pay rise for her at work.

8. We, of smoking in any public place.

9. Smoking is generally less in the USA than it is in Europe.

10. She disagreed with the exam result because she thought the making had
been,
4. fill in the sentences with the correct prefix:

1. Clark failed his maths exam, so he was really ............... appointed.

2. Peter is the most ............ friendly person I've ever met.

3. I'm afraid we've .......ccoeuuee estimated the candidate’s qualities.

4. Mark speaks British and Spanish fluently; he is ............ lingual since his mother is from
London and his father is from Madrid.

5. The research can't be carried out without everybody’s ............operation.

6. Carl is an expertin ... ..national law.

7. The athlete was ............... qualified for ............fair play.

8. The inhabitants are .........building the houses knocked down by the typhoon.

8. Patrick failed his geography exam in June, so he will .......... sit in September.

9. The conditions they offered me were ........ acceptable so | didn't ........new my contract.

10. Everybody was wearing ............formal clothes except for Sarah

11. Paulis .o confident, which makes him act rather ............ responsibly.

12. Do you usually have lunch with your ............ -workers?

13. | explained Tom what was happening, but he definitely ................ understood my point
of view.

14. Sam went to bed so late yesterday that he .. ..slept and didn't get to work in time
this morning.

15. The two ministers are participating in a .............. lateral conference.

16. You shouldn't drink this water unless it's been ............... infected before.

17. This is the most ............ comfortable sofa I've ever sat on.

18. The village is to celebrate the ......... centenary of its foundation.

19. | can't understand Pam's letter; her handwriting is definitely ...........legible.

20. Students prefer ...........-educational schools, but the Minister of Education think boys
and girls should go to different schools.

21. In the 19" century most people couldn't read or write; they were . iterate.

22. Patrick used to be rather rude and ......... polite as a child, but now he's a kind teenager.

23. You can find lots of ......... prints in some novels theses days.

24. Some parts of this region haven't got many people. They're ......... populated.
25. | can't believe what you say. In fact, | think this is the most ......... believable story you've
ever told.

26. Sorry, but what you propose is ......... possible.

27. My parents were completely .........satisfied with my school results.

28. It can't cost that much! Haven't you ........charged me?

5. Complete the sentences by adding the correct prefix from the table.

Un- dis- in- im- over

1.1 keep thinking of our holidays in Jamaica. They were really FORGETTABLE.

2 . He relieves he isn't going to die. He thinks he is MORTAL.

3 . I was surprised by my mother’s call. It was very EXPECTED.

4. Please find another chair. You look ____ COMFORTABLE.

5. People don't really like her. She'svery ____ POPULAR.

6. His parents have punished her due toher _____ OBEDIENCE.

7. He was very tired, sohe ______DRESSED and went to bed.

8. The army's behaviour during the war was very cruel. It was truly HUMAN.

9. John and | don't get on well. We always AGREE about everything.

10. | didn't like his Lasagna. It was COOKED.

11. She's not a tidy person. The ORDER in her room is terrible.

12. I need a psychiatrist. | think I'm going SANE

 NOUN SUFFIXES

Suffix Meaning Example

-acy state or quality privacy

-al act or process of refusal

-ance, -ence state or quality of maintenance, eminence

-dom place or state of being freedom, kingdom

-er, -or one who trainer, protector

-ism doctrine, belief communism

-ist one who chemist

-ity, -ty quality of veracity

-ment condition of argument

-ness state of being heaviness

-ship position held fellowship

-sion, -tion state of being concession, transition

VERB SUFFIXES

-ate become eradicate

-en become enlighten

-ify, -fy make or become terrify

-ize, -ise become civilize

ADJECTIVE SUFFIXES

-able, -ible capable of being edible, presentable

-al pertaining to regional

-esque reminiscent of picturesque

-ful notable for fanciful

-ic, -ical pertaining to musical, mythic

-ious, -ous characterized by nutritious, portentous

-ish having the quality of fiendish

-ive having the nature of creative

-less without endless

-y characterized by sleazy

ADVERB. SUFFIXES

.|y Happy / happily

 EXERCISE

. derive nouns from verbs using the suffixes in the box.

. manage. 4. invent, 7. arrive,

. punish 5. educate, 8. excite,

. pronounce. 6. govern 9. angry

2. complete the sentences with nouns derived from exercise 1

. The aeroplane is one of the best of modern times.

2. His, at 6 0'clock in the morning caught them unaware.

3. He had a very academic at school.

4. When | was a school child, the only form of was a detention.

5. They are going to take over the of the factory next month.

6. The Prime Minister will announce the new. tomorrow.

7. His of English is so poor that it is very difficult to understand him.

8. The children were full of because their summer holidays were going to
start the following day.

3. nouns from adjectives.

. happy. f. elegant. k. innocent

b. regular g. superior. |. present.

c. patient h. lonely m. relevant

d. efficient i. mad n. populated

e. operated j. private o. private

4. nouns from adjectives. some irregular ones:

. high d. dangerous g. poor.

b. young e. strong h. dead

.long f. true,
5. adjectives from nouns and verbs

1. Beauty. 12. Accident,

2. Danger. 13. Fundament

3. Care 14. Attract,

4. Imagination 15. Manage.

5. Comfort, 16. Understand

6. Centre 17. Boy.

7. Practice 18. Power.

11. Fool 19. Nation

6. derive the correct word in the following sentences.

1. An (accident) discharge of toxic waste has led to pollution of the water

in the river.

2. He has been (action) in local politics for some years.

3. ltwasan (adventure) expedition up the Amazon which we can never

forget.

4. She was very (anger) when she heard what happened.

5. He gave her a (beauty) bunch of flowers for her birthday.

6. Despite his age, he still retains his (boy) good looks.

7. Hegaveusa (briefly) first-hand account of the event.

8. | have enough work to keep me (business) for the whole week.

9. Sarah is extremely (care) of her reputation.

10.1 have always been very (caution) about spending money.

11.He is lucky to own a house that is very (centre).

12.1t's so (child) of her to behave in that way.

13.She decides not to be (choose) but to accept the first job offer that
comes along.

14.Her mother bought an imported (circle) table for dinning.

15.ltwas a (collect) decision to stage a walk-out in protest.

16.He feels extremely (comfort) and relaxed in the Firsts Class cabin.

17.His (coward) act of holding a child hostage is really contemptible.

18.Nowadays less people are (cruelty) to animals

19.Not all snakes are (danger) to human beings.

20.Johntooka_____ (depth) breath and blew into the balloon.

21.0nce again he's proving himselfto be a player of great (able).

22.John will be in charge during the boss's (absent).

23.We met quite by (accidental) at the airport.

24.She recognized him as an old (acquaint).

25.The police took quick (act) to deal with the robbery.

26.1 never ever shouted at you in (angry), have I1?

27.1find the constant barking of the neighbour’s dog an (annoy).

28.He is always worried about his (appear).

29.He was rushed to the hospital but was dead on (arrive).

30.We must pay (attend) in class.

31.She is a woman of great (beautiful).

32.We pay our telephone bill at the (begin) of the month.

33.The naughty boys were punished for their bad (behave).

34.Saving a drowning man is regarded by most as an act of (brave).

 WORD_FORMATION
1. Adjectives
can be formed by adding suffixes to the root word.

2 -ous (courage + -ous = courageous)

(wash + -able = washable)
(dirt + -y = dirty)
(interest + -ing = interesting)
RooT worp + -ed (interest + -ed = interested)
(suggest + -ive = suggestive)
(hope + -ful = hopeful)
(pain + -less = painless)
(atom + -ic = atomic)
(biology + -ical = biological)

2. Nouns can be formed by adding suffixes to the root word.

-ness (happy + -ness = happiness)

-al (approve + -al = approval)
-ment (move + -ment = movement)
Root worp + -ism (modern + -ism = modernism)
-er (drive + -er = driver)
-ion (associate + -ion = association)
-ity (pure + -ity = purity)
ty (cruel + -ty = cruelty)

3. Verbs can be formed by adding both prefixes or suffixes to the root

word.

En- (en- +rage = enrage)

ROOT WoRD + -en (light + -en = lighten)
-ise (minim + -ise = minimise)
Am. English = minimize

4. Adverbs are easy to form, since most of them are formed by adding -
to the adjective.

5. There are some prefixes that can be used to give a negative meaning
to a word, wherever it may be.

(in- + sane = insane)

(un- + certain = uncertain)
(i + legal = illegal)
(ir- + regular = irregular)
im- + Root worD (im- + possible = impossible)
(dis- + agree = disagree)
(non- + violent = non-violent)
(mis- + use = misuse)
 A. Complete each sentence with the correct form of the word given
at the end. To solve this exercise you have to think first what
kind of word is needed in the sentence: verb, noun, adverb or
adjective. In some causes you will have to use a negative form.

1. Portugal is a country. FASCINATE

2. 1feel a strong for you. ATTRACT ’ 2

3. My mother gave me a look when

she saw
my new haircut. APPROVE

4. Everyone has the right to go to the University,

of age. REGARD

5. Love is an important element to one’s

FULFILL

6. Someone who has no home is called a person. HOME

7.1 always drink __drinks when I'm driving. ALCOHOL

8. She is the most person for this job. COMPETENCE

9. The only thing I remember from breaking my leg is that it was very
PAIN

10. She advised me to be and not to do something stupid.

REASON

11. They seldomuse methods. PRODUCTION

12. There were manyreasonsforthe _~ of large scale industry.

GROW

Ao 13. Nowadays computers our lives.

DOMINANT

' 14. The comfort of our homes is . MARVEL

15. We can sit on a sofa and know what’s going

on around the world. COMFORT

Sara Tavares
 English Language Support
Word Formation
What are Word Formations?
There are many word beginnings (prefixes) and word endings (suffixes) that can be added to a word to change its
meaning or its word class. The most common ones are shown here, followed by examples on how they are used in the
process of word formation. More can be found in the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English.
Verb Formation: The endings -ize and ~ify can be added to nouns and adjectives to form verbs
‘American +ize = Americanize Beauty + ify = beautify
Legal +ize = legalize Liquid
Modern +ize = modernize Pure

They want to make the factory more modern. These tablets make the water pure. They purify the water.
They want to modernize the factory.

Adverb Formation: The ending -ly can be added to most adjectives to form adverbs
Easy +ly = easily The English test was easy. He easily finished the test.
Stupid +ly = stupidly His behaviour was stupid. He behaved stupidly

Noun Formation: The endings -er, -ment, and -ation can be added to many verbs to form nouns
Drive +er =driver Amaze + ment = amazement Admire + ation = admiration
Fasten + er = faster Develop + ment = development Organize +ation = organization
Open +er = opener Retire + ment = retirement Examine +ation = examination
John drives a bus. Children develop very quickly. The doctor examined me.
He is a bus driver. Their development is very quick. The doctor gave me an examination.
The endings -ity/ty and -ness can be added to many adjectives to form nouns
Cruel +ty = cruelty Dark + ness = darkness
Stupid + ity = stupidity Happy + ness = happiness
Don't be so cruel. I hate cruelty It was very dark The darkness made it hard to see.

Adjective Formation: The endings -y, -ic, ~ical, ~ful, and -less can be added to many nouns to form adjectives
The ending -able can be added to many verbs to form adjectives
Dirt +y =dirty Atom +ic = atomic Pain +ful = painful
Smell +y =smelly Poetry +ic = poetic Hope +ful =hopeful
That was an awful smell. That was a book of poetry. His broken leg caused pain.
It was very smelly. It was a poetic book. It was very painful.
Wash +able =washable Pain +less = painless
Love +able =lovable Care +less =careless
You can wash this coat. The operation didn’t cause pain.
It'swashable It was painless.

Opposites: Prefixes can be added to the front of many words to produce an opposite meaning
NOTE: Some words produced do not have exact opposite words, but have similar meanings.
un- +happy = unhappy in- +efficient = inefficient de- + centraliz decentralize
un- + fortunate = unfortunate im- +possible = impossible de- +ascend descend
un- +lock = unlock il- +literate = illiterate de- +inflate = deflate
I'm not very happy. It’s just not possible to do that, it’s Instead of inflating the tire, he
In fact I'm very unhappy. impossible. deflated it.
dis- +agree = disagree | mom- +semse = nonsense
dis- +approve disapprove | non- + payment = non-payment
dis- +honest = dishonest | non- +resident = non-resident
1don’t agree with everything you
said. I disagree with the last part. The things you say are not making any sense,
What you are saying is nonsense.
This handout was compiled by Vincent Chung, ELS student staff (April 2009)
Source: Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (2003.). Longman Pearson Education
 ieute: PREFIXES
A. COMMON PREFIXES. B. NEGATIVE PREFIXES

ANTI (AGAINST) anti-roads anti-government N- Tnconsiderate. Incomplete

IM- IF THE WORD BEGINS Immature. Imperfect. Immoral.
protestors troops
WITHM ORP Impolite
INTER (BETWEEN international interstate
IR- IF THE WORD BEGINS Irregular. Irrational. Irresponsible
match highways WITHR
MINI (SMALL) minicomputer mini-bar
IL- IF THE WORD BEGINS Illegal. Irrational
MIS (WRONGLY) mishear miscalculate
WITHL
MULTT (MANY) multi-coloured multimillionaire
Undo. Unfair. Uncomfortable
OVER (TOO MUCH) overeating overcrowded
Dislike. Disability
POST (AFTER) post-war World postgraduate
Decrease
PRE (BEFORE) pre-match prehistoric
Misunderstand. Misadventure
RE (AGAIN) reunion reread
Malformed
SEMI (HALF) semicircle semi-skilled work
SUPER (BI6 superstore super-tanker 1. WRITE THE OPPOSITE OF THE WORDS BELLOW USING NEGATIVE
UNDER (TOO underweight underpaid PREFIXES.
LITTLE) 1. EFFICTENCY. 6. ACCEPTABLE
NON (NO) non-smoker non-stop 2.FAIR 7. RELEVANT
BI (DOS) bilingual bilateral 3.LEGALLY. 8. REAL
€O (TOGETHER) cooperate co-pilot 4. ABLLITY 9. VISIBLE
5. LUCKY 10. APPROVE
2. FIND THE OPPOSITES OF THE WORDS BELLOW.
1. ADVANTAGE 3. NOW COMPLETE THE SENTENCES WITH THE CORRECT FORM OF THE WORDS
2. OFFENSTVE, FROM EXERCISE
3. APPEAR 1. The police arrested the street musicians because they were
4.TLLUSION performing
5. CLOSE 2. Speaking other languages is a very useful .
6. ARM, 3. On aclear day the French coast is clearly from the
7. TRUST. cliffs of Dover.
8. COURAGE. 4.Thavea problem with people who arrive late.
9. RESPONSIBLE 5. He was very. not to be accepted by the university.
10. APPOINT. 6. T'm not interested, furthermore, it's totally. tome.
11, BELTEVE. 7. She wasn't given a pay rise for her at work.
12. INTERESTED, 8. We of smoking in any public place.
13. CONTENT. 9. Smoking is generally less in the USA than it is in Europe.
14. PROPER 10. She disagreed with the exam result because she thought the making had
been .
4. FILL IN THE SENTENCES WITH THE CORRECT PREFIX:
1. Clark failed his maths exam, so he was really ....... .. appointed. 5. COMPLETE THE SENTENCES BY ADDING THE CORRECT
2. Peter is the most . friendly person T've ever met. PREFLX FROM THE TABLE.
3.I'm afraid we've estimated the candidate’s qualities.
4. Mark speaks British and Spanish fluently: he is lingual since his
mother is from London and his father is from Madrid. [Un- brs- - - ove |
5. The research car't be carried out without everybody
6. Carl is an expert in national law.
1. T keep thinking of our holidays in Jamaica. They were
7. The athlete was really FORGETTABLE.
8. The inhabitants are . " building the houses knocked down by the typhoon. 2. He relieves he isn't going to die. He thinks he is
8. Patrick failed his geography exam in June, so he will ... sit in September. ___MORTAL.
9. The conditions they of fered me were ... acceptable so I didn't ..new my 3. T was surprised by my mother's call. Tt was very
contract.
__EXPECTED.
10. Everybody was wearing ... .formal clothes except for Sarah 4. Please find another chair. You look ___COMFORTABLE.
11, Paul s ........confident, which makes him act rather........ responsibly. 5. People don't really like her. She's very POPULAR.
12. Do you usually have lunch with your . ..-workers? 6. His parents have punished her due to her
13. T explained Tom what was happening, but he definitely ... .understood OBEDIENCE.
my point of view. 7. He was very tired, so he __ DRESSED and went to bed.
14. Sam went to bed so late yesterday that he ... ..slept and didn't get to 8. The army's behaviour during the war was very cruel. Tt
work in time this morning. was truly __ HUMAN.
15. The two ministers are participating ina........ lateral conference. 9. Johnand T don't get on well. We always ___ AGREE
16. You shouldn't drink this water unless it's been . infected before. about everything.
17. This is the most ........ comfortable sofa T've ever sat on. 10. T didn't like his Lasagna. It was COOKED.
18. The village is o celebrate the ...... centenary of its foundation. 11. She's not a tidy person. The ___ORDER in her room is
19. T can't understand Pam's letter: her handwriting is definitely ... legible. terrible.
20. Students prefer .. ~educational schools, but the Minister of 12. T need a psychiatrist. I think I'm going SANE
Education think boys and girls should go to different schools.
SUFFIXES. LDERIVE NOUNS FROM _VERBS 2. COMPLETE THE SENTENCES WITH
USING THE SUFFIXES IN THE BOX. NOUNS DERIVED FROM EXERCISE 1
NOUN SUFFIXES 1 . MANAGE 1. The aeroplane is one of the
Suffix Meaning 2 . PUNISH best of modern
-ACY state or quality privacy 3 . PRONOUNCE. times.
-AL act or process of refusal 4 . INVENT_ 2. His_ at 6 O'clock
-ANCE, - state or quality of maintenance, 5. EDUCATE. in the morning caught them unaware.
6 . GOVERN, 3. He had a very academic
~oom place or state of freedom, kingdom 7 . ARRIVE. at school.
8 . EXCITE. 4. When I was a school child, the only
-ER, -OR one who trainer, protector
9. ANGRY form of was a
detention.
-ISM doctrine, belief communism
one who chemist . NOUNS FROM ADJECTIVES.
5. They are going to take over the
quality of veracity . HAPPY.
of the factory
next month.
condition of argument . REGULAR
6. The Prime Minister will announce the
state of being heaviness . PATIENT.
new. tomorrow.
position held fellowship . EFFICIENT.
7. His of English is so
state of being concession, fransition . OPERATED_
poor that it is very difficult to
. ELEGANT.
. SUPERTOR
understand him.
. LONELY
8. The children were full of
VERB SUFFIXES
. MAD_
because
-ATE become eradicate their summer holidays were going to
=Y become enlighten J. PRIVATE.
start the following day.
K. INNOCENT.
-TIFY, -FY. make or become terrify
L. PRESENT_
-IZE, -ISE | become civilize 5. ADJECTIVES FROM NOUNS AND VERBS
m. RELEVANT
ADJECTIVE SUFFIXES BEAUTY.
N. POPULATED
- ABLE, - capable of being edible, presentable 0.PRIVATE., DANGER,
BLE CARE.
AL pertaining fo regional IMAGINATION
-ESQUE reminiscent of picturesque 4. NOUNS FROM ADJECTIVES, COMFORT.
SOME IRREGULAR ONES:
-FUL notable for fanciful . CENTRE.
A HIGH,
-IC, -ICAL | pertaining to musical, mythic . PRACTICE
B.YOUNG.
characterized by nutritious, C.LONG
11.FooL.
portentous D. DANGEROUS,
12. ACCIDENT.
having the qudlity of | fiendish E. STRONG,
13. FUNDAMENT.
having the nature of | creative F. TRUE
14, ATTRACT.
without endless 15. MANAGE.
6.POOR
characterized by sleazy H. DEAD
16. UNDERSTAND,
ADVERB. SUFFIXES 17.Boy.
18. POWER
Happy / happily 19. NATION

. DERIVE THE CORRECT WORD IN THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES,

~An (accident) discharge of foxic waste has 17 His (coward) act of holding a child hostage is
led to pollution of the water in the river. really contemptible.
. He has been (action) inlocal politics for some years. 18.Nowadays less people are (cruelty) to animals
. Ttwas an (adventure) expedition up 19.Not all snakes are (danger) to human beings.
the Amazon which we can never forget. 20. Johntook a (depth) breath and blew into the balloon.
. She was very (anger) when she heard what happened. 21.0nce again he's proving himself to be a player of great
. He gave hera (beauty) bunch of flowers (able).
for her birthday. 22. Tohn will be in charge during the boss's (absent).
. Despite his age, he still retains his (boy) good looks. 23. We met quite by (accidental) at the airport.
. He gave us a (briefly) first-hand account of the event. 24. She recognized him as an old (acquaint).
. T have enough work o keep me (business) for 25. The police ook quick (act) to deal with the
the whole week. robbery.
. Sarch is extremely (care) of her reputation. . I never ever shouted at you in (angry), have I?
10.T have always been very (caution) about spending I find the constant barking of the neighbour's dog an
money. (annoy).
11, He is lucky to own a house that is very (centre). . He is always worried about his (appear).
12.I+'s so0 (child) of her to behave in that way. . He was rushed to the hospital but was dead on
13.5he decides not to be (choose) but to accept (arrive).
the first job offer that comes dlong. . We must pay (attend) in class.
14.Her mother bought an imported (circle) table 31.She is a woman of great (beautiful).
for dinning. 32. We pay our telephone bill af the (begin) of
15.Tt wos a (collect) decision to stage awalk-out in the month.
protest. 33. The naughty boys were punished for their bad
16.He feels extremely (comfort) and relaxed in (behave).
the Firsts Class cabin.