Cheatsheet: Word formation
Word formation
Prefixes and Suffixes
| Point | Rule | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Suffixes | -tion / -ment / -ness make nouns; -able / -ful / -ous make adjectives | educate → education / kind → kindness / enjoy → enjoyable |
| Verb formation | -ise / -ify / -en / en- make verbs | simple → simplify / short → shorten / rich → enrich |
| Negative prefixes | un- / in- / dis- / non- / mis- negate; in- becomes im-, il-, ir- | happy → unhappy / agree → disagree |
| Other prefixes | re- again, over- too much, under- too little, ex- former | write → rewrite / cook → overcook / wife → ex-wife |
| Sound | some suffixes move the stress and shorten the vowel | ˈphotograph → photoˈgraphic / divide → division |
| Trap | possible takes in-, which becomes im- before p | It is impossible to finish today. |
| C1Productive suffixes | -ish / -y / -able / -ify / -ism attach freely to new bases | download → downloadable / solid → solidify |
| C1-ity / -ness | -ity usually follows a Latinate adjective, -ness a native one | possible → possibility / kind → kindness |
| C1Combining forms | Greek and Latin forms build technical words | biology / geography / telephone |
| C1Register | Latinate words sound more formal than their native partners | begin = commence / enough = sufficient |
| C2Look-alikes | a pair of suffixes can split the meaning | an economic crisis / an economical car |
| C2Rare and new affixes | hyper- and pseudo- are learned; -holic and -gate are coinages | hypersensitive / pseudonym / workaholic |
Compounds and Conversion
| Point | Rule | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Compound noun | the last word is the head; the first word narrows it | a bus stop / a swimming pool |
| Compound adjective | a singular noun after a number; a participle after a noun or adverb | a ten-minute walk / home-made jam / a well-known author |
| Conversion | a word changes class with no change of form; endings are regular | I'll email you. / Let's go for a run. |
| Short forms | clippings and blends are words; initialisms take a or an by sound | I go to the gym. / an MP |
| C1Meaning relation | the first noun gives the material, purpose, place, agent or time | a gold ring / a bus driver |
| C1Plural modifier | a few modifiers keep a plural form | a sports car / a women's magazine |
| C1Reduplication | the vowel changes in the repeat; i comes before a or o | zigzag / ping-pong |
| C1Productive element | an element such as -free, -proof or -led makes new adjectives | a sugar-free drink |
| C2Binomial | the order is fixed by length, sound or custom | fish and chips / null and void |
| C2Compound or phrase | a compound takes first-word stress and can mean more than its parts | a ˈblackbird ≠ a black ˈbird |
| C2Creative conversion | nouns become verbs and phrases become modifiers for one occasion | They gifted us a painting. / an I-told-you-so look |
| Trap | the noun after a number stays singular | a five-year-old boy |