Word Formation and Parts of Speech (part1)

 Word Formation and Parts of Speech (part1)

A.      Common endings

Nouns for things = ment; -ity; -ness; -ion

Nouns for people = -er; -or; -ist

Verbs = rarely have special endings because they get manipulated for tense; usually the shortest word form

Adjectives = -ous; -able/-ible; -al; -ed/-ing; -ful/-less; -ic; -ive

Adverbs = -ly

1.       To form an adverb, add –ly to the adjective form (not the noun/verb form)

2.       If two word forms are the same, it will usually be the noun and verb (e.g.: parent, answer, guess).

3.       Nouns ending in –tion will usually take the –al suffix for adjectives.

BE CAREFUL: these are patterns, not “rules,” and there will be some exceptions to most of these patterns.

Knowing the correct part of speech for a word form is important, but it’s less than half the battle. The real challenge comes with being able to know how to use it appropriately in a sentence. Below are some (but definitely not all) of the most common usage patterns.

                                               

                                                           B.     The Prediction Was Predictably Predicted

Nouns

Nouns are people, places, or things.

Nouns always come before verbs and after verbs.

Every sentence will have at least one noun.

Nouns are usually in these positions:

a/an/the ……               The prediction came true.

adjective ……               Wrong predictions are dangerous.

Possessive (my, your, his, her, John’s) …..  Their prediction was wrong.

have …..                      I have a prediction.

…………. Verb            Predictions make people’s lives easier.

Verbs

Verbs show the action or state of being in a sentence.

Verbs usually aren’t the first word in a sentence.

Exception—Commands: (Go to class.)

EVERY sentence MUST have a verb!

Verbs are usually in these positions:

Subject  ……………….        Jessica predicted that she would win the game yesterday.

Adverb ……………….           He always predicts the weather.

can/should/might/must …………………        She can’t predict what he will do.

didn’t/don’t …………………        Don’t predict something unless you know it is true.

to ………………….                         I’m going to predict your future.

Adjectives

Adjectives describe nouns (people, places, and things).

They answer the question: “What kind of person/place/thing?”

Adjectives are usually in these positions:

am/is/are/was/were …………………   The game was predictable.

………………………….. noun            Predictable people are easy to understand.

very …………………………..          Tony is a very predictable person.

adverb ………………………..       Tony is always predictable.

a/an/the ………………………………. noun        The predictable answer was “yes.”

Adverbs

Adverbs describe verbs or adjectives.

They answer the question “How did he do it?”

Usually, you add -ly to the adjective to make an adverb (but not always!)

Adverbs are usually in these positions:

_____________________ ,    …………               Predictably, Tommy was late again.

__________________ Verb                                He predictably walked in late.

Verb __________________                                He walked quickly.

very _________________                                    He walked very quickly.

________________________ Adjective           Tom is predictably late.

B.      Prefixes

a- – without, not

co- – together

de- – opposite, negative, removal, separation

dis- –opposite, negative

en- – cause to be

ex- – former, previous, from

in- – negative, not

non- – absence, not                 

re- – again, repeatedly

un- – negative, not, opposite, reversal

D. Suffixes

-able – sense of being

-er – agent

-ful – characterized by

-fy – make, become, cause to be

-ism – action or practice, state or condition

-less – lack of

-ly – -like

-ology – study, science

-ship – condition, character, skill

-y – characterized by, inclination, condition

E. Grammatical Form Retaining Derivation

verb to verb: appear → disappear

noun to noun: friend → friendship

adjective to adjective: practical → impractical

F. Grammatical Form Changing Derivation

verb to noun: preserve → preservation

verb to adjective: bore → boring

noun to verb: code → codify

noun to adjective: nature → natural

adjective to noun: ugly → ugliness

adjective to verb: sweet → sweeten

adjective to adverb: quick → quickly

EXERCISES

A.      Forming nouns form verbs

This exercise focuses on people and their jobs using the most common suffixes.

Use the word in bold to form the noun which refers to the person who does that job.

1. A person who acts for a living is called an .......... .

2. A ………………..... is someone who earns money from writing music.

3. She didn't become famous as a ………………...... until her 17th novel was published.

4. In Part 5 of the FCE Exam your speaking ability will be assessed by the ………………….... .

5. At the end of the interview the .................... asked if he could be shown around the company.

6. An ......................... is someone who will be able to go through your accounts and work out how much money you have.

7. ……………..... to the castle are expected to come during visiting times only.

B.      This exercise focuses on the common prefixes and suffixes used to form opposite words.

in-          im-         il-            un-         -less      dis-        ir-

1 When he became a teenager he wanted to be more …………………….(DEPENDENT) from his parents.

2 It was really (HONEST)………………… of you to take that money without asking.

3 If you hadn't been so…………………………….. (CARE) with that book you'd still have it now.

4 My broken leg means I'll be…………………………….. (ABLE) to go on holiday with you.

5 In many countries it is………………………… (LEGAL) to smoke cigarettes under the age of 16.

6 He waited …………………….(PATIENTLY) for the train to arrive at the station.

7 The teacher told me it was……………………. (RESPONSIBLE) of me to set off the fire alarm.

C.      Forming verbs

This exercise looks at some common suffixes used in creating verbs.      -en             -ify                 -ize

1. He told her that he (SYMPATHY) .......................... with her problem but couldn't do anything to help.

2. My belt feels a bit tight after that huge lunch. I think I'll have to (LOOSE) .......................... it a little.

3. She was severely (WEAK) ........................... by the long illness she had.

4. There are many different ways to (CLASS) ............................... areas of English Grammar.

5. If you're really sorry for what you said you won't mind (APOLOGY)................................  

6. There's no need to (CRITIC) ........................... my work. I'm trying as hard as I can.

7. The pain in his back (LESS) ........................ as soon as he took the medication.

8. Everybody was (HORROR) ........................ by the news of the earthquake.

Forming adjectives and adverbs

D.      This exercise looks at the most common adjective and adverb endings. For questions 5-8 you will need to make TWO changes to the stem word.

1. Be sure to contact him if you need advice. He's a very (HELP) .......................... person.

2. It was a really (ENJOY) ......................... party. Thanks for inviting me.

3. He has just taken out a (MONTH) ................... subscription to the magazine.

4. She smiled (HAPPY) ........................ when they offered her the new job.

5. (HOPE) .......................... we'll have enough money saved to get married next year.

6. In order for the medicine to work (EFFECT) ........................... you must take the correct amount

7. Although our teacher is very strict in class, she is (FRIEND) ........................ than you would expect.

8. What a beautiful vase! That's the (LOVE) ............................ present I've ever had.

E.       Forming other nouns

This exercise looks at forming nouns from verbs, nouns and adjectives by using suffixes.

1. My teacher says there has been a big (IMPROVE) ...................... in my English lately.

2. The recipe says you only need to add two (SPOON) .......................... of salt.

3. Why did you do that? I thought you had more (INTELLIGENT) ......................... than that.

4. The singer gave a brilliant (PERFORM) ............................ on stage yesterday.

5. Have you seen her magazine (COLLECT) .....................? She must have over 200 editions.

6. On hearing the news, everyone was overcome with a feeling of (SAD) ......................... .

7. When you take the FCE Speaking paper you will be given marks for your (ACCURATE) ......................... and also on how fluent you are.

8. She has the (ABLE) ........................ to pass the exam first time round providing she works hard.

F.       Difficult spellings

1 He tried to fix his machine but it was (POSSIBLE) .......... impossible  /   inpossible

2 You don't need to wear a suit to the party. You can look (FORMAL) .......... if you wish.

Informal    /          imformal

3 She won the bicycle race (EASY) .......... .

Easyly  /    easily

4 The weather forecast says it's going to be (RAIN) .......... today. Rainy   /      rainny

5 The body was discovered (LIE) .......... on the floor. Lieing  /    lying

6 He told her that he was (TRUE) .......... in love with her.             Truely   /     truly

7 She was filled with (HAPPY) .......... when she heard the good news.      Happiness   / happyness

8 He was the (BIG) .......... in the class.

   Biggest  /  bigest