Ak Noun suffixes Verb + suffix Many nouns are formed in this way. Verb Suffix Nown improve (= get better) -ment improvement manage (e.g. a shop or business) sment management elect (= choose somebody by voting) -ion election discuss (= talk about something seriously) -ion discussion inform (= tell someone something) -ation information organise -ation organisation jog (= running to keep fit or for pleasure) ing jogging spell (e.g. S-P-E-L-L} -ing spelling, Note: Sometimes there is a spelling change. The most common is the omission of the final ‘e' before the suffix -ion or -ation: translate/translation; organise/organisation Adjective + suffix Nouns are also formed by adding a suffix to an adjective. Two suffixes often added to adjectives to form nouns are -ness and -ity. Adjective Suffie Noun weak (# strong) ness weakness happy -ness happiness dark (e.g, at night, when you can’t see) ness darkness stupid (+ intelligent, clever) “ity stupidity punctual (= always arrives at the right time) ity punctuality similar (= almost the same; # different) -ity similarity Pronunciation ‘The addition of these suffixes may change the pronunciation. Nouns ending -ion or ity have the main stress on the syllable before, so the pronunciation may be different from the verb or adjective: Verb Noun Adjective Nown educate education similar 5 translate translation stupid stupidity discuss discussion punctual punctuality -er/-or and -ist ‘These are common noun suffixes added to existing nouns or verbs, and they describe people and their jobs. - “er -or -ist dancer driver actor artist singer manager director economist murderer footballer translator psychologist farmer employer operator journalist Note: Notice the common spelling changes: translate/translator, operatc/operator, cconomy/economist, psychology/psychologist8.2 Exercises Complete the tables and mark the stress on each word. The last two in each column are not con the opposite page, but do you know or can you guess the noun formed from them? Verb Noun Adjective Noun educate stupid improve dark jog weak govern similar spell punctual hesitate sad arrange popular Combine the suffixes on the right with the verbs or adjectives on the left, and then complete the cext below. (Remember you may need to make a small spelling change.) improve televise leet jent ion ation -ness educate weak manage govern stupid In his first broadcast on © ‘economy was caused entirely by their since he won the 2 last | and bad © month, the Prime Minister promised to | He said he would act immediately and he make health and twoofhis | hoped the British people would be able to top priorities. And in @ strong attack on | see clear signs of an in the previous he said that | the economy by the end of the year. the present of the British ‘Write down the name of the person who does these things. Example: farm former 1 act 4 sing 7 economics 2 employ 5 murder 8 translate 3 football 6 psychology 9 manage7 Prefixes A With the meaning ‘not’ Prefixes (uns, ins, il, i, and dis) are often used to give adjectives (and some verbs and nouns) a negative meaning. Here are common examples: happy unhappy like (v) dislike (v) possible impossible legal illegal (= against the law) correct incorrect regular irregular, eg. irregular verbs un- is used with many different words, eg. unfriendly, unable, unemployed (= without a job), untidy (= not in order; in a mess) im- is used before some words beginning with m or p, e.g. impolite (= rude), impatient {somebody who is impatient wants things to happen now; they cannot wait for things) iis used belore some words beginning with I, e.. illegible (= cannot be read because the writing is very bad) ir-is only used before some words beginning with r, e irresponsible dis- is used before some adjectives, eg. dishonest, and a few verbs, e.g. dislike, disagree in- is used before a limited number of words, eg. invisible (= cannot be seen) Note: A prefix does not normally change word stress, eg. bappy/unhappy; possible! impossible. But the stress may change if you want to emphasise the negative or opposite: 4: Was he happy about the change: n: No, be was very unhappy about it. Verb prefixes: un- and dis- ing (as above), but they = This meaning is used ‘These prefixes have two meanings: they can have a negative mes can also mean ‘the opposite of an action’ or ‘to reverse an action swith certain verbs Hocked the door when I eft, but I lost the key, so {couldn't it unlock it when I got back had to pack my suitease (= put everything in it) very quickly, so when I unpacked (= took everything out) at the hotel, most of my clothes looked terrible. ‘The plane appeared in the sky, then suddenly disappeared behind a cloud, In the morning you get dressed (= put on your clothes); when you go to bed you get undressed (= take off your clothes). Other verb prefixes with specific meanings re- (= again) My homework was terrible, so I had to redo it. ‘The shop closed down but will reopen next month. I failed my exam but I can retake (or redofresit) it next year 90 much) I think my boss is overdoing it at the moment. {= working too hard; also overwork} went to bed very late and I overstept (= slept too long) this morning. ‘The shop assistant overcharged me. (= asked me for too much money) imis- (= badly or I'm afraid I misunderstood what he sai. incorrectly) Two of the students misread the first question,mA Exercises Which prefix forms the opposite of these words? (The bottom line are all verbs, the rest are adjectives.) happy patient polite legal correct regular visible possible legible friendly employed honest pack lock agree like Agree with these statements, using words from the left-hand page which have the same ‘meaning as the underlined words. Example: a: He doesn’t have a job, does he? te No, het. employed. 1 Hes against the laws isn't it? Oh yes, 2. His room is always in a mess, isn't it? Yes, 3 He took off his clothes! Yes, 4 This handwriting is impossible to read. Yes I know, She can never wait for five minutes, can she? No, 6 T thought it was rude, didn’t you? Yes, it was veryAdjective suffixes Suffixes change word class, e.g from verb to noun oF noun to adjective, but they can also ‘change meaning, (see sections B and C below). Noun or verb + suffix Noun or Verb Suffix Adjectives danger, fame sous dangerous, famous (= well-known) ‘music, polities al musical, political, industrial, industry, economics ‘economical (= saves you money) cloud, fog, sun, dirt -y cloudy, foggy, sunny, diety (# clean} attract, create “ive attractive (= precty, nice to look at); creative (= able 10 produce new ideass with imagination) ‘Note: Sometimes there is a spelling change. Here are common examples double the consonant, e.g, sun/sunny, fos/fogay leave our the final ‘e’ e.g. create/creative, fame/famous leave out the final ‘s’ before ‘al’, e.g. politics/political; economies/economical change 'y’ to 17 before ‘a’, e.g. industry/industrial -able /abl/ This suffix (also -ible in some words) is used to form many adjectives from nouns or verbs: enjoyable, comfortable, knowledgeable (= knows a lot), suitable (= rightlcorreet for a particular situation). Quite often, -able (and -ible) has the meaning ‘can be done’, For example, something that is washable ‘can be washed’. Other examples include: drinkable, comprehensible (= can be comprehended or understood), reliable (= can be relied fon or trusted, e.g. a car or other machine that never goes wrong or breaks down). ‘Words ending -able quite often express the oppo: undrinkable, unreliable, unbreakable (= cannot be broken}, unsuitable, uncomfortable Words ending -ible add the prefix in-: -omprehensible, inflexible {somebody who is inflexible has a fixed idea about something and cannot change quickly or easily; an inflexible timerable cannot be changed easily); inedible (= cannot be eaten). ce meaning by adding the prefix un: -ful and -less ‘The suffix -ful often means ‘full of’ + the meaning of the adjective: eareful, you are full of care; if you are helpful you are full of help. Other examples are: painful (= hurts a lot), useful, and thoughtful (= someone who is thoughtful is kind and always thinks about others; a thoughtful action shows care for others) ‘The suffix -less means ‘without’ + the meaning of the adjective: if you are careless, you do something ‘without care’. Other examples are: painless, useless (= has no use or function) thoughtless jobless and homeless (= with nowhere to live) Note: You can see that -ful and -less are often used with the same words to form opposites. This is not always true: a person with a home is NOT homefeon Exercises Write down an adjective (or adjectives) formed from these nouns or verbs. Cover the opposite page first. thought dire pain comfort attract care knowledge fame create danger suit rely fog polities sun wash home: enjoy music break Fill the gaps with suitable adjectives from the opposite page. 1 You must be very when you drive in wet weather. 2 Itwass0 this morning that I couldn't see more than twenty metres in front of me 3. Everyone in my country has heard of her; she's very 4 The people in the tourist information office were very and answered all our questions without any problems. S This isa very roads there were at least three serious accidents on it last 6 Iewas very when I hit my leg against the corner of the table. 7 This bag is very because I can use it for work or when I go on holiday. 8 We've never had any problems with our TV in ten years; it’s been very 2 9 The factory is in the middle of the part of the city, surrounded by othe factories. 10. I made some coffee but it was horrible. In fact, my sister said it was 11 I'm afraid my working hours ace very Thave to start at exactly the same ‘time every day and finish at the same time every day. 12 Ie seems terrible to me that there are so many people living in a city with thousands of empty houses. How many of these words can form opposites with the suffix -less? painful wonderful useful careful beautiful tactful awful thoughtful Can you think of words which mean the opposite of the other words (the ones without less)?