A common way of making new words in English is by adding standard combinations of letters to existing words,

either at the beginning (prefixes) or at the end (suffixes). By noting these carefully, you will find it easy to
increase your vocabulary. A prefix is a syllable, 2 syllables, or sometimes even a word, put at the beginning of a
word to change its meaning or to make another word. Prefixes are often used to give an adjective, a verb or a noun
a negative meaning, but there are also lots of other prefixes with specific meanings.

Prefixes with the meaning not

The most common prefixes used to give a negative meaning to adjectives, and some verbs and nouns, are as
follows:

Unfortunately, there is no easy way of knowing which prefix any adjective will use to form its negative. So when
you learn a new adjective, note down whether it has an opposite formed with a prefix and, if so, what it is.
The prefix in- This does not always have a negative meaning – often it gives the idea of inside or into,e.g.
internal, insert, income.
Verb prefixes: un- and dis-. These prefixes have two meanings. They can have a negative meaning ( as above),
but they can also mean 'the opposite of an action' or 'to reverse an action'. This meaning is used with certain verbs,
e.g. to lock – to unlock, to pack - to unpack , to appear – to disappear, to get dressed – to get undressed.
Other prefixes with specific meanings
Many other prefixes are used in English. Below is a list of prefixes which are useful in helping you to understand
unfamiliar words. Some of these words are used with a hyphen.
Suffixes
A suffix is a syllable or syllables put at the end of a word to change its word-class and / or its meaning. Suffixes
can briefly be divided into noun suffixes adjective suffixes verb suffixes
Noun suffixes
Verb + suffix. Many nouns are formed by adding a suffix to a verb. The most common suffixes of this type are as
follows:

* 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.
Noun + suffix. -ist is a common suffix added to existing nouns to describe people and their jobs : ecologist,
journalist, artist.
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 suffixes

Noun or verb + suffix. Adjectives can be formed from nouns or verbs by adding these suffixes

Suffixes can change word class, e.g . from verb to noun, or noun to adjective, but they can also change meaning.
The suffixes - able and –ible quite often have the meaning of can be done, e.g. something that is comprehensible
can be comprehended.
Words ending in –ible often add the prefix in- for their negative forms: incomprehensible The suffix –ful often
means 'full of': colourful = full of colours. The suffix – less means 'without': odourless = without odour
Here is a list of common suffixes in alphabetical order, their meaning or function and some examples

TASK1: Combine the prefixes super-, extra-, ultra-, and over- with the following word bases to fill in the gaps in
the sentences below: large (2) production (1) fast (2) long (2) pricing (1) cold (2) high (2) sensitive (2) positive (1)
- Because they are run on your pc rather than across the Internet they do not require a powerful computer and
_________ connection. (super-fast)
- There will be new forms of military remote sensing equipment, and low cost instruments for analysing
___________ chemical and biochemical reactions. (ultra-fast)
- Critique of what is claimed to be a new, ____________ stereotype of ageing which denies its problems. (over-
positive)
- Hotronic says the batteries were developed for _________ conditions. (extra-cold)
- Researchers at the University of Innsbruck have done just that with __________ lithium atoms, chilled to
within 200 millionths of a degree of absolute zero. (super-cold)
- Using an _________ Spf sunscreen that -according to conventional reason-can stave off skin tumours. (extra-
high)
- Terrestrial television transmission is ____________ frequency (uhf). (ultra high)
- Kipnis and Tsang (1984b) analysed the S&P500 index for the period from April 1982 to January 1983 and,
after allowing for transaction costs, found a considerable number of departures from the no-arbitrage condition,
with both ______ and under______ being present. (over-pricing)
- This will be captured on _____________ photographic film. (extra-sensitive)
- naSa’s ________________ gamma-ray detector will ride on its Gamma-ray
Large Area Space Telexcope. (ultra-sensitive)
- This was achieved by building an ___________ cavern in Norway goes back to the early 1970s. (extra-large)
- They jumped in size from 200 000 to 300 000 and even 400 000 tonnes,
earning the title ulccs, for _____________ crude carriers. (ultra-large)
- This helped the animal to be active and healthy despite being handicapped
by ___________ feathers. (extra-long)
- naSa’s ____________ Duration Balloon (uldb) project. (Ultra-Long)
- Oestrogen has a negative feed-back effect on the pituitary gland thus checking __________ of fSh-rh. (over-
production)

Writing in English A Practical Handbook for Scientific and Technical Writers

Task 2. Fill in the table, adding the appropriate preposition if necessary.

Noun adjective verb

Task 3. Provide the missing suffixes, changing the stem of the word if necessary.Some are used more than once:-
able • -acy • -ence • -hood • -ic • -ing •-ity • -ive • -ment • -tion.

EARTHQUAKES AND VOLCANOES

One of the main reasons that earthquakes are so (destroy)…………………… is thatthere is no (rely)
…………………… method of predicting their (occur) ……………………This means that they strike suddenly
and without (warn) …………………… Although enormous amounts of money have been spent on earthquake
research, so far there has been little (improve) …………………… in the (accurate) ……………………
of prediction. By contrast, scientists do have the (able) …………………… to predict certain othergeological
activities, such as volcanoes, with a (reason) …………………… degree of success. Priortothe Mount St Helens'
(erupt) …………………… in 1980, ground(deform) …………………… were reported and (seismography)
(record) …………………… clearly indicated that (volcano) …………………… activity was present.
Consequently, vulcanologists were able to announce the (likely) …………………… of the event within a time-
scale of a few months.

• destructive• reliable• occurrence• warning• improvement• accuracy• ability • reasonable• eruption• deformations
• seismographic / seismic• recordings• volcanic• likelihood
Task 4

The prefixes "en-" and the suffixes "-ise" can be used to form verbs The general meaning is "to transform – to
change - to make something have this feature".Examples: to enforce ...to modernise

Supply the required verb form.

1. When other analgesics have failed, morphine is used to……………………… pain in terminal cancer,
(minimum)
2. Research in physics and chemistry in the US was considerably……………………… by the arrival of European
refugees in the 1930s, (rich)
3. The seating capacity and wingspan of the new Airbus has been considerably……………………… (large)
4. Plants that have been……………………… can be found in Precambrian coal, (fossil)
5. The firm has……………………… in the manufacture of heat resistant polymers. (special)
6. It is the investment in research and development since the war that has……………………… French
manufacturing exports to expand at such an enormousrate, (able)
7. Huntingdon's disease is……………………… by uncontrolled movements, dementia, and death within 20 years
of onset, (character)
8. The most urgent question is how to………………………….. that nuclear weapons do not spread, (sure)

1. minimise 2. Enriched 3. enlarged 4. fossilised 5. specialised 6. enabled 7. Characterised 8. Ensure

Rules for noun formation – suffixes

ADJ/VERB + -th/-t(+ VOWEL CHANGE) depth • height •long / length •weight • width
ADJ + -ness hardness •heavy / heaviness •nearness • thickness
VERB + -ment to develop/development - measurement • movement

Rules for forming verbs NOUN/ADJ + 0(NO CHANGE)

to narrow * to thin • to range /to span /to extend to reach • to rate / to check / to monitor • to record / to plot
>- The trajectory of the missile was plotted on a graph.
NOUN/ADJ + -en to deepen • to lengthen • to shorten • to thicken • to widen
>• The river widens when it leaves the canyon.
NOUN/ADJ + adv particle
to check up • to level off •to slow down * to speed up • to step up • to work out
>- The speed of the neutrons is slowed down by the beryllium moderator.

Task 5
As we have seen in the above points, suffixes can be used to transform adjectives into nouns and verbs. Complete
the columns using the suffixes: -ment • -th •-ness • -en • 0.
1. wide/width / widen 2. measuring / measurements / measure 3. ranging / range / range
4. short / shortness / shortens 5. weak/weakness/weakens 6. equipped / equipment / equipped
7. red / redness / reddens 8. heavy / weight / weigh

Task 6

As we have already seen, the lexis can be extended by the use of prefixes and suffixes. Insert the following
negative prefixes into the sentences: anti- • dis- • im- • in- • ir- • un-.

1. In fact, Tycho Brahe did not accept the Copernican system. He thought that theEarth was…………… mobile.
2. The coriolis force, which explains the direction of wind patterns, is clockwise in the northern hemisphere
and…………… clockwise in the southern hemisphere.
3. Many people who are colour blind are…………… aware of it.
4. Crime statistics are frequently…………… accurate as so many crimes are neverreported.
5. The typical ……………abilities of Alzheimer's disease include loss of memory,anxiety and social withdrawal.
6. There is no way of proving it, but it is highly…………… probable that the sun willnot rise tomorrow.
7. Before changing any of the components, all electrical equipment should be……………connected.
8. The development of electronic communication is making distance…………… relevant.
9. According to Greek legend, Odysseus attached himself to his ship because the songs of the Sirens
were…………… resistible.
10. Glycol is an…………… freeze, that is to say, it lowers the freezing point.

1. immobile 2. anticlockwise 3. unaware 4. inaccurate 5. disabilities 6. improbable 7. disconnected

8. irrelevant 9. irresistible 10. antifreeze