Appendix 1.

Word formation

A Introduction
Look at these examples.
Lots of people believe that God exists.
Lots of people believe in the existence of God.
Exist is a verb and existence is a noun. The word existence has two parts: exist and ence. We call ence a
'suffix'. We add it to end of the verb exist to form a noun.
We can also use suffixes to form verbs, adjectives and adverbs.
The system is being modernized. (= made modern)
I grew up in an industrial town. (= a town where there is a lot of industry)
The man was behaving strangely. (= in a strange way)
There are many different suffixes, such as ence, ize, al, ly, tion and ment. Some of them can be used to form
many different words. For example, there are a lot of nouns ending in tion: action, education, explanation,
information, instruction, etc. There are no exact rules about which suffix you can add to which word.
Adding a suffix can also involve other changes to the form of a word. industry —> industrial repeat —>
repetition science —> scientist.
Now look at these examples.
They're going to play the match on Wednesday.
They're going to replay the match on Wednesday.
We can add re to the beginning of the verb play. We call re a 'prefix'. A prefix adds something to the
meaning of a word. The verb replay means 'play again'. We can also add prefixes to nouns and adjectives. See
G and H.

B Noun suffixes
ment the prospects for employment reach an agreement
ion/tion/sion take part in a discussion increase steel production ask for permission
ation/ition an invitation to a party people's opposition to the idea
ence/ance a preference for houses rather than flats a distance of ten miles
ty/ity no certainty that we shall succeed keep the door locked for security
ness people's willingness to help recovering from an illness
ing enter a building reach an understanding

C Nouns for people

er/or the driver of the car a newspaper editor
ist a place full of tourists a scientist doing an experiment
ant/ent an assistant to help with my work students at the university
an/ian Republicans and Democrats the electrician rewiring the house
ee an employee of the company (= someone employed)
notes for examinees (= people taking an exam)
We also use er for things, especially machines.
a hair-dryer a food mixer a cassette player

D Verb suffixes
Many verbs are formed by adding ize or ise to an adjective. Some are formed by adding en. ize
European safety rules are being standardized. They privatized the company. en
They're widening the road here. Meeting you has really brightened my day.
E Adjective suffixes
Most of these adjectives are formed from nouns.
al a professional musician Britain's coastal waters
ic a metallic sound a scientific inquiry
ive an informative guidebook an offer exclusive to our readers
ful a successful career feeling hopeful about the future
less feeling hopeless about the future (= without hope) powerless to do anything about it
ous guilty of dangerous driving luxurious holiday apartments
y a rocky path the salty taste of sea water
ly > 109A a friendly smile a very lively person
able/ible an acceptable error (= an error that can be accepted) a comprehensible explanation
a valuable painting (= worth a lot of money) a comfortable chair

F Adverbs
ly>108 He looked around nervously. I moved here quite recently.

G Some common prefixes

anti (= against) anti-roads protestors anti-government troops
inter (= between) an international match interstate highways in the US
mini (= small) a minicomputer the minibar in your hotel room
mis (= wrongly) mishear what someone says miscalculate the amount
multi (= many) multicoloured lights a multimillionaire
over (= too much) too fond of overeating overcrowded roads
post (= after) the post-war world a postgraduate student
pre {— before) pre-match entertainment in prehistoric times
re (— again) a reunion of old friends reread a favourite book
semi (= half) semi-skilled work sitting in a semicircle
super (= big) a huge new superstore a supertanker carrying oil
under (= too little) thin and underweight underpaid work

H Negative prefixes
We can also use a prefix to form an opposite. For example, the opposite of clear is unclear (= not clear).
Un is the most common negative prefix.
dis a dishonest way to behave can't help being disorganized dislike the idea
disappear from the scene a disadvantage of the plan
il (+ 1) an illegal drug an illiberal attitude
im (+ m or p) an impossible task an impolite question
in an indirect route the invisible man a great injustice
ir (+ r) an irregular shape an irrelevant remark
non non-alcoholic drinks a non-stop flight
un an uncomfortable chair an unusual event an undated letter
uncertain what to do unpack your suitcase unzip the bag
 Appendix 2: The spelling of endings

A Plural nouns 3 Sometimes we double a final consonant. This

happens when a one-syllable verb ends with one
We add s to a noun to form the plural.
vowel and one consonant, e.g. beg, plan.
a car —> two cars a name —> some names
beg —> begged plan —> planned For
1 After s, sh, ch and x we add es /iz/. more details about doubling, see G.
glass —> glasses dish —> dishes match
—> matches box —> boxes D The ing-form
2 A few nouns ending in o have es.
1 We normally leave out e when we add ing
heroes potatoes tomatoes
to a verb.
But most have s.
take —> taking drive —> driving
discos kilos photos pianos radios
But we keep a double e before ing.
stereos studios zoos
see —> seeing agree —> agreeing
3 When a noun ends in a consonant + y, the y
2 When a verb ends in ie, it changes to ying.
changes to ies.
die —> dying lie —> lying
penny —> pennies story —> stories We do
But y does not change.
not change y after a vowel. day —> days
hurry —> hurrying
journey —> journeys
3 Sometimes we double a final consonant. This
B The present simple s ending happens when a one-syllable verb ends with one
vowel and one consonant, e.g. win, put.
In the third person singular, a present simple
win —> winning put --> putting
verb ends in s. (See Unit 5B.)
For more details about doubling, see G.
I know —> he knows I work —> she works

1 After s, sh, ch and x we add es /iz/. E Adverbs

pass —> passes wash —> washes
We form many adverbs from an adjective + ly.
catch —> catches mix —> mixes
slow —> slowly calm —> calmly
2 Some verbs ending in o have es.
1 We do not leave out e before ly.
go —> goes do —> does
safe —> safely strange --> strangely
3 When a verb ends in a consonant + y, But there are a few exceptions.
the y changes to ies. due —> duly true —> truly
hurry --> hurries copy —> copies We whole —> wholly
do not change y after a vowel. stay —>
stays enjoy —> enjoys 2 When an adjective ends in a consonant + y, the
y changes to ily.
angry —> angrily happy —> happily An
C The ed ending exception is shy --> shyly.
Most verbs have ed in the past tense.
3 When an adjective ends in a consonant + le, the
(See Unit 8B.) Most past participles also end
e changes to y.
in ed. (See Unit 1 IB.)
probable —> probably sensible —> sensibly
look --> looked call -> called
4 When an adjective ends in ic, we add ally.
1 If the verb ends in e, we add d.
hope —> hoped save —>saved automatic —> automatically romantic -->
romantically But there is one exception.
2 When a verb ends in a consonant + y, the y public —> publicly
changes to ied.
hurry —> hurried copy —> copied
F The comparison of adjectives 3 The rule about doubling is also true for words
of more than one syllable (e.g. permit = per +
We form the comparative and superlative of
mit), but only if the last syllable is stressed.
short adjectives with er and est. See Unit 110.
per'mit —> per'mitted
old —> older, oldest
prefer —> preferring
quick —> quicker, quickest
We do not usually double a consonant when the
1 If the adjective ends in e, we add r and st. syllable is unstressed.
late —> later, latest fine —> finer, finest 'open —> opened 'enter—> entering
2 When an adjective ends in a consonant + y, the An exception is that in British English 1 is
y changes to ier or iest. usually doubled, even if the syllable is
unstressed.
heavy —> heavier, heaviest
travel ~> travelled (US: traveled)
lucky —> luckier, luckiest
3 Sometimes we double a final consonant. This
happens when a one-syllable adjective ends with
one vowel and one consonant, e.g. big, flat.
big —> bigger, biggest flat —> flatter, flattest
For more details about doubling, see G.

G The doubling of consonants

1 When we add ed, ing, er or est to a word, we
sometimes double a final consonant. This
happens when a one-syllable word ends with
one vowel and one consonant, e.g. stop, get,
thin, sad.
stop —> stopped get —> getting thin
—> thinner sad —> saddest
2 We do not double y, w or x.
play —> played new —> newest
fax —> faxing
We do not double when there are two
consonants.
ask —> asking short —> shortest
rich —> richer
And we do not double when there are two
vowels.
seem —> seemed shout—> shouting
fair —> fairest