Lesson 04: Rules for Word Formation Part 1– Prefixes

Objectives: Students lean the meaning and function of words using prefixes and suffixes.

Warm-up:
Look at the following word. How many parts can you break this word into?

Reinstruction

Is there a word here that you already know? What are the sets of letters that are placed at the beginning and
at the end of that word?

The set of letters placed at the beginning are called prefixes while the set of letters placed at the end are
called suffixes.

What are Prefixes?

A prefix is a set of letters that is added to the beginning of a word to change or enhance its meaning.
Let's look at an example.

Friendly unfriendly

In the second picture we have added the prefix "un-" to the word "friendly." This prefix "un-" means
"not" or "the opposite of" the quality mentioned in the word

Here are more examples with the prefix "un-":

 happy ----> unhappy
 finished ----> unfinished
 believable ----> unbelievable
 acceptable ----> unacceptable

Given in the table are some common prefixes, their meaning, and an example word.

Prefix Meaning Example word

dis- not, opposite of disagree
in-, im- not incorrect, impossible
 un- not uninteresting
non- without nonstop
mis- wrongly misunderstand
re- again redo
under- below, lower, not enough underwater

Activity 01:

a) Add the correct prefix to the front of each base word to make a new word.

honest __________________________ obey ____________________________

fat ______________________________ understand _______________________
agree ___________________________ believable ________________________
dis- in- im-
ripe ______________________________ un- non- mis-
correct re- under-
__________________________
pleasant ________________________ view ____________________________
stop ___________________________ appeared ________________________
respect __________________________ ground ___________________________
fair _____________________________

b) Use the new words you made to complete the following sentences meaningfully.

1. I just can't believe it! The story is _____________________!

2. No, that answer is _________________. It is wrong.

3. Let's look at this information again. We should _____________ it before the test.

4. I saw Jagath a moment ago, but now I can't find him! It seems that he _____________!

5. Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't hear you correctly. I ___________________ you.

6. The subway does not go over the land like a normal train. It moves _____________.

7. The students know that it is ________________ to copy at exams.

8. I ate some _________________ yogurt before going to the gym.

9. The principle did not tolerate ____________________ from any student.

10. The scientist worked __________________ in his lab.

11. Thomson and Thompson _______________________ about everything.

12. Lisa had an _______________________ time at the party.

13. I would never _______________________ my parents.

14. Lily ate the banana even though it was still _______________________.

15. Some students felt that their teacher was being _____________________.

Learning the most common prefixes will help you to learn lots of new vocabulary. When you see a
word that begins with a prefix you can look at the word’s root. It might be a word that you already
know. Then add the meaning of the prefix to guess what that word means.

Prefix Meaning Example words

ir- not, opposite of irregular, irresponsible

il- not, opposite of illegal, illogical
de- opposite of, away from devalue, demotivate
en- cause to, put into enclose, enjoy
over- too much, above overflow, overgrow
anti- against, opposing antibiotic, antisocial,
co- With co-worker, co-pilot
ex- Former ex-president, ex-boyfriend
extra- beyond, more than extracurricular, extraordinary
super- beyond, above supermarket, superstar
pre- Before prefix, preview
fore- Before forecast, foresee
sub- under, lower submarine, subtitle
inter- between, among international, interschool
mid- Middle midsemester, midnight
post- After postgraduate, postmortem
semi- Half semicircle, semifinal
Look at the following table for some other commonly used prefixes.

Prefix Meaning Example words

tri- Three triangle, tricycle
multi- Many multicolor, multicultural
self- Self self-respect, self-study
auto- Self autobiography, automatic

Activity 02
a) Match the prefix to its meaning. Tick the square containing the right answer.
 i. bi-  same  twice  wrong
ii. ir-  not  after  again
iii. im-  not  before  wrong
iv. mis-  correctly  wrongly  after
v. pre-  before  not  wrongly
vi. il-  not  again  after
vii. en-  after  cause to  again
viii. co-  with  away  same
ix. extra-  self  many  more than
x. inter-  among  under  against
xi. post-  after  above  beyond
xii. fore-  former  after  before
xiii.auto-  former  self  half

b) In the New Word column, combine the prefix and the root word
to form a new word. Then write the meaning of the new word in the Meaning column.

Prefix Root word New Word Meaning

Ex: mis- understand misunderstand wrongly understand

1. bi- weekly
2. dis- belief
3. im- possible
4. mis- read
5. pre- game
6. il- literate
7. en- courage
8. co- exist
9. extra- terrestrial

10. inter- net

11. post- war

12. fore- tell

13. auto- graph

Activity 03
Use the correct prefix to complete the words inside the brackets to fill the blanks meaningfully.
Katherine wanted to plant a garden, but she was _______________ (sure) which kind of a flower she

wanted to grow. Her mother took her to the gardening store to help her decide. She liked all the

flowers so much, she wished she could plant one of every kind! Katherine was

______________________ (appointed) when her mother told her that would be

___________________ (possible). Katherine was having trouble choosing just one kind of flower.

There were so many,

Katherine felt
dis micro un re over im

_________________________ (whelmed). Some had large blooms, and some were so

small they seemed almost ______________________ (scopic)! Katherine's mother

_____________________ (minded) her that they could choose a different flower next

season. So Katherine settled on daisies and was very happy with her garden.

Lesson 04: Rules for Word Formation Part 2– Suffixes

Objectives: Students lean the meaning and function of words using prefixes and suffixes.

What are Suffixes?

A suffix is a set of letters that is added to the end of a word. A suffix is used to make a new word or to
change the grammatical function of the root word.

Let's look at an example.

Love lovable
In the second column we added the suffix "-able" to the word "love." This suffix "-able" means "capable
of being" or "able to be." 

So, the word lovable means something is able to be loved, or it makes you feel love for it.

Here are more examples with the suffix "-able" or "-ible" (depending on the root word):

 present ----> presentable
 comfort ----> comfortable
 depend ----> dependable
 reach ----> reachable

"-able" is an example of an adjective suffix. Any time you see a word ending in "-able", it is
an adjective.

Some suffixes are noun suffixes. They always make a noun. For example, the suffix
"-ment" talks about an "action" or a "process":

 enjoy ----> enjoyment

 treat ----> treatment
 govern ----> government
 develop ----> development

Table 01 below has some common adjective suffixes, their meaning, and

example words.

Suffix Meaning Example word

-able, -ible able to be terrible, comfortable

-ful full of skillful, beautiful
-less not having, without homeless, toothless

Table 02 below has some common noun suffixes, their meaning, and example words.

Suffix Meaning Example word

-dom place or state of being kingdom, freedom
-er a person who does teacher, worker
-ment action or process argument, payment
 -ness state of being kindness, happiness

Activity 01

a) Complete the words that describe the pictures below. Use the adjective suffixes from the list.

1. The first woman is very tired. She wants to rest!

The second woman can't stay still. She always wants to move! She is rest______________.

            

2. The first dog isn't cute. He's a little scary!

The second dog is very cute! He's

-able -ful -less

ador__________________!

          
3. Jason writes lots of lists, so he always remembers what he has to do. He never forgets!
But Melanie can't remember anything! She's very forget______________!

            

b) Complete the sentences that describe the pictures using the correct noun suffix.

1. I teach science in big a university. I am a physics teach_______.

-dom -ment -er -ness

2. Sir
Lancelot is
King Arthur’s best knight. He is brave and strong. He is the most important
knight in Arthur's whole king________!

3. Nuzra is my best friend. She is wonderful! The best thing about her is her
kind___________. She is always so nice to people!

4. The kids always have fun together. They never disagree or have an
argu_____.

Learning suffixes will help you not only learn lots of new vocabulary but also learn how to use
them when writing sentences. When you see a new word you can check whether there are any
suffixes in that word. Then use the knowledge you have of suffixes to use the word correctly
when writing sentences
Look at the following table for some other commonly used suffixes.

Noun Suffixes

Suffix Meaning Example words

-acy state or quality of democracy, accuracy

-ance, -ence state or quality of distance, absence
person or object that does the action reader, inventor
-er, -or
person or object that does the action scientist, communist
-ist
-al -tttthe action or process of trial, criminal
-ity, -ty qulaity of facility, activity
-ism doctrine or belief Buddhism, feminism
-ship position held friendship, relationship
-sion, tion state of being vision, promotion

Adjective Suffixes
-al having the form or character of herbal, social
-ic, -ical having the form or character of psychological, magnetic
-ious, -ous characterized by delicious, famous
-y characterized by jealousy, beauty
-ish having the quality of childish, selfish
having the nature of inquisitive, attentive
-ive

Verb Suffixes
-ate Become meditate, create
-en Become straighten, sharpen
-ise, -ize Become publicise, criticize
-ify, -fy make or become modify, qualify

Adverb Suffixes
-ly, -ally Manner softly, emotionally
-ward, -wards Direction forward, backwards
in relation to likewise, clockwise
-wise
Activity 02

Use a suitable suffix from the table above to turn the following verbs in to nouns.
educate
improve
discuss
stupid
dark
govern
Spell
hesitate
arrange
similar
Happy
popular
televise
elect
administer
punctual
manage
careless
Activity 03

Use the suffixes given to make the correct form of the word given in brackets and complete the following
paragraph meaningfully.

-less -er -ment -y -ally -able -ly -tion -ance -ive -ful

STAYING HEALTHY

In today’s busy world people are always searching for ways of

keeping fit and __________________ (HEALTH).
Running is an excellent exercise for achieving this goal.
Before you start, you should warm up and concentrate on
slow ______________________ (MOVE) that makes all
your muscles work. But be careful! If you stretch when your
muscles are cold, you might actually risk an
______________________ (INJURE).

Always wear ______________________ (COMFORT) clothing and good shoes that will put less
pressure on your knees.

Staying healthy also requires enough sleep. It’s ______________________ (OCCASION) OK to go to

bed late, but if you cut down on your sleep ______________________ (REGULAR) it will have a bad
effect on your health. It will also affect your ______________________ (APPEAR). Lack of sleep can
cause acne or dry skin. Stay active during the day. If you don’t get enough exercise during the day, you
may end up ______________________ (SLEEP) all night.

Most of us live in cities with a high ______________________ (POLLUTE) level. If we got more fresh
air we would look healthier and more ______________________ (ATTRACT). A quick walk is one of
the best things you can do. Walking slowly is ______________________ (USE) but a quick pace gets
more oxygen into your lungs.

Many young people feel ______________________ (GUILT) about eating too much chocolates and
sweets. But chocolate contains a lot of fat, and it is better to eat less chocolates. If your diet is balanced
you need not feel guilty: eating chocolate ______________________ (MODERATE) is fine but don’t
eat it instead of a proper meal