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WORD FORMATION
English language spoken as well as written continues to dominate all over the
world. In every field of activity, whether social, cultural, official or political, it has
become almost a part of the everyday life of an individual. So, the necessity of cultivating
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the habit of speaking and writing this language correctly is of prime importance for both
a layman and a sophisticated worker, whoever strives at making some progress in life.
For this, there is every need to increase one’s fund of vocabulary.
n.
Thousands and thousands of words have among them many derived nouns. A study
means of affixation (prefixes and suffixes)
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AFFIXATION:
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of these words will be of greatest use. Derived nouns are formed from other words by
Derivational prefixes do not normally alter the word class of the base words; that is,
a prefix is added to a noun to form a new noun with a different meaning.
SUFFIXED NOUN
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BASE NOUN
Trial
w
.s
Group
outpatient (a patient who is not resident in a hospital)
ak
Patient
subgroup (a group which is a part of a larger group)
retrial (another trial of the same person for the same crime)
w
Derivational suffixes, on the other hand, usually change both the meaning and the
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word class; that is, a suffix is often added to a verb or adjective to form a new noun with
a different meaning:
BASE WORD
SUFFIXED NOUN
Adjective: dark
darkness
Verb: agree
agreement
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Noun: friend
friendship
A) Noun prefixes
The following list shows some of the more frequent prefixes, and indicates the
typical meaning signaled by each prefix.
Main Meaning(s)
anti-
against, opposite to
antibody, anticlimax
arch-
supreme, most
arch-enemy ,archbishop
auto-
self
bicentenary, bilingualism
bio-
of living things
co-
joint
biochemistry, biomass
at
io
two
n.
autobiography, autograph
bi-
co-chairman, co-founder
against
counteract, counterclaim
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counter
Examples
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Prefix
dis-
the opposite of
ex-
former
fore-
ahead, before
forefront, foreknowledge
hyper-
extreme
hyperinflation, hypertension
in-
inside, or the opposite of
inpatient, inattention
inter-
betwwen, among
interaction, intermarriage
sh
i
a thousand
bad
w
.s
mal-
ex-Marxist,ex-student
ak
kilo-
a million, supreme
mini-
small
kilobyte, kilowatt
malfunction, malnutrition
megawatt, megastar
minibus, mini-publication
bad, wrong
misconduct, mismatch
w
w
mega-
mis-
disbelief, discomfort
mono-
one
monopoly, monosyllable
new-
new
neo Marxist, neo-colonialism
non-
not
out-
outside, separate
poly-
many
nonpayment, non-specialist
outpatient, outbuilding
polysyllable, polytheism
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re-
again, back
re-election, re-organization
semi-
half
semicircle, semi-darkness
sub-
below
subgroup, subset
super-
more than, above, large
tele-
distant
telephone, teleshopping
tri-
three
tricycle, tri partism
ultra-
beyond
ultra filter, ultrasound
under-
below, too little
vice-
deputy (second in command)
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superhero, supermarket
underclass, underachievement
n.
vice-chairman, vice-president
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B) Noun Suffixes
Suffixes tend to have less specific meanings than prefixes.
Grammatically
speaking, their main role is to signal a change of word class, so that (for example) if
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you meet a word ending in –ism, -ness, or –tion, you can recognize it as a noun.
However, some suffixes are ambiguous: e.g. –al and –ful can make an adjective as
well as noun. (Note that the process of derivation can bring a change in the
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pronunciation or spelling of the base word; for example, when we add –cy to ‘infant’,
the whole word is spelt ‘infancy not ‘infantcy
-age
-al
-an, -ian
Examples
(various meanings)
w
.s
orphanage
Main Meaning(s)
ak
Suffix
action or instance of
wastage, postage, baggage,
arrival, burial, denial, proposal
nationality, language, etc.
American, historian, Korean,
w
Victorian
w
-ance,-ence
action or state of
assistance, resemblance,
State of being
dependence, difference,
experience
ignorance
-ant,-ent
a person who V-s, something
used for V-ing
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assistant, consultant, student
coolant, intoxicant, lubricant
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-cy
state or quality of being
accuracy, adequacy, infancy,
lunancy
-dom
state of being
boredom, freedom, stardom,
wisdom
-ee
a person (various meanings)
absentee, devotee, employee,
-ery, -ry
a person/thing that V-s,
actor, driver, filler, teacher, visitor
a connected with N
footballer ,cottager, New Yorker
(various non-personal
bakery, bravery, refinery, robbery
n.
-er, -or
co
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trainee
-ese
-ess
nationality or language
a female N
-ette
Chinese, Japanese, journalese
actress, baroness, tigress
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,waitress
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meanings)
a small N
cigarette, kitchenette, novelette
amount that fills a N
handful, mouthful, spoonful
-hood
state of being
childhood, falsehood, likelihood
-ician
person concerned with
-ie, -y
a pet name for N
auntie, daddy, doggie ,johnny
action/instance of V-ing.
w
.s
reading
clinician, physician, optician
ak
-ing
sh
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-ful
Feeling, meeting, training,
Place or material
building, crossing, landing,
lining
w
-ism
ideology, movement
atheism criticism capitalism,
w
Marxism
-ist
follower of N/A-ism, specialist
atheist, racist, capitalist,
physicist
-ite
citizen or follower of
Moabite, Muscovite,
Thatcherite, Thatcherism
-ity
state or quality of being
ability, activity, density, insanity
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-let
a small N
bomb let, booklet, piglet, and
leaflet
-ment
action or instance of V-ing
argument, movement, statement,
treatment
happiness
-ship
state or skill of being a N
membership
-tion
action or instance of V-ing
friendship, relationship,
communication, education,
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production
blindness, darkness, fairness,
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state or quality of being Adj
n.
-ness
-ure
action or instance of V-ing
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pressure
closure, departure, exposure,
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w
w
.s
ak
sh
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