1. - A way of building new words and make new meaning come to life -
Word Formation
- A way of building new words and make new meaning come to life -

2. As you could see, you can form new words with different meanings by adding a prefix or a sufix.
Negative Prefixes
Prefixes don’t change
the word class!
un-
il-
unfair;
uncommon;
untrue...
illegal;
illegitimate;
illogical...
im-
impossible;
immature;
imperfect...
dis-
disadvantage;
dislike;
dishonest...
in-
Mis-
incorrect;
informal;
inconvenient...
ir-
misunderstanding;
mistrust;
misbehave...
Non-
irrational;
irrelevant;
irresponsible...
non-smoker;
non-violent;
non-profit...

3. If you have any doubts, go to the dictionary!
To memorize! RULES
 When you want to change a word that starts with P or M, you add the prefix “im”:
 improper; immodest; impartial; impersonal; impolite; impractical, immigrant…
 Adjectives starting with L, you add the prefix “il”:
 illiterate; illegible; illicit; illegality; illegal; illogical…
 Adjectives beginning with R , you add the prefix “ir”:
 irrational; irresistible; irregular; irreverent; irresponsible…
If you have any doubts, go to the dictionary!
He’s your friend!

4. Suffixes usually change the word class of the base word!
Noun formation
-ment
-ation
-al
combine - combination;
accuse - accusation;
image - imagination...
employ - employment;
move - movement;
arrange – arrangement...
survive - survival;
arrive - arrival;
try - trial...
-ance/ -ence
-age
-er
perform - performance;
insure - insurance;
entry – entrance;
differ – difference;
prefer - preference...
carry - carriage;
use - usage;
pack - package...
work - worker;
sing - singer;
win - winner...

5. Noun formation -dom -hood -ity -ship - ess -ness -ist -th/ -t
king - kingdom;
free - freedom;
wise - wisdom...
neighbour - neighbourhood;
man - manhood;
parent - parenthood...
national - nationality;
feminine - femininity;
curious - curiosity...
-ship
- ess
-ness
relation - relationship;
friend - friendship;
champion - championship...
actor – actress;
prince - princess;
waiter - waitress...
dark - darkness;
fit - fitness;
weak - weakness...
-ist
-th/ -t
-ant/ ent
novel – novelist;
art - artist;
piano - pianist...
true - truth;
grow- growth;
weigh – weight...
study - student;
serve - servant;
assist - assistant...

6. Adjective formation -ful -y -ish -less -ous -able/ ible -al -ive
care - careful;
beauty - beautiful;
delight - delightful...
sleep - sleepy;
rain - rainy;
fun - funny...
tall - tallish;
dark - darkish;
green - greenish...
-less
-ous
use - useless;
shame - shameless;
hair - hairless...
fame – famous;
fury - furious;
poison - poisonous...
-able/ ible
accept - acceptable;
agree - agreeable;
access - accessible...
-al
-ive
electric – electrical;
nation - national;
emotion - emotional...
create – creative;
attract - attractive;
act - active...

7. Verb formation -en -ify -ise/ -ize -ate identity - identify;
deep - deepen;
wide - widen;
short - shorten...
identity - identify;
solid - solidify;
example - exemplify...
-ise/ -ize
-ate
apology - apologise;
tranquil - tranquilise;
sympathy - sympathise...
regular - regulate;
circular - circulate;
domestic - domesticate...