Word Formation, Roots, Prefixes and Suffixes -

Word Formation, Roots, Prefixes & Suffixes

Word formation is the process by which new words are created from existing words, roots, prefixes, and suffixes.

A strong understanding of word formation helps students to :

- understand unfamiliar vocabulary
- identify meanings of difficult words
- improve spelling
- distinguish parts of speech
- solve synonym and antonym questions
- answer fill-in-the-blank questions
- improve sentence correction and word replacement
- build vocabulary systematically instead of memorising every word separately

Consider the word act

From this one base, several words can be formed. For eg. :

- act
- action
- active
- actively
- activate
- activity
- actor
- actress
- inactive
- interaction
- reaction

Similarly, consider another word nation. It can produce:

- national
- nationality
- nationalise
- nationalism
- nationalist
- international
- multinational

Understanding how such words are constructed makes vocabulary much easier.

Table of Contents

Root Words

A root word is the basic element of a word that carries its central meaning. Other elements may be added before or after the root.

Example:

unhelpful

This may be analysed as: un + help + ful

- un- = not
- help = root/base word
- -ful = full of/having

Therefore: unhelpful = not helpful

Root, Prefix and Suffix

Consider the word disagreement : dis + agree + ment
- dis- = negative/opposite
- agree = root/base
- -ment = forms a noun

Meaning: disagreement = lack of agreement

Another word carelessness : care + less + ness
- care = root
- -less = without
- -ness = state or quality

Meaning: carelessness = the state of being careless

Root vs Base Word

A base word can often stand independently as a complete English word.

Examples:

- help
- use
- care
- work
- agree

A root may or may not be able to stand alone.

Example:

spect relates to looking, but spect is not normally used as an independent English word.

It appears in:

inspect
respect
spectator
spectacle
perspective

For competitive examinations, the terms root and base word are sometimes used loosely, but understanding the distinction is useful.

Common Root Words

Root	Meaning	Examples
act	do	action, active, react
aud	hear	audience, audible
bio	life	biology, biography
cred	believe	credible, credit
dict	say/speak	dictate, predict
duc/duct	lead	conduct, introduce
form	shape	formation, reform
graph	write	autograph, biography
ject	throw	reject, inject
log/logy	word/study	logic, biology
manu	hand	manual, manuscript
mit/miss	send	transmit, dismiss
port	carry	transport, import
scrib/script	write	describe, manuscript
spect	look	inspect, spectator
struct	build	construct, structure
tract	pull/draw	attract, extract
vid/vis	see	video, visible
voc/vok	call/voice	vocal, invoke

How Root Words Help

Suppose you encounter the word : incredible

If you know:

- in- = not
- cred = believe
- -ible = capable of

you can infer: incredible = difficult or impossible to believe

Similarly: transport

- trans- = across
- port = carry

Therefore:

transport = carry from one place to another

Important Root-Based Word Groups

spect = look

- inspect = look into carefully
- spectator = person who watches
- spectacle = something seen
- respect = regard
- prospect = view or possibility ahead
- retrospect = looking back

scrib/script = write

- describe
- prescribe
- subscribe
- manuscript
- inscription
- transcript

dict = say

- dictate
- diction
- dictionary
- predict
- contradict
- verdict

port = carry

- transport
- import
- export
- portable
- porter

tract = pull/draw

- attract
- distract
- contract
- extract
- retract

ject = throw

- inject
- eject
- reject
- project
- object
- interject

cred = believe

- credible
- incredible
- credit
- credentials
- creed

Root Analysis in Competitive Exams

A root can help in questions involving unfamiliar words.

Example: audible

If aud = hear, then: audible = capable of being heard.

Similarly:

invisible : in + vis + ible

- in = not
- vis = see
- ible = capable of

Meaning : not capable of being seen

Greek Roots

A large portion of scientific, technical, medical, and academic English comes from Greek roots.

Knowledge of Greek roots is especially useful in questions involving:

- science vocabulary
- medicine
- geography
- politics
- philosophy
- psychology
- technology

Anthrop

Meaning: human/man

Examples:

anthropology = study of humans

anthropologist = person who studies humans and cultures

anthropogenic = caused by human activity

Auto

Meaning: self

Examples:

autobiography = story of one’s own life

automatic = acting by itself

autonomous = self-governing

Bio

Meaning: life

Examples:

biology = study of life

biography = written account of a person’s life

biodiversity = variety of living organisms

biodegradable = capable of being broken down biologically

Chron

Meaning: time

Examples:

chronology = arrangement according to time

chronological = arranged by time

chronic = continuing for a long time

Demo

Meaning: people

Examples:

democracy = government by the people

demography = study of population

demographic = relating to population

Geo

Meaning: earth

Examples:

geography = study of the Earth and spatial relationships

geology = study of Earth’s physical structure

geothermal = relating to heat from within the Earth

geopolitics = relationship between geography and politics

Graph/Gram

Meaning: write, record, representation

Examples:

autograph = one’s own signature

photograph = image recorded using light

telegram = message sent over distance

diagram = visual representation

Hydro

Meaning: water

Examples:

hydrology = study of water

hydroelectric = generating electricity from water

hydrosphere = Earth’s water component

Logos/Logy

Meaning: study, word, reasoning

Examples:

biology = study of life

geology = study of Earth

psychology = study of mind and behaviour

sociology = study of society

Macro

Meaning: large

Examples:

macroeconomics

macroscopic

macrostructure

Micro

Meaning: small

Examples:

microscope

microbiology

microorganism

microeconomics

Mono

Meaning: one

Examples:

monologue = speech by one person

monopoly = control by one seller/entity

monochrome = having one colour

Morph

Meaning: form or shape

Examples:

morphology = study of form

geomorphology = study of landforms

metamorphosis = transformation of form

Path

Meaning: feeling or disease

Examples:

sympathy

empathy

pathology = study of disease

Phil

Meaning: love

Examples:

philosophy = traditionally associated with love of wisdom

philanthropy = love of humanity expressed through charitable action

bibliophile = person who loves books

Phobia

Meaning: fear

Examples:

claustrophobia = fear of enclosed spaces

hydrophobia = fear of water; also historically associated with rabies symptoms

xenophobia = fear or hostility towards foreigners or outsiders

Photo

Meaning: light

Examples:

photograph

photosynthesis

photogenic

Poly

Meaning: many

Examples:

polygon = many-sided figure

polytheism = belief in many gods

polyglot = person who knows many languages

Psych

Meaning: mind

Examples:

psychology

psychological

psychiatry

Scope

Meaning: see/view

Examples:

microscope

telescope

periscope

Tele

Meaning: far/distant

Examples:

telephone

television

telecommunication

telescope

Therm

Meaning: heat

Examples:

thermal

thermometer

geothermal

thermodynamics

Greek Roots Revision Table

Greek Root	Meaning	Examples
anthrop	human	anthropology
auto	self	autobiography, autonomous
bio	life	biology, biodiversity
chron	time	chronology
demo	people	democracy, demography
geo	earth	geography, geology
graph	write/record	autograph, photograph
hydro	water	hydrology
logy	study	biology, sociology
macro	large	macroeconomics
micro	small	microscope
mono	one	monologue
morph	form	morphology
path	disease/feeling	pathology, sympathy
phil	love	philanthropy
phobia	fear	claustrophobia
photo	light	photograph
poly	many	polygon
psych	mind	psychology
scope	view	telescope
tele	distant	telephone
therm	heat	thermometer

Latin Roots

A large number of common English words come from Latin roots.

Latin roots are particularly useful for understanding:

- administrative terms
- legal vocabulary
- academic vocabulary
- formal English
- everyday English vocabulary

Bene

Meaning: good/well

Examples:

benefit = advantage

beneficial = producing good results

benevolent = kind and generous

Mal

Meaning: bad

Examples:

malfunction = function badly

malnutrition = poor nutrition

malpractice = improper professional conduct

Aud

Meaning: hear

Examples:

audible

audience

auditory

Cred

Meaning: believe

Examples:

credible

incredible

credibility

credit

Dict

Meaning: say/speak

Examples:

dictate

predict

contradict

verdict

Duc/Duct

Meaning: lead

Examples:

conduct

introduce

educate historically derives through the idea of leading out

aqueduct

Fac/Fact/Fect

Meaning: make/do

Examples:

factory

manufacture

effect

perfect

Fer

Meaning: carry/bear

Examples:

transfer

refer

confer

offer

Fin

Meaning: end/boundary

Examples:

final

finish

finite

define

Flex/Flect

Meaning: bend

Examples:

flexible

reflect

deflect

Form

Meaning: shape

Examples:

form

reform

transform

formation

Grad/Gress

Meaning: step/go

Examples:

grade

graduate

progress

regress

congress

Ject

Meaning: throw

Examples:

reject

inject

eject

project

Jur/Jus

Meaning: law/right

Examples:

jury

jurisdiction

justice

justify

Manu

Meaning: hand

Examples:

manual

manuscript

manufacture

Mit/Miss

Meaning: send

Examples:

submit

transmit

dismiss

mission

permission

Mort

Meaning: death

Examples:

mortal

mortality

immortal

Ped

Meaning: foot

Examples:

pedestrian

pedal

pedicure

Do not confuse with Greek ped/pedag relating to children or education in words such as pedagogy.

Port

Meaning: carry

Examples:

portable

transport

import

export

Rupt

Meaning: break

Examples:

rupture

interrupt

corrupt

disrupt

Scrib/Script

Meaning: write

Examples:

scribe

describe

script

manuscript

inscription

Sect/Sec

Meaning: cut

Examples:

section

dissect

bisect

Sent/Sens

Meaning: feel

Examples:

sensation

sensitive

sentiment

Spect

Meaning: look

Examples:

inspect

spectator

respect

prospect

Struct

Meaning: build

Examples:

construct

structure

infrastructure

destruction

Terr

Meaning: earth/land

Examples:

territory

terrestrial

terrain

Mediterranean

Tract

Meaning: pull/draw

Examples:

attract

contract

extract

distract

Vid/Vis

Meaning: see

Examples:

video

vision

visible

visual

Voc/Vok

Meaning: call/voice

Examples:

vocal

vocation

invoke

provoke

Latin Roots Revision Table

Latin Root	Meaning	Examples
bene	good	beneficial, benevolent
mal	bad	malfunction, malpractice
aud	hear	audible, audience
cred	believe	credible
dict	speak	predict, contradict
duct	lead	conduct, aqueduct
fac/fact	make/do	factory
fer	carry	transfer
fin	end	final, finite
flex/flect	bend	flexible, reflect
grad/gress	step/go	graduate, progress
ject	throw	reject, project
jur	law	jury, jurisdiction
manu	hand	manual
mit/miss	send	transmit, mission
mort	death	mortal
port	carry	transport
rupt	break	disrupt
scrib/script	write	describe, manuscript
sect	cut	section, dissect
sens/sent	feel	sensitive
spect	look	inspect
struct	build	construct
terr	earth	territory
tract	pull	attract
vid/vis	see	visible
voc/vok	call	vocal, invoke

Prefixes

A prefix is a group of letters added before a root or base word to modify its meaning.

Example: happy → unhappy Here: un- means not.

write → rewrite. Here: re- means again.

A prefix usually changes the meaning of a word, though it may not always change its grammatical category.

Negative Prefixes

Un-

Meaning: not, opposite of

Examples:

- unhappy
- unfair
- uncertain
- unable
- unusual

In-

Meaning: not

Examples:

- incorrect
- inactive
- incomplete
- indirect

The form changes depending on the following sound.

Im-

Used especially before m, p, b sounds.

Examples:

- impossible
- improper
- immature
- imbalance

Il-

Often before l

Examples:

- illegal
- illogical
- illegible

Ir-

Often before r

Examples:

- irregular
- irresponsible
- irrelevant

Dis-

Meaning:

- not
- opposite
- reverse

Examples:

- disagree
- dishonest
- dislike
- disconnect
- disapprove

Non-

Meaning: not

Examples:

- non-verbal
- non-payment
- non-existent
- non-violent

Prefixes Showing Repetition or Return

Re-

Meaning: again or back

Examples:

- rewrite
- reconsider
- rebuild
- reopen
- return

Be careful: not every word beginning with re- can be meaningfully divided this way in modern English.

Prefixes Showing Time

Pre-

Meaning: before

Examples:

- prehistoric
- prepaid
- precondition
- preliminary

Post-

Meaning: after

Examples:

- postgraduate
- post-war
- post-election
- postnatal

Ante-

Meaning: before

Examples:

- antecedent
- antenatal

Prefixes Showing Number

Uni-

Meaning: one

Examples:

- unilateral
- uniform
- unicycle

Bi-

Meaning: two

Examples:

- bilateral
- bicycle
- bilingual

Tri-

Meaning: three

Examples:

- triangle
- tricycle
- trilingual

Multi-

Meaning: many

Examples:

- multinational
- multicultural
- multipurpose

Poly-

Meaning: many

Examples:

- polygon
- polytheism

Mono-

Meaning: one

Examples:

- monologue
- monochrome
- monopoly

Prefixes Showing Degree or Size

Micro-

Meaning: small

Examples:

- microscope
- microorganism
- microeconomics

Macro-

Meaning: large

Examples:

- macroeconomics
- macrostructure

Mini-

Meaning: small

Examples:

- minibus
- minimum
- miniature

Mega-

Meaning: very large

Examples:

- megacity
- megaproject

Super-

Meaning:

- above
- beyond
- excessive

Examples:

- supernatural
- superpower
- superhuman

Hyper-

Meaning: excessive/above normal

Examples:

- hyperactive
- hypertension
- hypersensitive

Hypo-

Meaning: below/deficient

Examples:

- hypothermia
- hypoglycaemia

Prefixes Showing Position or Direction

Sub-

Meaning: under/below

Examples:

- submarine
- subconscious
- subdivision

Super-

Meaning: above

Examples:

- superstructure
- supernatural

Inter-

Meaning: between/among

Examples:

- international
- interpersonal
- intercontinental

Intra-

Meaning: within

Examples:

- intrastate
- intramural
- intracellular

Compare:

interstate = between states

intrastate = within a state

Trans-

Meaning: across

Examples:

- transport
- transnational
- transcontinental

Extra-

Meaning:

- outside
- beyond

Examples:

- extracurricular
- extraordinary
- extraterrestrial

Ex-

Meaning:

- former
- out

Examples:

- ex-president
- export
- exclude

Prefixes Showing Opposition or Against

Anti-

Meaning: against

Examples:

- anti-corruption
- antibiotic
- anti-war

Contra-/Counter-

Meaning: against/opposite

Examples:

- contradict
- counterattack
- counterproductive

Prefixes Showing Togetherness

Co-

Meaning: together/jointly

Examples:

- cooperate
- co-author
- coexist

Con-/Com-

Meaning: together/with

Examples:

- combine
- connect
- cooperate

Prefixes Related to Self

Auto-

Meaning: self

Examples:

- autobiography
- autonomous
- automatic

Common Prefixes Table

Prefix	Meaning	Examples
un-	not	unhappy
dis-	opposite/not	disagree
in-/im-/il-/ir-	not	incorrect, impossible
non-	not	non-violent
re-	again/back	rewrite
pre-	before	prehistoric
post-	after	postgraduate
sub-	under	submarine
super-	above	supernatural
inter-	between	international
intra-	within	intrastate
trans-	across	transport
anti-	against	anti-war
co-	together	cooperate
bi-	two	bilateral
tri-	three	triangle
multi-	many	multinational
micro-	small	microscope
macro-	large	macroeconomics
ex-	former/out	ex-president
auto-	self	autobiography

Prefixes and Spelling

Some prefixes may require a hyphen.

Examples:

ex-president
self-control
anti-inflammatory
re-enter

Hyphen use depends partly on established spelling conventions.

Always consult standard usage for uncertain forms.

Suffixes

A suffix is a group of letters added after a root or base word.

Suffixes often change the part of speech of a word.

Example: happy → happiness

- happy = adjective
- happiness = noun

Another: quick → quickly

- quick = adjective
- quickly = adverb

Noun-Forming Suffixes

-ness

Forms nouns expressing a state or quality.

Examples:

- happy → happiness
- kind → kindness
- dark → darkness
- weak → weakness

-ment

Forms nouns indicating action, result, or condition.

Examples:

- develop → development
- improve → improvement
- govern → government
- achieve → achievement

-tion / -sion / -ation

Forms nouns, often from verbs.

Examples:

- act → action
- educate → education
- decide → decision
- inform → information
- organise → organisation

-ity

Forms abstract nouns.

Examples:

- active → activity
- equal → equality
- possible → possibility
- responsible → responsibility

-ance / -ence

Examples:

- perform → performance
- attend → attendance
- exist → existence
- differ → difference

-er / -or

Often denotes a person who performs an action.

Examples:

- teach → teacher
- write → writer
- act → actor
- inspect → inspector

-ist

Often denotes a person associated with a profession, belief, field, or activity.

Examples:

- art → artist
- science → scientist
- social → socialist
- biology → biologist

-ism

Often refers to a belief, doctrine, system, or practice.

Examples:

- nationalism
- socialism
- capitalism
- realism

-ship

State, condition, position, or relationship.

Examples:

- friendship
- leadership
- membership
- citizenship

-hood

State, condition, or period.

Examples:

- childhood
- brotherhood
- neighbourhood

Adjective-Forming Suffixes

-ful

Meaning: full of/having

Examples:

- care → careful
- hope → hopeful
- beauty → beautiful
- use → useful

-less

Meaning: without

Examples:

- careless
- hopeless
- useless
- powerless

-ous

Examples:

- danger → dangerous
- courage → courageous
- fame → famous

-al

Examples:

- nation → national
- region → regional
- environment → environmental

-ive

Examples:

- act → active
- attract → attractive
- create → creative

-able / -ible

Meaning: capable of

Examples:

- read → readable
- accept → acceptable
- access → accessible
- sense → sensible

-ic

Examples:

- economy → economic
- history → historic
- science → scientific

-ish

Meaning:

having qualities of
somewhat

Examples:

- child → childish
- fool → foolish
- green → greenish

-y

Examples:

- cloud → cloudy
- rain → rainy
- health → healthy

Verb-Forming Suffixes

-ise / -ize

Examples:

- modern → modernise/modernize
- national → nationalise/nationalize
- legal → legalise/legalize

British English often permits -ise, while -ize is also standard in many dictionaries and is dominant in American English.

-ify

Meaning: make or become

Examples:

- simple → simplify
- pure → purify
- class → classify
- beauty → beautify

-en

Meaning: make or become

Examples:

- strength → strengthen
- wide → widen
- short → shorten
- bright → brighten

Adverb-Forming Suffixes

-ly

The most common adverb-forming suffix.

Examples:

- quick → quickly
- careful → carefully
- happy → happily
- slow → slowly

However, not every word ending in -ly is an adverb.

Examples:

- friendly
- lovely
- lively
- lonely

These are normally adjectives.

Common Suffixes Table

Suffix	Common Function	Examples
-ness	noun	happiness
-ment	noun	development
-tion	noun	education
-ity	noun	equality
-ance/-ence	noun	performance, existence
-er/-or	person noun	teacher, actor
-ist	person/belief	scientist
-ism	doctrine/system	capitalism
-ship	state/relationship	friendship
-hood	state/period	childhood
-ful	adjective	useful
-less	adjective	careless
-ous	adjective	dangerous
-al	adjective	national
-ive	adjective	active
-able/-ible	adjective	readable, visible
-ic	adjective	economic
-y	adjective	rainy
-ise/-ize	verb	modernise
-ify	verb	simplify
-en	verb	strengthen
-ly	adverb	slowly

Spelling Changes with Suffixes

Word formation often changes spelling.

happy + ness → happiness . Here, The y changes to i.
easy + ly → easily
beauty + ful → beautiful
create + ion→ creation
decide + sion → decision
permit + ion → permission

Therefore, word formation requires knowledge of spelling patterns, not merely suffix meanings.

Word Families

A word family is a group of words formed from the same root or base and related in meaning.

Learning vocabulary through word families is highly effective for competitive examinations because one root can generate several useful words.

Act Family

Word	Part of Speech	Meaning
act	noun/verb	action/do
action	noun	act or process
active	adjective	energetic/in operation
actively	adverb	in an active manner
activity	noun	action or occupation
activate	verb	make active
activation	noun	process of activating
inactive	adjective	not active
reaction	noun	response
interact	verb	act upon one another
interaction	noun	mutual action

Beauty Family

- beauty → noun
- beautiful → adjective
- beautifully → adverb
- beautify → verb

Examples:

The beauty of the landscape attracted tourists.

It is a beautiful place.

The garden was beautifully maintained.

The municipality plans to beautify the area.

Care Family

care → noun/verb
careful → adjective
carefully → adverb
careless → adjective
carelessly → adverb
carelessness → noun

Create Family

create → verb
creation → noun
creative → adjective
creatively → adverb
creativity → noun
creator → noun

Decide Family

decide → verb
decision → noun
decisive → adjective
decisively → adverb
indecisive → adjective
indecision → noun

Develop Family

develop → verb
development → noun
developed → adjective
developing → adjective
developmental → adjective
developer → noun

Educate Family

educate → verb
education → noun
educational → adjective
educationally → adverb
educator → noun
educated → adjective

Employ Family

employ → verb
employee → noun
employer → noun
employment → noun
unemployed → adjective
unemployment → noun
employable → adjective

Govern Family

govern → verb
government → noun
governor → noun
governance → noun
governmental → adjective

Help Family

help → noun/verb
helpful → adjective
helpless → adjective
helpfully → adverb
helplessly → adverb
helplessness → noun

Nation Family

nation → noun
national → adjective
nationally → adverb
nationality → noun
nationalism → noun
nationalist → noun/adjective
nationalise → verb
international → adjective
multinational → adjective/noun

Produce Family

produce → verb/noun depending pronunciation and context
product → noun
production → noun
productive → adjective
productivity → noun
producer → noun

Protect Family

protect → verb
protection → noun
protective → adjective
protector → noun
protected → adjective
unprotected → adjective

Success Family

success → noun
succeed → verb
successful → adjective
successfully → adverb
unsuccessful → adjective
unsuccessfully → adverb

Strength Family

strength → noun
strong → adjective
strongly → adverb
strengthen → verb

Word Families Revision Table

Noun	Verb	Adjective	Adverb
beauty	beautify	beautiful	beautifully
care	care	careful	carefully
creation	create	creative	creatively
decision	decide	decisive	decisively
development	develop	developmental	developmentally
education	educate	educational	educationally
employment	employ	employable	—
success	succeed	successful	successfully
strength	strengthen	strong	strongly
use	use	useful	usefully
danger	endanger	dangerous	dangerously
difference	differ	different	differently
confidence	—	confident	confidently
patience	—	patient	patiently
ability	enable	able	ably

Formation of Nouns/Adjectives/Verbs/Adverbs

Word formation frequently involves changing one part of speech into another.

This is extremely important in competitive examinations because the blank in a sentence may require a specific grammatical category.

Consider: ‘success’

-Noun: Her success surprised everyone.

-Verb: She succeeded in the examination.

-Adjective: She was successful.

-Adverb: She completed the task successfully.

The meaning remains related, but the grammatical function changes.

Formation of Nouns

Nouns can be formed from:

- verbs
- adjectives
- other nouns

Verb → Noun

Common patterns:

-tion / -sion

- act → action
- educate → education
- decide → decision
- expand → expansion

-ment

- develop → development
- achieve → achievement
- govern → government
- improve → improvement

-al

- arrive → arrival
- refuse → refusal
- approve → approval

-ance / -ence

- perform → performance
- exist → existence
- differ → difference

-er / -or

- teach → teacher
- write → writer
- act → actor
- direct → director

Adjective → Noun

-ness

- happy → happiness
- kind → kindness
- weak → weakness

-ity

- active → activity
- equal → equality
- possible → possibility

-ence / -ance

- confident → confidence
- important → importance

Examples:

His kindness impressed everyone.
Equality before law is an important principle.

Formation of Adjectives

Adjectives may be formed from nouns or verbs.

Noun → Adjective

-ful

- care → careful
- hope → hopeful
- beauty → beautiful

-less

- care → careless
- hope → hopeless
- power → powerless

-al

- nation → national
- region → regional
- culture → cultural

-ous

- danger → dangerous
- courage → courageous

-y

- rain → rainy
- cloud → cloudy
- health → healthy

Verb → Adjective

-ive

- attract → attractive
- act → active
- create → creative

-able / -ible

- read → readable
- accept → acceptable
- access → accessible

-ed / -ing

These can also form participial adjectives.

Examples:

- interest → interested / interesting
- bore → bored / boring
- excite → excited / exciting

Compare:

The lecture was interesting : -ing often describes the thing causing the feeling.

The students were interested : -ed often describes the person or thing experiencing the feeling.

Formation of Verbs

Verbs may be formed from nouns or adjectives.

-ise / -ize

- modern → modernise
- national → nationalise
- legal → legalise
- symbol → symbolise

-ify

- simple → simplify
- pure → purify
- class → classify
- beauty → beautify

-en

- strength → strengthen
- wide → widen
- short → shorten
- bright → brighten

Prefix-Based Verb Formation

Sometimes prefixes form new verbs.

Examples:

en-

- able → enable
- large → enlarge
- rich → enrich

de-

- code → decode
- forest → deforest

re-

- write → rewrite
- build → rebuild

Formation of Adverbs

The most common method is:

Adjective + -ly

Examples:

- slow → slowly
- careful → carefully
- successful → successfully
- complete → completely

Spelling Rules for -ly

happy → happily . Here, y changes to i.

easy → easily
true → truly

Some words drop the final e.

basic → basically

Adjectives and Adverbs with the Same Form

Some words function as both adjective and adverb without adding -ly.

Examples:

fast

– Adjective: He drives a fast car.

– Adverb: He drives fast.

hard

– Adjective: This is a hard task.

– Adverb: She works hard.

early

– Adjective : We caught an early train.

– Adverb : We arrived early.

late

-Adjective : The late train caused problems.

-Adverb: He arrived late.

-ly Words That Are Not Adverbs

Do not assume that every word ending in -ly is an adverb.

The following are usually adjectives:

- friendly
- lovely
- lonely
- lively
- elderly
- costly

Correct : She is friendly.

Not: She spoke friendly. ✘

Better: She spoke in a friendly manner.

Noun–Verb–Adjective–Adverb Table

Noun	Verb	Adjective	Adverb
action	act	active	actively
beauty	beautify	beautiful	beautifully
care	care	careful	carefully
creation	create	creative	creatively
danger	endanger	dangerous	dangerously
decision	decide	decisive	decisively
difference	differ	different	differently
education	educate	educational	educationally
help	help	helpful	helpfully
hope	hope	hopeful	hopefully
success	succeed	successful	successfully
strength	strengthen	strong	strongly
use	use	useful	usefully
value	value	valuable	valuably
wonder	wonder	wonderful	wonderfully

Part-of-Speech Clues in Sentences

A major examination skill is identifying what type of word a blank requires.

After an Article

After: a / an / the , a noun is often expected, though an adjective may come before the noun.

Example: The rapid _____ of the city created problems.

Options may include:

- expand
- expansion
- expansive
- expansively

Correct: expansion , because the structure requires a noun.

After a Linking Verb

After verbs such as:

- be
- seem
- become
- appear
- look
- feel

an adjective is often required.

Example: She seems _____.

Correct: confident

Not: confidently ✘

Modifying a Verb

An adverb is often required.

Example: She answered the question _____.

Correct: confidently

Before a Noun

An adjective is often required.

Example: It was a _____ decision.

Correct: wise

After a Modal

After:

- can
- could
- may
- might
- shall
- should
- will
- would
- must

use the base form of a verb.

Example: The policy may _____ economic growth.

Correct: encourage

Word Formation in Fill-in-the-Blank Questions

Example:

The government announced several measures for the _____ of rural infrastructure.

Root: develop

Possible forms:

- develop
- development
- developmental
- developmentally

The phrase: for the _____ of — requires a noun.

Correct: development

Another:

The programme was _____ implemented.

Root: success

Possible forms:

- success
- succeed
- successful
- successfully

The blank modifies implemented, a verb.

Therefore an adverb is needed.

Correct: successfully

Another:

The programme proved highly _____.

The blank follows proved, functioning as a linking verb.

Therefore an adjective is required.

Correct: successful

Negative Word Formation

Prefixes are frequently used to form antonyms.

Examples:

- possible → impossible
- legal → illegal
- regular → irregular
- honest → dishonest
- happy → unhappy
- responsible → irresponsible
- active → inactive

However, the correct negative prefix must be learned with the word.

Correct: illegal :; Not: unlegal ✘

Correct: impossible ;:Not: unpossible ✘

Correct: irregular ;: Not: inregular ✘

Common Negative Forms

Positive	Negative
able	unable
accurate	inaccurate
active	inactive
agree	disagree
appear	disappear
honest	dishonest
legal	illegal
logical	illogical
mature	immature
moral	immoral
possible	impossible
regular	irregular
relevant	irrelevant
responsible	irresponsible
visible	invisible

Common Word-Formation Errors

Incorrect: He completed the work successful. ✘
Correct: He completed the work successfully. ✔

Reason: An adverb is required to modify completed.

Incorrect: She is a successfully candidate. ✘
Correct: She is a successful candidate. ✔

Reason: An adjective is required before the noun candidate.

Incorrect: The develop of the region is rapid. ✘
Correct: The development of the region is rapid. ✔

Incorrect: He behaved very rude. ✘
Correct: He behaved very rudely. ✔

Incorrect:The news made everyone happiness. ✘
Correct: The news made everyone happy. ✔

Here, happy functions as an object complement.

Incorrect: This book is very use. ✘
Correct: This book is very useful. ✔

Frequently Tested Word Families

Base/Root	Noun	Verb	Adjective	Adverb
admire	admiration	admire	admirable	admirably
beauty	beauty	beautify	beautiful	beautifully
care	care	care	careful	carefully
compete	competition	compete	competitive	competitively
create	creation	create	creative	creatively
decide	decision	decide	decisive	decisively
differ	difference	differ	different	differently
educate	education	educate	educational	educationally
employ	employment	employ	employable	—
govern	government/governance	govern	governmental	—
help	help	help	helpful	helpfully
imagine	imagination	imagine	imaginative	imaginatively
improve	improvement	improve	improved	—
inform	information	inform	informative	informatively
inspire	inspiration	inspire	inspirational/inspiring	inspirationally
protect	protection	protect	protective	protectively
succeed	success	succeed	successful	successfully
tolerate	tolerance	tolerate	tolerant	tolerantly
use	use	use	useful	usefully
value	value	value	valuable	—

Common Prefix–Root–Suffix Analysis

Unemployment : un + employ + ment
- un = not
- employ = base
- ment = noun-forming suffix

Meaning: state of being without employment

International : inter + nation + al
- inter = between
- nation = root/base
- al = adjective-forming suffix

Meaning: relating to more than one nation

Irresponsibility : ir + responsible + ity

- ir = not
- responsible = base
- ity = noun-forming suffix

Meaning: state or quality of being irresponsible

Misinterpretation : mis + interpret + ation
- mis = wrongly
- interpret = base
- ation = noun-forming suffix

Meaning: incorrect interpretation

Reconstruction : re + construct + ion

- re = again
- construct = build
- ion = noun suffix

Meaning: the process of constructing again

Other Important Word-Formation Processes

Not all English words are formed only through prefixes and suffixes.

Compounding

Two or more words combine to create a new word.

Examples:

- classroom
- newspaper
- railway
- rainfall
- toothbrush
- greenhouse

Compounds may be:

- closed → notebook
- hyphenated → well-known
- open → post office

Conversion

A word changes its grammatical function without changing its form.

Example:

email

– Noun: I received an email.

– Verb: Please email me the document.

water

– Noun: Water is essential for life.

– Verb: Please water the plants.

Clipping

A longer word is shortened.

Examples:

- examination → exam
- advertisement → ad
- laboratory → lab
- photograph → photo
- influenza → flu

Blending

Parts of two words combine.

Examples:

smoke + fog → smog
breakfast + lunch → brunch
motor + hotel → motel

Acronyms and Initialisms

Words or abbreviations may be formed from initial letters.

Examples:

NASA

UNESCO

ATM

GDP

Some are pronounced as words, while others are pronounced letter by letter.

Back-Formation

A shorter word is created by removing what appears to be a suffix.

Examples:

editor → edit

donation → donate

babysitter → babysit

Borrowing

English has adopted words from many languages.

Examples:

- bungalow
- shampoo
- jungle
- tsunami
- café
- kindergarten

This shows that English vocabulary develops through many processes.

Quick Method for Word-Formation Questions

When a word-formation question appears:

- Locate the root/base word.
- Read the complete sentence.
- Determine the required part of speech.
- Look for grammatical clues around the blank.
- Identify whether a prefix is needed.
- Identify the suitable suffix.
- Check spelling changes.
- Check whether the meaning should be:
  - positive
  - negative
  - opposite
  - repeated
  - before/after
  - person
  - action
  - quality
- Finally, read the sentence again for natural usage.

Example: The minister spoke _____ about the programme.

Base word: confidence

Possible family:

- confidence → noun
- confident → adjective
- confidently → adverb

Since the blank modifies spoke, the correct answer is: confidently

Revision Table

Feature	What It Does	Example
Root	carries core meaning	spect = look
Prefix	comes before root	unhappy
Suffix	comes after root	happiness
un-	negative	unfair
re-	again	rewrite
pre-	before	prehistory
post-	after	postgraduate
inter-	between	international
-ness	noun	kindness
-ment	noun	development
-tion	noun	education
-ful	adjective	helpful
-less	adjective	hopeless
-able	adjective	readable
-ise	verb	modernise
-ify	verb	simplify
-ly	adverb	quickly

Key Points to Remember

A root carries the basic meaning of a word.
A prefix is added before a root or base.
A suffix is added after a root or base.
Prefixes generally modify meaning:
- un- → not
- re- → again
- pre- → before
- post- → after
- anti- → against
- inter- → between
- intra- → within
- trans- → across
Negative prefixes include:
- un-
- dis-
- in-
- im-
- il-
- ir-
- non-
Remember:
- legal → illegal
- possible → impossible
- regular → irregular
- active → inactive
- honest → dishonest
Greek roots frequently occur in scientific vocabulary:
- bio → life
- geo → earth
- hydro → water
- micro → small
- macro → large
- tele → distant
- therm → heat
- psych → mind
Latin roots frequently occur in formal English:
- cred → believe
- dict → speak
- port → carry
- spect → look
- scrib/script → write
- struct → build
- rupt → break
- vid/vis → see
Common noun-forming suffixes:
- -ness
- -ment
- -tion/-sion
- -ity
- -ance/-ence
- -er/-or
- -ship
Common adjective-forming suffixes:
- -ful
- -less
- -ous
- -al
- -ive
- -able/-ible
- -ic
Common verb-forming suffixes:
- -ise/-ize
- -ify
- -en
The most common adverb-forming suffix is:
- -ly
But remember that words such as:
- friendly
- lovely
- lively
- lonely
are usually adjectives, not adverbs.
Learn vocabulary through word families:
- success → succeed → successful → successfully
- beauty → beautify → beautiful → beautifully
- creation → create → creative → creatively
- decision → decide → decisive → decisively
In fill-in-the-blank questions, first identify the required:
- noun
- verb
- adjective
- adverb
Do not choose a word merely because its meaning appears correct. Its grammatical form must also fit the sentence.

Word formation becomes much easier when vocabulary is studied as a system rather than as isolated words. Learning a single root such as spect, port, cred, dict, or struct, along with common prefixes and suffixes, can help students understand dozens of related words. For competitive examinations, combining root knowledge + grammatical clues + context is one of the most effective ways to solve unfamiliar vocabulary and word-formation questions.

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