how to create words

1. BUILDING ENGLISH WORDS

2. PREFIXES
They modify the meaning of the word
e.g.: usual - unusual
SUFFIXES
They modify the grammar structure
E.g. music - musical

3. DOING THINGS
A painter is a person who paints. A teacher is a person
who teaches. They both do things
The suffix ER
• Occupation
• Habits or hobbies
• Behaviour
• Things
Verb suffix person
1)Paint
Teach
Write
2) Smoke
gamble
Run
3) Talk
grumble
4) Boil
Dust
transmit
er
1) Painter
Teacher
Writer
2)Smoker
gambler
Runner
3) Talker
Grumbler
4) Boiler
Duster
transmitter

4. THE SUFFIX OR
with many verbs of Latin origin
• People
• Collect collector
• Direct director
• Invent inventor
• Act actor
• Invest investor
• Things
• Incubate incubator
• Generate generator
• Radiate radiator

5. DOING THINGS
COMPOUND FORMS by inverting the verb and the direct object
• He owns land
He is a land owner
people
He grows fruit he is a fruit grower
He makes glass he is a glass maker
They export cotton they are cotton exporter
They produce wine they are wine producer
They build ships they are ship builder
He sells books he is a book seller

6. People and things with er
1. Occupation:
school teacher, university teacher,
factory worker
2. Habits or hobbies:
pipe-smoker, football player,rice-eater
birdwatcher, coffee-drinker, music-lover
3. Things:
bottle opener, hairdrier, potato-peeler,

7. People and things with -or
1. Occupation:
newspaper-editor, film director, book
distributor, ship inspector
2. Habits or hobbies:
stamp-collector,
2. Things:
smoke-extractor, coffee-percolator, egg-
incubator

8. DESCRIBING AND NAMING THINGS
-ING
• adjective
• It is water which is boiling
• It is boiling water
• E.g. burning house, missing
children
• Noun
• The machine washes clothes
• It is a washing machine
• E.g. training course, sewing
machine
Verb Suffix 1adjective
2 noun
Teach
Paint
Write
run
ing
Teaching
Painting
Writing
Running

9. Other compound forms
• An adverb can be added: hard working man, fast
-moving vehicle, low-flying aircraft
• The company makes glass
• It is a glass-making company
• It is a family which grows fruit
• It is a fruit- growing family
• It is a country which produces sugar
• It is a sugar-producing country

10. DESCRIBING AND NAMING THINGS -ED
• The suffix –ed is added to regular verbs
and also to nouns
• Verb suffix adjective
boil boiled
plan planned
ed
• Noun
skill skilled
beard bearded

11. It shows that something has happened or has been
done earlier and the result is a special condition later.
• The food has been cooked
• The food is now cooked
• It is cooked food
other examples: grilled steak, sugared coffee, signed
letter.
4. Adverbs can be added:
well trained men, badly injured soldier

12. The –ed adjective is passive
it indicates that something has happened or has been done
• The mountain is covered with snow
• The mountain is snow covered
• It is a snow-covered mountain
• Other examples:
government-owned company, state-supplied goods,
London-based company, Harvard-educated student
Reflexive compound adjectives: they use the element self
He has educated himself, they have trained themselves
He is self-educated, self-trained,

13. IRREGULAR VERBS USE THEIR OWN SPECIAL PAST
FORM
• THE ENGINE IS DRIVEN BY STEAM
• THE ENGINE IS STEAM DRIVEN
• IT IS A STEAM-DRIVEN ENGINE
• OTHER EXAMPLES: STAR-LIT NIGHT, GOVERNMENT-RUN
BUSINESS,

14. -ED ADJECTIVES FORMED FROM NOUNS
• He has a beard = he is bearded
• The man had boots = he was booted
• A skilled worker, a cultured man, an
experienced trainer.
• The adjective is used with things
possessed (clothes, parts of the body,
qualities or which relate to other things),
• Blue-eyed, red-haired,
• Brown-roofed house, green-eyed girl

15. THE SUFFIX -ISH
• Adjective suffix New adjective
green greenish
white whitish
-ish
• Noun
fool foolish
clown clownish
-ish added to an adjective makes the meaning less exact,
added to anoun means that a comparison is made,
something is like something else
He is like a woman = womanish
He is like a devil = devilish
Also used to indicate nationality: scottish, irish, british

16. THE SUFFIX -Y
• It forms adjectives from simple nouns.
The nouns are things. –y can mean
1. Like = comparison
2. A connection of some kind (covered
with)
examples: the material is like rubber
the material is rubbery
it is rubbery material
1. sandy soil, watery soup
2. Grassy field, dusty room, salty meat

17. THE SUFFIX -LY
• It forms adjectives from nouns which are:
1. Members of the family
2. Certain important members of society
3. A small number of special places and
events
Examples: she behaves like a queen
She is queenly
1. Fatherly, brotherly
2. Princely, kingly
3. Heavenly, lonely, lovely, earthly, deathly

18. Using –Able and other elements
• Able has the same meaning as the
adjective “able” or the verb “can”
• Verb Able Adjective
• Break Breakable
• Eat Eatable
• Define Definable
• Adjectives taken from Latin
• Crime (culp) culpable
• Remember(memor) memorable
• Last(dur) durable

19. IBLE
• Some english words of Latin origin
combine with the spelling –ible.
• Digest digestible
• Convert convertible
• Corrupt corruptible
• Academic meanings
• Eat eatable edible
• Believe believable credible
• Reach reachable accessible

20. WORTHY
• It is used as the second part of a
compound, the 1° part is a noun.
• He is worth of blame blameworthy
• Praise praiseworthy
• Trust trustworthy

21. PROOF
• The whole compound is an adjective that
means able to resist.
• This cloth is able to resist rain = rainproof
• Wind windproof
• Rust rustproof
• Sound soundproof

22. THE ELEMENTS –FUL AND -LESS
In many cases they can be added to the
same noun.
Use useful useless
Meaning meaningful meaningless
Colour colourful colourless
Power powerful powerless

23. -EN –IFY - IZE
• These suffixes form verbs and usually mean
“become” or “make things happen”.
• Black blacken
• Hard harden
• White whiten
• Class classify
• Code codify
• Pure purify
• Atom atomize
• Summary summarize
• Popular popularize

24. • From these verbs iit is possible to make
nouns relating to people and things
• Hard harden hardener
• Class classify classifier
• Pure purify purifier
• Fertile fertilize fertilizer
• Sterile sterilize sterilizer

25. USING NEGATIVE PREFIXES
-UN –IN –NON –DIS -MIS
• Kind unkind
• Friendly unfriendly
• Equal unequal
• Breakable unbreakable
• Economic uneconomic
• Natural unnatural
• Usual unusual
• Cooked uncooked
• Sugared unsugared

26. • For many adjectives of latin origin –in is
used
• Secure insecure
• Formal informal
• Complete incomplete
• -in may alter in this ways:
in+l=ill(illogical),
in+m=imm(immodest),
in+p=imp(impossible),
in+r=irr(irregular).

27. Un+able, in+ible
• Words in –able usually take –un, while
words in –ible take –in.
• Unbreakable
• Unreadable
• Indigistible
• intolerable

28. -DIS
• It is usually added to verbs. It means
opposite feelings or opposite action.
• Agree disagree
• Approve disapprove
• Please displease
• Some adjectives and nouns take –dis
when forming their opposites
• Corteous discorteous
• Loyal disloyal
• Honest dishonest

29. -mis
• This prefix is added to verbs of skill, with
the meaning “badly”, “wrongly” or
“incorrectly”.
• Judge misjudge
• Pronounce mispronounce
• Interpret misinterpret
• Use misuse

30. USING POSITIVE PREFIXES
• The prefix –re which means “again” or “for
a second time”. It means also “in a
different way”. Usually written with a
hyphen when added to verbs.
• Test re-test
• Checked re-checked
• Elect re-elect
• It often suggests an improvement
• Invest re-invest
• Design re-design

31. PRE AND POST
• They mean “before” and “after” and
usually form adjectives.
• Pre-war post-war
• Pre-roman post-roman
• The prefix pre alone, used with verbs
means “in advance” before the usual time
• Pre-packed food
• Pre-arranged meeting

32. THE PREFIXES PRO AND ANTI
• They mean “for” and “against”, generally
form adjectives.
• Pro-war, anti-war
• Pro-government anti-government

33. The prefixes UNDER and OVER
• They mean too little and too much.
• Use underuse overuse
• Tax undertax overtax
• Feed underfeed overfeed