Word formation exercises for EFL students (level B1+)

1. Word formation exercises
Cross the odd one out. Think of negative prefixes (un-, in-, im-, il-, ir-, dis-)
1. logical, loyal, literate, legal
2. comfortable, tidy, aware, possible
3. honest, satisfied, loyal, comfortable
4. patient, pleasant, mortal, possible, mature
5. responsible, rational, reliable, regular
6. believable, correct, expensive, capable, visible
Use the words from the brackets and appropriate suffixes (-ment, -ly, -y, -ive...) to
make new words and complete the gaps. Each group uses the same suffix.
1. a) What a ___________ (love) day.
b) Do you have ___________ (day) papers delivered?
c) Greed is a ___________ (dead) sin.
2. a) He wouldn’t hurt anyone. He’s completely ___________ (harm).
b) We made ____________ (count) mistakes.
c) ___________ (need) to say, he rushed to help his friends.
3. a) It was such an ____________ (enjoy) evening.
b) The weather is quite ______________ (change), one moment it is sunny and then
it’s raining again.
c) Your behaviour is not ______________ (accept).
4. a) __________ (honest) is the best policy.
b) We swam across the lake with no __________ (difficult).
c) The main reason for their separation was his _______________ (jealous).
5. a) We had a lot of fun at the ___________ (amuse) park.
b) I thought we had an ___________ (agree).
c) She was opening her presents with great ______________ (excite).
6. a) It’s not that I don’t like History I just find it difficult to _______________
(memory) all those dates.
b) It’s not enough to ____________ (fantasy) about making money, you have to do
something.
c) He’s a medical student and he wants to ____________ (special) in heart diseases.
7. a) My parents have always _____________ (courage) me to tell the truth.
b) These special goggles ____________ (able) me to see perfectly under water.
c) The panda is one of the highly ___________ (danger) species.

2. 8. a) What is the _____________ (likely) of an asteroid hitting the Earth?
b) My _______________ (child) was a very happy one.
c) There are some great shops in my ________________ (neighbour).
9. a) He’s know for his ___________ (boy) good looks.
b) I do not allow any ___________ (fool) behaviour in my house.
c) Do you like ____________ (Dane) pastry?
10. a) His journey to ___________ (star) began with his first hit single “Maria”.
b) Old people are usually praised for their ______________ (wise).
c) The movie is called “____________ (free) Writers” and it is based on a true story.
11. a) We spent our holidays in a ______________ (peace) town on the seaside.
b) Being a policeman can be a very ____________ (stress) job.
c) Be ___________ (care) when crossing the street.
12. a) Scrooge and Marley were _____________ (busy) partners.
b) We skipped the _____________ (fit) training and went to the swimming pool.
c) You could notice _______________ (sad) in her eyes.
13. a) Do you know the saying “_____________ (curious) killed the cat”?
b) His uncle is known for his ______________ (generous) and always appears with
loads of presents.
c) Gender ____________ (equal) is an important issue in business world.
14. a) She worries too much about her ______________ (appear).
b) Do you have a life ____________ (insure)?
c) Coffee machine is a kitchen _____________ (apply) people most often use in the
mornings.
15. a) She wanted to get her parents’ ______________ (approve).
b) Today is the first Christmas play ______________ (rehearse).
c) The organization helps to ensure the _____________ (survive) of endangered
species.
16. a) Information Technology is still an _____________ (option) subject in some
schools.
b) There are some excellent _______________ (education) programmes on History
channel.
c) All the ingredients are completely ______________ (nature).
17. a) A _____________ (mystery) stranger appeared on my door.
b) She’s an ____________ (adventure) person and enjoys doing ___________
(danger) sports.

3. 18. a) He feared his parents might think of him as a ___________ (fail).
b) The band split up soon after his _______________ (depart).
c) I take no ___________ (please) in bullying the weak ones.
Use some of the following words to complete the gaps.
believe / belief; science / scientific; thief / theft; save / safe; prove / proof; choose /
choice; true / truth; complain / complaint
1. Can you tell me the _____________ for once? I don’t want to listen to any more lies.
2. He is a meteorologist and he’s doing some ______________ research on the North
Pole.
3. The police arrested the __________.
4. He wanted to _________ the little girl’s life so he jumped into the river.
5. I have no ________. I have to do as my parents tell me.
6. He has to _________ his innocence.
7. I sent a letter of __________ to the manager.
8. Do you ___________ in God?