In this lesson you will practise the three main ways English builds new words from existing ones: affixation (adding prefixes or suffixes), compounding (joining two words) and conversion (using the same word in a different word class). Word formation is tested in Bachillerato and EBAU exams in gap-fill exercises where you are given a base word in capitals or in brackets and must change it so that it fits the sentence grammatically and in meaning.
Method for any word formation gap: (1) look at the words around the gap and decide which word class is needed (noun, verb, adjective or adverb); (2) decide whether the meaning must be positive or negative; (3) check whether a noun must be singular or plural and whether a verb needs -s, -ed or -ing; (4) check the spelling.
Example 1. Negative prefixes. Form the opposite of possible, legal, regular, patient, honest, polite.
Example 2. A complete word family. Complete: create (verb) → ___ (noun) → ___ (adjective) → ___ (adverb).
Solution: create → creation (noun, suffix -ion; the person is a creator) → creative (adjective, suffix -ive) → creatively (adverb, adjective + -ly). Notice that the adverb is built on the adjective, not on the verb.
Example 3. Gap fill with two changes. "I was ___ (APPOINT) with my exam results because I expected a higher mark."
Solution: After "I was" and before "with" we need an adjective that describes how I felt. The meaning is negative (I expected more), so we add the prefix dis-: disappoint. Then we add the adjective ending -ed, used for feelings: disappointed. Compare: The results were disappointing (-ing describes the thing that causes the feeling).
Example 4. Noun to verb. "The new software will ___ (SIMPLE) the whole process."
Solution: After "will" we need a verb in its base form. The suffix -ify turns the adjective into a verb: simple → simplify. Other verb-forming suffixes: -ise/-ize (modernise), -en (widen, shorten).
Example 5. Plural nouns. "There are many ___ (DIFFER) between British and American English."
Solution: After "many" we need a plural noun: differ → difference → differences. A common mistake is to write the correct noun but forget the plural -s.
Example 6. Compounds and conversion. Identify the process in each sentence: a) "She is a hard-working student." b) "I'll text you later."
Solution: a) hard-working is a compound adjective (adjective + present participle, joined by a hyphen). b) text is normally a noun (a text), but here it is used as a verb without any change in form: this is conversion.
Example 7. Adverbs. "The team played ___ (SUCCESS) and won the final."
Solution: The gap modifies the verb "played", so we need an adverb. We build it in two steps: noun success → adjective successful (suffix -ful) → adverb successfully (adjective + -ly). The verb of the same family is succeed, which shows that word families are not always regular.
Example 8. Negative noun. "There is a lot of ___ (EMPLOY) among young people in some regions."
Solution: After "a lot of" we need an uncountable noun. The context (a social problem) asks for a negative meaning: employ → employment → unemployment. Be careful: employee and employer are people, so they do not fit here.
When you finish a word formation exercise, read each complete sentence again. If the sentence sounds wrong, check the word class first, then the meaning (positive or negative) and finally the ending (-s, -ed, -ing, -ly). Most lost marks come from the right root with the wrong ending.
Choose the correct opposite of "legal".
Her ___ (KIND) to strangers impressed everyone.
Which of these words is a compound?
The council plans to ___ (WIDE) the main road next year.
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