WORD FORMATION SUFFIXES They can change the word class and the meaning of the word.

* Common noun suffixes -er / -or are used for the person who does an activity writer worker shopper teacher sailor operator actor supervisor -er / -or are also used for things which do a particular job pencil-sharpener projector -er / -ee can contrast with each other meaning "person who does something" -er! and "person who receives or experiences an action" -ee!. employer " employee sender " addressee payee of a che#ue! -(t)ion is used to make nouns from verbs complication pollution reduction admission -ist $person% and -ism $activity or ideology%& used for people's politics( beliefs and ideologies( and sometimes their profession. )arxism *uddhism journalism anarchist physicist -ist is also often used for people who play musical instruments pianist violinist cellist -ness is used to make nouns from adjectives. goodness readiness forgetfulness happiness * +djective suffix -able / -ible with verbs( means "can be done" drinkable washable readable recognisable edible that can be eaten! flexible that can be bent! * ,erbs -ise (ize) makes verbs from adjectives modernise commercialise industrialise * -ther suffixes -ment nouns!&excitement enjoyment replacement -ity nouns!& flexibility productivity scarcity -hood abstract nouns especially family terms!& childhood motherhood -ship abstract nouns specially status!& friendship partnership membership -ive adjectives!& passive productive active -al adjectives!& brutal legal nouns!& refusal arrival -ous adjectives!& delicious outrageous furious -ful adjectives!& forgetful hopeful useful -less adjectives!& useless harmless cloudless -ify verbs!& beautify purify terrify

)ind& the informal suffix -ish can be added to most common adjectives( ages and times to make them less precise. .he is thirtish /e has reddish hair Come about eightish PREFIXES * 0refixes are often used to give adjectives a negative meaning. comfortable " uncomfortable convenient " inconvenient in- becomes im- before a root beginning with m or p. immature impatient impartial improbable in- becomes ir- before a word beginning with r( and il- before a word beginning with l. irreplaceable irreversible illegal illegible illiterate the prefix in- does not always have a negative meaning( it often gives the idea of "inside" or "into" . internal insert income * +lthough it is mainly adjectives which are made negative by prefixes( un- and dis- can also form the opposites of verbs. appear " disappear believe " disbelieve wrap " unwrap 1ip " un1ip * -ther prefixes .ome of these words are used with a hyphen. Check in a dictionary if you are not sure. 0refix meaning anti against auto of or by oneself bi two( twice ex former ex out of micro small mis badly( wrongly mono one( single multi many over too much post after pro in favour of pseudo false re again( back semi half sub under under not enough 2xamples anti-war antisocial antibiotic autograph auto-pilot autobiography bicycle bi-monthly biannual bilingual ex-wife ex-student ex-president extract exhale excommunicate microwave microscopic micro-computer misunderstandmistranslate misinform monotonous monologue monogamous multi-national multi-purpose multi-racial overdo overtired oversleep overeat post-war postgraduate post-revolutionary pro-government pro-revolutionary pseudo-scientific pseudo-intellectual retype reread replace rewind semicircular semi-final semi-detached subway submarine subdivision underworked underuse undercooked

similar " dissimilar