Wor

dFor
mat
ion:Conv
ersi
on

Conv ersioni st heder ivati

onal processwher ebyani t
em i sadapt edorconv er t
edt oanew
wor d- classwi thoutt headdi ti
onofanaf f
ix:
•paper ---t
-opapernew- ---
--
-tonewdown- --t
-odownr elease- ----torelease
InEngl i
sh, conv ersioni spromi nentasawor df ormat ionpr ocess.Ot hert ermsf or
conv ersionar e: funct ionalconver si
on, funct ionalshift’, and‘ zeroder ivation’ .
Difficultiesar i
sei nexpl ainingconv ersion, int hatonedoesnothav et headdi ti
onofasuf fi
x
asagui dewhendeci dingwhi chi t
em shoul dbet reatedast hebase, andwhi chast he
deriv edf orm
Somegr ammar smakedi stinct i
onbet weenf ullconver sionandpar ti
alconv ersi
on, wherea
wor dofonecl assappear si naf uncti
onwhi chi schar act er
ist icofanot hercl ass.Insuch
struct uresas‘ theweal thy’
[=theweal thypeopl e],t
headj ectiv eispar tiall
yconv ertedto
nounst atusbyi tsposi ti
on[headofanounphr ase],
char act eristi
cofnounsr atherthan
adject ives.Thatt hi sisnotaf ullconver si
oni sdemonst ratedbyt heinabi lit
yof‘ weal t
hy’as
i
toccur sinsent encesl ike‘Theweal thyar eal way swi thus’ ,tobehav ei nflect i
onallyli
kea
noun[ thati stov aryint er
msofnumberandcase] .Onecannotsay* 1metaweal thy’or
*thoseweal thiesar emyf riends’ .Mor eov er,ther eisinflectional evi
denceofi t
sunchanged
statusasadj ect ive: t
heweal thi er’
.Suchcasescanbet reat edi npur elysy nt actictermsas
‘
adj ect i
v efunct ioni ngasheadofnounphr ase.
Thet hreemaj orwor dcl asseschi efl
yi nvolvedi nthepr ocessofconv ersionar e: nouns,
verbsandadj ect i
v es.Conv ersionsf r
om Nt oVandVt oNar et hemostpr oduct ive
categor ies.

TheV-Nconv ersion
a)Stat i
vev er
bst ocountmassnouns.Themeani ngi s‘state’t
:odesir
e—desire;to
doubt —doubt ,
et c.
b)Dy nami cver bst onouns.Themeaningis‘activ
ity’
or‘ event’
:tohit
—hit;tofal
—-fal
l;t
o
l
augh—l augh.
c)Obj ectofv erb: toanswer—answer;t
obet —bet;tocatch—cat ch.
d)Subj ectofv er b:tobore—bor
e;tocheat—cheat;toshowof f
—showof f(show-offi
e).
e)Instrumentoft heverb:t
ocover—cover;t
owr ap—wr ap.
f)Mannerofv erbing(ofdoing)
:towalk—walk;tothrow—t hrow
Adject i
ve—NounConv ersi
on
Iti
snotav er
ypr oducti
veone:bit
ter
/bit
ter
(I’dl
iketwopi ntsofbit
ter
,please);f
mal/fi
nal:
Theyar
erunni
ngt
hef
inal
(t
hef
inalr
ace)

Noun-Ver bConv ersion: wegetv erbswhi chmean:

a)toputi n/onN: bot t
le/t
obot t
le; corner/t
ocor ner;catal
ogue/ tocatal
ogue
b)t ogiveN; toprov idewi t
hN: mask/ tomask; plaster/t
opl aster
;coat/tocoat
c)todepr iv
eofN: core/tocore; peel/topeel ;
skin/toski n
d)t odo...bymeansofN( t
ouset her efer
entoft heNasani nstr
umentf orwhateveract
ivi
ty
i
spar t
icularlyassoci atedwi t
hit):elbow/ toelbow; fi
ddle/t
of iddl
e,knif
e/toknife
e)toactas/beNwi threspectto: parrot/toparrot;pil
ot/topi l
ot;f
ather/tofat
her
f)tomake/ changei ntoN: cash/t ocash; group/togr oup;crippl
e/tocripple
g)t osend/gobyN: post/topost ;ship/toship;canoe/t ocanoeMostoft heverbsare
transit
ivei nthiscat egor y
.
Adjective—Ver bconv ersi
on
a)(transitivev er
bs) .Themeani ngi s‘tomakeadj ecti
ve’or‘tomakemor eadjecti
ve’
:
cal
m/t
ocal
m;l
ower
/tol
ower
b)(intr
ansi t
iveverbs).Themeani ngi s‘t
obecomeAdj ecti
ve’
: dry/t
odr y;nar row/ tonarrow;
yell
ow/t oyel l
ow.Mostoft hetransitiveverbsint ypea)canal soactint ransitive.
Somet imesaphr asel verbisder i
v edf r
om anadj ectiv
ebyaddi ti
onofapar ticle:smoot h/
to
smoot hout ;sober/t osoberup; calm/ tocalm down.Thi scat egoryofconv ersion
compet eswi thsuf f
ixationwi t
h‘-en’ anssomet i
mesbot hderivati
onsar eav ailableforthe
sameadj ecti
ve:Hebl acked/bl ackenedhi sfacewi thmud.
Noun—Adj ectiv
econv ersion
Member shipofthiscat egor ycanbepost ul
atedonl ywhent henounf orm occur sin
predicati
v easwel lasinat tri
butiveposi ti
ons:reproduct i
onfur ni
ture/t hisf urnitur
ei s
reproduction;Wor cesterpor cel
ain/t hisporcelainisWor cester.Anounof tenf unctionsasa
pre-modi
fi
eri
ncaseswher
ethel
anguagehappenst
opossessnoadj
ect
ivet
oper
for
mthat
functi ast
on: onewall
.
E.
g.br
ick/
abr
ickgar
age;
tri
al/at
ri
almat
ch;
man/maneat
er;
fiel
d/f
iel
dfl
ower
s.
1
Minorcategori
esofconversi
on
Thereareseveral
anomalousandl
esspr
oduct
ivet
ypesofconv
ersi
on,
chi
efl
yused
i
nformall
y;amongt hem t
he

foll
owi
ngar eimportant
:
1.Conv er
sionfr
om closedsyst
em wor
dstonouns
I
tisoftensaidthatanywordcanbeconver
tedt
onounst
atusinEngl
i
sh.
E.g.Hi
sar gumentcontai
nstoomanyif
sandbutsThi
sbookisamustforourst
udent
s.
I
ttel
l
syouaboutt
hehowsandwhysoff
li
ght
.
2.Conv ersi
onf r
om phr asest onouns
Phrasesar esomet imesr educedt onounst atusbyconv ersionratherthanbyanyoft he
normal patt
er nsofcompoundi ng.
E.g.Whenev erIgambl e,myhor seisoneoft healso- r
an.( oneoft hehor seswhi chalsor an
butwasnotamongt hewi nners) .
3.Conv ersi
onf r
om phr asest oadj ectiv
es
E.g.anunder -
the-weat herf eeling[ l
ackinginheal th]-Tfeel veryunder-the-weather’
Anupper -cl
assmanner :Hi smanneri sint
olerablyupper -cl
ass.
4.Conv ersi
onf r
om af f
ixest onouns
E.g.Patri
otism, national i
sm andot herismsyou’ dl i
ketoname.
Changeofsecondar ywor d-class: nouns
Thenot i
onofconv ersionmaybeext endedt ochangesofsecondar ywor dclass,wit
hi nthe
samemaj orwor dcat egor y:foreg.whenmassnounsar er ecl
assifi
edascountnouns, or
vi
cev ersa.Sucht ransf ersar eonlypar ti
all
ypr oductiveandy etcanbeex plained
systematicallyintermsofder i
v at
ion.Theyar ethereforepar al
lelt
ot hemaj orconversion
processesal readydi scussed.
e-g
1.Massnounsconv ertedi ntocountnouns:
a)Auni tofnoun: t
wocof fees( =cupsofcof fee)
b)Aki ndofnoun: Somepai ntsar emor elastingthanot her s.•
Thi
sisabetterbr
eadthant
heoneIboughtl
ast
.
2.Countnounsconver
tedi
ntomassnouns
Nounsv
iewedi
nter
m ofameasur
abl
eext
ent(
nor
mal
l
yonl
yaf
terex
pressi
onsof
amoun)
;
ani
nchofpenci
l
;af
ewsquar
efeetof
fl
oor
3.Propernounsconv ertedintocommonnouns
1.Amemberofacl asstypif
iedbyN:aJer miah[agl oomypr ophetwhodenounceshi s
age]
2.Aper son,pl
ace,etc.call
ed‘N’:Ther
ear eseveralCambr i
dses.
\placescall
edCambr i
dge]
3.Aspeci menofthepr oductmade/ cal
led‘N’:aRollsRoyce[acarmanuf act
uredbyRR]
4.Stativenoun-dy
nami cnoun.Nounsar echaracter
ist
ical
lystat
ive,
buttheycanassume
thedy namicmeaningof ‘
temporaryrol
eoractivit
y’assubjectcomplementfoll
owingthe
progressiv
easpectofBE:

He'
sbei
ngaf
ool
/nui
sance/
her
o=he’
sbehavi
ngl
i
keaf
ool
/her
o,.
.

Changeofsecondar ywor d- cl
ass: v
erbs
Simil
arcat egori
esexi stforv erbs:
a)Int
ransitiveverbs—t t*ansi t
iveones‘ Causet oV’ :r
unt hewater(causethewatertorun)
b)Transiti
v e—intransi t
ive*
1.CanbeV- en(oftenf oll
owedbyani ntensi
fyi
ngadv erbsuchas‘ well
’
,‘badl
y’
:Yourbook
readswell.Likewisedr ive,di vi
de,sail,scr
ewup, undo, unlock,wash.
2.ToVonesel f:Haveyouwashedyet ?[washedy our sel
f ]
3.ToVsomeone/ somet hing: Wehaveeat en.[eatensomet hi
ng].
c)Int
ransitive—intensi ve
1)Currentmeani ng: Hel ayf l
at.West oodmot ionless.
2)Resulti
ngmeani ng: Hef ellf
lat;TheSunwassi nkingl ow
d)Int
ensiv e—intransitive:Whatmustbe, mustbe( exi
st)
e)Monot ransiti
ve_ compl ext ransit
ive
1.Currentmeani ng: Wecat chthem young( whent heywer eyoung)
2.Resulti
ngmeani ng: Iwipedi tcl
ean, (madeitclean)
Changeofsecondaryword-cl
ass:
adject
ives
a)Non-gradabl
ej^- e:He'
adabl smor eEngl
ishthant
heEngl
i
sh.
b)Stat
ive__fj
ynamic
2
Dy nami cmeani ngissignall
edbyt hepr ogressiveaspectof‘be’:He’ sjustbei
ngf r
iendl
y,
(actinginaf ri
endlymanner )
Appr oximat econversi
on:v oici
ngandst ressshi f
t
Insomecasesconv ersionisappr oximater atherthancomplete;thatis,awor di
nt he
cour seofchangi ngit
sgr ammat icalfunctionmayunder goasl ightchangeofpr onunciat
ion
orspel l
ing.Themosti mpor tantkindsofal terati
onare:
1.Voi cingoffinalconsonant s.
Theunv oicedfri
cati
veconsonant s/s/,/I
f,and/ 0/
i
nt hef oll
owingexampl esofnoun- verbconv ersi
onar evoi
cedto/ z /,
/v/,and/0/
respectively:
N►V: advice/s/-advi
se/ z/;use-use;abuse-abuse; gri
ef-gri
eve; shelf-shel
ve;half
-hal
ve,
wr
eat
h-
wr
eat
he,
mout
h-mout
h,t
hief
-thi
eve,
etc.
Itshouldbenot edt hati nBEt hedifferencebet weenl icence( nj-li
cense( v),isoneof
spelli
ngonl y:bot hNandVar epr onouncedwi thaf i
nal Is/ .InAm E. , theconv ersi
oni s
compl ete; bot hNandVhav i
ngt hespel lngl
i i
cense,pr act i
ce.Asubst antialchangeof
pronunci ation, i
ncl udingmodi fi
cationoft hefinalvowel isobser vedinpai ssuchasbr
r eath
!e/~br eat h/ //;glass/ ae/ [
Am E] ,/a/inSout hernBE; emphasi s/ //~emphasi ze/ ai/.I
n
otherpai rs, suchasbl ood- bl
eed; food-feed,itisthev oewl thatchanges.
2.Shiftofst r
ess
Whenv erbsoft wosy ll
abl esar econv ertedintonouns, thest ressi ssomet imesshi f t
ed
from the2ndt ot he1stsy ll
able.The1stsy l
l
able,typicallyaLat inpref ix,
of t
env ari
esi ts
voweIf rom I d/int hev erbt osomeot herv owel (i
nt henoun) :Hewasconvi cted/ kdn/of
theftandbecameaconvi ct/kon/.Exampl esofwor dst hatunder got hest ressshi ft:
abstract(n) -abstr act(v),comvound( n)
-compound( v) ,mi sprint(
n) -mispr i
nt(v),etc.Yet ,ther
e
aremanyex ampl esofdi syll
abicnoun- verbpai rswhichdonotdi fferinst ress: cont act,
debat
e.

Compoundi
ng(
Composi
ti
on)

Acompoundi sauni tconsi stingoft woormor ebases.Composi t

ioncanbedef i
nedasa
processofcoi ningnewwor dsbycombi ni nggr ammat icallyandsemant icallytwoormor e
thant wost emsorr oot s.Thesemant i
c-gr ammat i
cal connect ionbet weenconst it
uent sis
extremel ycl ose.I tmakesi tpossi blef orust or egar dt hecompoundasasi nglewor d.Thus
‘blackbi r
d’ i
snol ongerf elttobemadeupofbl ack+bi rd, andwi l
becompar edwi th
‘
swal low’,or‘ stal k’,rathert hanwi th‘ bluebi rd’
.Thef reecombi nation‘blackbi rd’ont he
otherhandwi l
lbecompar edwi th‘ bi
gbi rd’ ,
‘bluer i
bbon’ ,et c.
Anot herdiff erencebet weencompoundsandf reecombi nat i
onsl i
esi nt hef actt hatwhen
thef i
rstelementi nacompoundi sanadj ective( blackbi rd)orapar ti
ciple( mocki ngbi rd),
it
wi l
lnev erbedet ermi nedbyanadv erbofdegr ee( *anext remel ybl ackbird) ;whi l
et he
adjectiveinaf reecombi nat i
onwi l
l (
Anext r
emel yblackbi r
d).Al sowi thpar t
iciples,wecan
hav e‘ writ
ten- paper ’butwecan’ thav e‘awel l
wr i
tten-paper ’but‘ awel lwr i
ttenpaper ’
Or t
ogr aphical l
y ,compoundscanbespel tsol i
d( bedr oom) ,hyphenat ed( tax-free),oropen
(readingmat eri
al ).Onecannotgi vecl earcutr ul esconcer ningt het hr
eepossi bil
iti
esof
spelli
ng, sincet her ear ecaseswhent wo, orev ent hreespel l
i
ngsar eequal l
yaccept able:
call-
girl/callgi r
l; flower pot/ fl
ower -pot/f l
owerpot .InAmer i
canEngl i
shcompoundsar e
usual l
ywr ittensol idassoonast heyhav egai nedsomeper manentst atus.I nBr i
ti
sh
English, t
her et endst obemor eext ensi veuseoft hehy phen.
Phonol ogi
cal ly,compoundshav eamai nst ressont hef irstelementandasecondar y
stressont hesecond: blackbird;flower -
pot ;si
ngi ngbi rd.Whent hecompoundi smadepar t
ofanot hercompound, thesecondar yst ressi sr edistribut edsoast opr eser vet her hythm:
l
i
ght
house/
li
ght
housekeeper
Semantical
lycompoundscanbeseentobei
solat
edfrom t
heordi
narysynt
acti
c
const
ructi
onsbyhavingameaningwhi
chmayber el
atedt
o,butcannotsi
mplybei
nfer
ed
fr
om themeaningofitspar
t dar
s( kr
oom;hot
house).
Noneoft hemar kers(or t
ogr aphic,phonologi
corsemant ic)canbeusedasst rictdefi
ning
cri
teria.Sy ntacti
crelationshipsbet weent wot er msent er i
ngacompound, maybev arious.
Accor dingt othese,compoundsf alli
ntotwocl asses: sy ntacticandasy ntacti
ccompounds.
•Synt acti
ccompoundsex pressi nacondensedf or
mt hesy ntacti
crelationshipsonwhi ch
Englishgr ammat i
cal patternsar ebased.Theypr ovidel anguagewi tht helargestnumberof
compoundwor ds.Theyar eendocent ricandex ocentri
c.Endocent ri
ccompoundshav eat
l
eastoneheadorcent erint heircomponency : snow- whi te,dark-blue.Exocent ric
compoundsdonothav eadet erminati
onwi t
hint hemsel ves.A‘ blue-jacket'i
snei t
her‘bl
ue’,
nor‘jacket’;butaper son, aseamani ntheNav y .
•Asy ntecticcompoundsar ecompoundsi nwhi chtheusual granmat icalpatternsare
obscur ed:upl and.
Compoundshav eani diomat i
cchar acter
.Twocompoundsbui l
tont hesamecombi natory
patternandusi ngwor dsbel ongingtot hesamesemant icf i
eld,donothav esimi l
ar
meani ngsorhav eonl yonesi mi l
armeani ngincommon: awol f-hunter/al i
on-hunter(1.A
personwhohunt swol ves/li
ons; 2.Al i
onhunter=aper sonwho
3

seeksthecompanyofcel ebrit
ies.Themeani ngofsomecompoundscanbeeasi ly
descri
bedbyphr asesusingt heircomponentt er
ms: seashor
( e=t heshor eofthesea) .The
basicsemant i
cr el
at i
onsbetweencompoundscanbeoft wot y
pes: r
estricti
ve(sunrise,
uptrai
n,downt r
ain;he-goat;
)andr elational.Themat erialofwhi chsomet hingismadei s
reveal
edi ncompoundsoft het ype: paper-bag; l
eatherj acket.Placerelationshipsare
expressedindownt own,uptown, seashor e.Pur posei sev identinlooking-glass,goldfi
eld.
Compar isonispresentingood- f
or-nothing;larger-
than- li
fe.Compoundsexpr essingthe
i
deaofsexar e:he-bear;she-
bear ;boy-fri
end/gi rlf
riend; lady-doctor;
womant eacher.
Purposeandcomposi ti
onshowr elati
onshi pwhi l
et hemat eri
al andsexshow.

Mostcompoundsar emadeof2j uxtaposedi tems: l

ong-di
stance; blackburry.Thereare
compoundsmadeofmor ethan2items.I ftheseareapr eposition/conjunct ionoran
art
icle,thecompoundscanbet r
eatedashav ingalinki
ngelement :sti
ck-i
n- the-mud(slow,
unadv enturousper son) .
Derivati
onal compoundscombi ne2pr ocessesofwor dbuil
ding: composi t
ionand
aff
ixation:dwel l
ing-place;
l
ion-hear t
ed.Somecompoundsoft hist y
peser veforfur
therder ivati
on:openmi nded-
--
-
openmi ndedl y.Ther earecompoundscont ai
ningacl i
ppedst em inoneoft hecomponent s:
movi egoer ;dormi ehouse(dormi t
oryhouse) , H-
bomb; V-day,etc.
Compoundscont ainingacompoundst em inoneoft heconst i
tuents: t
welve- year
-ol
d;
br
ead-
and-
cheesepar
ty;
breakf
astr
oom.
Accor dingt othepar tofspeecht heyf orm, compoundscanbe:
1.CompoundNouns.
•N.st em +N.st em: mai l
-box; bull'
seye
•Verbal nounst em +N.st em: meet i
ng-place
•N.stem +Ver bal nounst em: peace- meet i
ng
•Adj.St em +N. stem: blackbi r
d
•Pro-Nst em +N. stem: he-bear
•V.stem +N. stem: pickpocket
•N.stem +V. stem: sunset
•V.st em +V.st em : make- believe
•Adv.St em +N.st em : onlooker
•Adv.St em +V.st em: upst art
•V.st em +adv .St em: turn-round
•Prep.St em +N.st em: under gr aduate,afternoon
2.Compoundadj ectives.
•ADJ.STEM +adj .St em: bi tt
er-sweet
•N.st .+Adj .St:dut y-free
•Adj.St .+N. st.:
open- air
•Adj.st.+N. st.
+ed: evi l
-mi nded
•N.st .+Par ti
ciples: stor m- beaten; sea-going
•N.st.+N. st
.+ed: li
on- hear ted
•Adv.St .+Adj.St :ever green
•Adv.St.+Par ticiples: well
-meani
ng, i
l
l-f
avour
ed
3.CompoundVer bs
•N.st.+V.st .
:baby- sit
•Adj.St.+V.st .:whi te-wash
•V.st.+V. sX.
:dive-bomb
•Adv.St.+V.st .:broadcast
Othercompoundsr esul tfr
om nomi nalwordcombi
nat
ionsconv er
tedint
over
bs:to
spotl
ight;toblacklist.Compoundver bscanalsor
esul
tfrom back-
formati St
on: age-
manage( f
rom st age-manager )
4.CompoundAdv erbs.
•Adj.St.+N.st.+ed: dry-l
i
pped
•Adv.St.+' N.
st:up- hill
•Adv.St.+Pr ep>st .:thereby
•N.st.+prep.St.+N.st .:
eye-to-
eye
4

3.
2.1.
2.Suf
fi
xat
ion

Noun>Nounsuf
fi
xes
•-ster/-eeraddedt onounst oform personalnouns.
Meani ng:per sonengagedi nanoccupat ionoractivit
y:engineer,gangster.I
tisnotver
y
fr
equent l
yused, andi tisinmostoft hecasespej orati
ve.
•-eraddedt onounst ofor m personalorinani
mat enouns.
Meani ngs:1.somet hing/somebodyhav i
ngsomet hi
ng: t
hree-wheeler,t
eenager,
2.inhabitantof -
:Londoner ,Dubli
ner,
3.makerof :glover,hatter
•-l
etI ti
sadi mi nuti
v esuf f
ix,addedt ocountablenounst of orm countablenouns.
Meani ng:smal l,uni
mpor tant:booklet,
leafl
et,star
let.
•-
ling.Iti
sal sodi minutive;addedmost l
yt ocountablenounst of orm countabl
enouns.
Meani ng:smal l:duckling,goosling.Iti
ssomet i
mesusedwi t
hami l
dlycontemptuous
fl
av our:
Princeli
ng
•-ette.Itisal
sodiminut i
ve,bei
ngaddedt onounst ofor
m nouns.
Meani ngs:1.small,compact :ki
tchenett
e,ci
garet
te
2.imi t
ation:l
eat
herette,f
lannel
ette.
3.Itcanal sobeaf emi ni
nesuf f
ix,meani
ng'female'
:suf
fraget
te.
•-essI tisaf emi ni
nesuf fix,addedt oani mat enounst oform animat enouns.
Meani ng:'femal e':pri
ncess, actress, wai t
ress, l
ioness.
Somet imesi tisf elttobeol d-mai dish: poet ess, author essoreveni ndelicate:Jewess,
nigress, beingr eplacedbyt hecommongenr ef orms: poet,author,
orbyper iphrases:
Jewi shwoman, negr owoman.
•-y,-ie.Itisadi mi nutivesuffixaddedt onounst of or m nouns:daddy, aunti
e, Johnny,Eddi
e;
beingl argel yr estri
ctedt ofami l
i
arcont ext s,thesuf f
ixhasnomeani ngapar tfrom
indicatingendear mentorf ami li
arit
y .Itisf requent lyaddedt oacli
ppedf orm ofthe
base/ root :night y(nightgown) ,movi es( movi ngpi ctures)
•-hood, itisaddedt onounst oform abst r
actnouns
Meani ng; '
stat us':boyhood, wi dowhood.Somet imesi tisaddedt oadj ecti
ves: f
alsehood
•-ship.I tisaddedt onounst of orm abst r
actnouns.
Meani ng:'stat us','
condi t
ion':dictator ship,friendshi p,fri
endship.Somet i
mesi tisaddedt o
.
...
..
..
.adj ectivebaseaswel l
: hardshi p.
•-dom.- addedt onounst of or m abst ractnouns.
Meani ng:domai n,realm, condi t
ion: kingdom.Addedt or ecent
lyformedwor ds,thesuff
ix
mayaddasl ightlypej or
ativemeani ng: stardom, offici
aldom.
•-ocr acy .Addedt onounst of orm abst r actnouns.
Meani ng:'sy stem ofgov ernment '
:democr acy, plutocr acy.
•-(e)ry.Addedt onounst of or m abst ractnouns.
Meani ng:behav i
our :devi
lery, r
oguer y
•Addedt oadj ectivebase: braver y
•Addedt onounst of orm concr etecountnouns.
Meaning:placeofactiv
ity:r
efi
nerynunner y.
•Alsoaddedt onounstof orm massnouns
Meaning:colect
ivi
ty:machinery.
•-
ing:Addedt ocountablenounstof orm massnouns
Meaning:thesubstanceofwhi cht hei
tem designatedbythenouni t
scomposed:ubi
ng
•-
ful:Addedtocountablenounst of or
m ot hercountabl
enouns.
Meaning:theamountNcont ains:spoonful,handful
.
Noun/adi
ect
ive>noun/
adi
ect
ive
•-
it
e:addedchiefl
ytonamestofor
m per
sonal
nouns.
Meani ng:
1.memberofat ri
be/communi ty
:Israeli
te, Br
ooklinite.
2.memberofaf acti
on,sectetc.
:labourite,Stali
nite.Occasionall
y,nongradabl
eadjecti
ves
areformed( St
ali
nit
e)
•-(
i)an.Addedchiefl
ytopropernounst of orm personal nDunsornon- gradabl
eadject
ives.
Meani ng:bel
ongingto/per
tai
ningt o:Persian,Parisian,Eli
sabethm.St r
essshiftt
othefinal
syl
lableisquit
ecommon: Shakespear e=Skakespear ean.
2

•-
ese.Addedchiefl
ytopropernounst oform personal
nounsandnon- gradeableadject
ives.
Meaning:nati
onal
it
y:Por
tuguese,Chinese.Extendedusual
lypej
orati
velytolingui
stcst
i yle:
j
ournal
ese.Inatt
ri
buti
veuse,thestr
esssomet i
messhiftst
oinit
ialposi
tion:Japanese-
Japanesear
t.
•-
ist
.Addedt onounsoradj
ect i
ves,t
oform personalnounsoradject
ives.
Meaning:memberofapar t
y,occupati
on: r
oyali
st,
communi st
,masochi st
.
•-
ism.Addedt onounsoradjecti
vestoform abstr
actnouns.
Meaning:doctr
ine,
poi
ntofview,poli
ti
calorarti
sti
cmov ement:Calvi
nism,ideal
i
sm,
i
mpressioni
sm.Manynounsi n'-i
sm'correspondtonounsin'-
ist
':communi sm-communi
st.
Ver
b>nounsuf
fi
xes.
•-er/-or.Addedmai nlyt ody nami cv erbst of orm nouns-ei therani mat e:wor ker,teacher,
tr
ansl ator;ori nanimat enouns: recei ver ,t
hr i
ll
er .Iti
sextremel ypr oduct i
ve, -erbecomes- or
i
nbor rowedandnon- classi cal wor ds: author ,act or,i
nspector.Somewor dsoft histy pe
hav enoEngl i
shv erbbase: doct or,aut hor .Somet imes'-er
’becomes' -ar'
:liar,beggar .
•-ant .Addedt ov erbst of or m per sonal nouns: defendantinhabi t
ant ,cont estant ;or
i
mper sonal nouns: disi nfect ant ,lubr i
cant .
•-ee.Addedt ov erbst of or m per sonal nouns.
Meani ng:ismost lypassi v e: onewhounder goesev ent'X'
:appoi ntee,empl oyee, trainee.
Somet imest hemeani ngi snotpassi ve:absent ee.
•-ation.Addedt ov erbst of orm abst ractnouns.
Meani ngs:
1.'state':starvation, brut alizat i
on.
2.'act i
on':ratifi
cation, expl or ation.
*itcanal sobeaddedt ov er bst of orm col l
ectiv enouns.
Meani ng:inst i
tuti
on: organi zation, foundat ion.
•-ment .Addedt ov er bst ot of orm nounswhi chi nmostcasesar eabst r
act .
Meani ng:st ate:amazement ,arrangement .Somet i
mesi ti
susedt ofor m concr etenouns
aswel l:equipment , sedi ment .
•-al.Addedt ody nami cv erbst of or m chi ef l
ycount abl
eabst r
actnouns.
Meani ng:act ion:dismi ssal ,ref usal.
•-i
ng.Addedt ov erbst of or m abst ractnouns.
Meani ng:act ivi
ty:dr i
ving, wr i
ting.
I
tcanbeaddedt ov erbst of or m concr etenouns.
Meani ng:somet hingr esul tingf rom t heact i
vity:painti
ng,building,savi ngs.
•-age.I tisaddedt ov er bst of orm massabst ractnouns: wast age, shrinkage, drainage.
Adi
ecti
ve>nounsuf
fi
xes.
•-
ness.Addedtoadj.t
ofor
m abst
ractnouns.
Meaning:
1.Stat
e:Happinesspaleness
2.Quali
tymeanness,
: up-t
o-dat
eness
Note:Thedif
ferencebetween'busi
ness'
andbusy
ness.
•-i
ty .Addedt oadject iv
est of or m abst ractnouns.
Meani ngs
1.St ate: r
espectabilit
y, sani ty.
2.Qual ity:el
ast i
cit
y, rapidity, chast ityVer bf or
mi ngsuf fi
xes
Theyar ev er
yf ewi nEngl ish:
•-i
fy .Addedt onouns.Adj ect ives, etc.(formsmai nlytransitiv
ev er
bs)
Meani ng:causat i
ve( tomakesomet hingi naway ):amplify,simpl i
fy,cruci
fy.ItIused
mai nlywi thbor r
owi ngsandneo- classical format i
ons.Coi nagesout sidetheneo- cl
assi
cal
spher et endtobeei therf acet ous(
i speechi fy),orevenpej orative:dandi f
y.
•-i
ze/ -ise.Addedt onouns, adj ect i
ves, etc.tof or
mt r
ansitivev erbs.
Meani ng:causat i
ve: publ i
cise, legalize, hospitali
ze,symbol ize
•-en.Addedt oadject ivest of or mt r
ansi ti
veori ntransi
tivev erbs, (
mai nlymono- syl
l
abic
adjectiv esofAngl o-Saxonor igin) .Thesuf fixi
sscar celypr oduct i
venowaday s.
Meani ng:Vt .-causat ive( makemor eX) : widen,
Vi.-(becomemor eX)deaf en, sadden
3

Noun>adj
ect
ivesuf
fi
xes
•-ful
.Addedmai nlytoabst ractnounst of or m gr adabl eadj ectives.
Meani ng:'fullof'
:pitti
ful, usef ul
•-l
ess.Addedt onounst of or m adj ectives.
Meani ng:'dev oidof','
wi thout '
,'
notgi v i
ng' chi
: ldless, rest l
esscar eless.
•-
ly.Addedchi ef
lytoconcr et enounst of orm gr adabl eadj ect i
ves.
Meani ng:'hav i
ngt hequal ityof :manl y,soldier l
y, beast ly.
Some' -l
y'adj .areder i
v edf rom nounsex pressi ngt i
me: daily,weekl y.
•-l
ike.Addedmai nlytoconcr et
enounst of orm gr adabl eadj ect i
ves.
Meani ng:hav i
ngthequal ityof :childli
ke.
•-y.Addedt oconcr etemassnounst of orm gr adabl eadj ectives.
Meani ng:like,fullof,cov er edwi t
h: sandy, creamy, mi lky, hairy.'
•-i
sh.Addedchi efl
yt opr oper ,andcount ablenounst of or m adj ecti
ves;ei
thergradabl
e
(f
oolish,selfish)ornon- gr adabl e(7"ur /
c/ sh, Spani sh)
•-esque.Addedchi eflytopr opernounst of or m adj ect i
v es.
Meani ng:'i
nt hest yleof :Dant esque, Don- Qui xot esque, picturesque.
•-some; -wor thy;-ari
an.Theyar el essi mpor tantt hant heot heronesment ionedabove:
bur
densome,
frol
i
csome,
prai
sewor
thy,
seawor
thy,
par
li
ament
ari
an,
aut
hor
it
ari
an.

Adj
ectivesuff
ixescommoni
nbor
rowedandneo-cl
assi
calwords
•-
al,
-ic,i
ve,ousareamongt
hemostwidel
yusedsuff
ixesi
nthelanguage,
andy
et,
theyar
e
tobef oundal mostwhol lywi thbor rowi ngsandneo- classical words; theiroccur ancewi th
A.S.root sbei ngext remel yscar ce: tidal,Mil
tonic, t
alkati
ve.' -al'
'-
ic','
-ous' aremai nlyadded
tonouns, whi l
e'-ive'ispr imarilyaddedt overbs.
•-al(-i
al, -
ical)isusedpr imar il
yt of orm non-gr adableadj ectives:crimi nal,cul tural ,
nat i
onal,
preferent i
al,philosophi cal.Thest r
essi susual l
ylaidont hel astbutonesy llabl eoft hebase.
•-i
ci susedt of orm gr adable, aswel lasnon- gradabl eadjectives:pr oblemat ic, speci fi
c,
atomi c.St r
essi susual l
yont hel astsy ll
ableoft hebase.
•-ous( -
eous, -i
ous)i susedt of orm gr adableadj ecti
vesmai nly:vi
r t
uous, gr ievous,
courteous, ambi ti
ous.Thest ressi susual l
yont helastsy ll
ableoft hebase.
•-i
ve( -at i
ve;-it
ive)isusedt of or m bot hgradabl eandnon- gradabl eadj ectives: at tr
active,
product ive,communi cative,sensi t
ive.Thest reeisusual l
yont hel astsy ll
abl eoft hebase.
Remar ks:
a)Thenounsuf fix'i
ty'canbeat tachedt oalltheabov esuffixes:neut ral-
neut rality,electri
c-
el
ect
ri
cal
,cur
ious-
cur
iosi
ty,
act
ive-act
ivi
ty.
b)Insomeadj ect
ives,'-
ic' al
ter
nateswit
h'-
ical
',wi
thdiff
erencei
nmeaning:
-aclassi
cshow-acl assi callanguage;
acomi cmast er
piece—acomi
calbehavi
our
(agreat/
glor
ious—Gr eek, Lati
nIg.)(
ofcomedy )(afunnyone)
-aneconomicmiracl
e[per
tai
ningtoeconomy];aneconomicalcar
[moneysavi
ngone]
-ahistor
icbui
l
ding[wit
hahistory]
;ahi
stor
icalappr
oach[pert
aini
ngt
ohist
ory]

Ot
heradj
ect
ivesuf
fi
xes
•-able(-
ible)Addedchi eflytot r
ansiti
veverbst oform adjecti
ves.Themeani ngi sgeneral
l
y
passive:ablet obe+V:dr inkable,r
eadable,acceptable,'
-ibl
e'ismost l
yusedi nborrowedor
neoclassicalwor ds:perfectibl
e,responsibl
e.
•-i
sh.Addedt ogr adableadj ect
ivestoform othergradabl eadject
ives.Themeani ngis
'
somewhat .
..
(adj.
)'
,anditisdown- t
oning:whitish,r
eddish.Thesuf f
ixismai nlyusedwith
si
mpl emonosy l
l
abicbases.Usedwi t
hages, ithasthemeani ngof'about'
:sixti
sh.
•-ed.Addedt onouns/ nounphr asest oform adjecti
ves.Themeani ngi s'
hav i
ng':wall
ed,
fl
oored,long-legged,simpl e-minded,red-
housed.I ti
sv eryproducti
v enowaday s.
Adverbsuf
fixes
•-
ly.Addedtoadject
ivest
oform adver
bsofmanner .Themeani
ngis"i
na..
.manner"
:
at
tenti
vel
y,hardl
y.
SNhenfoll
owing'-
ic'
,i
tgener
all
ytakesthef
orm:"
-al
l
y'dr
: amat
ical
l
y.
•-ward( s)
.Addedt oprepositionaladverbsortonouns, t
oform adv
erbsofmanner
meani ng'manneranddi rectionofmov ement'
:onward(s)homeward(s)
.For
msi n'-war
ds'
arepref er
redinB.E.
•-wise.Addedt onounst of orm adverbsofmanner,meani ng'
inthemannerof'
:clockwi
se.
Itcanal sobeaddedt onounst oformv i
ewpoi
ntadverbs,meaning'asf
aras(noun)is
concer ned'
:educati
on-wi se,cult
ure-wise.