In one section of the Cambridge First Certificate Use of English paper you are asked to complete a paragraph, supplying words derived from a root word that is given to you, like this: According to many (1) SCIENCE sports can be very (2) . in VALUE training people to overcome their ... In the first case, you are expected to see that the word that is missing is a noun, itis plural,.and if itis derived from science, it must be scientists. In the second case the word that is missing is an adjective derived from value, so itis valuable. You will find 15 tests of this kind at the end of this section of the book. Before you attempt them, however, it will be useful for you to learn the best technique for dealing with this kind of question, and at the same time to expand your vocabulary by referring to the appendices at the back of the book. Preliminary exercises A Adject ‘Study Appendix 5:1 on page 121. A number of common adjectives act as roots for verbs and nouns, In these cases, the verb ending -en has the ‘meaning of increasing the quality of the adjective, the noun indicates the state. So the state of being black is blackness and to make something blacker is to blacken. e root: verb -en, noun -ness Most of these combinations are consistent but pay special attention to those that are irregular (shown in different type in the Appendix). For instance, the noun derived from strong is NOT strongness but strength and to make something stronger is to strengthen (NOT strongen) it. Without looking at the Appendix, make nouns derived from these adjectives, but do not assume ‘that all of them will be regular and if you think you know a correct form that is irregular, put it down: bright, dark, deep, fresh, light, long, mad, quiet, weak, wide. The best way to learn new vocabulary is to meet it in context in the course of your reading, but while you probably know the root words that are given in most cases ~ friend, for example - you may not have seen the abstract noun, friendship, or the adjective, which looks like an adverb, friendly or +the negative form, unfriendly. The root words may be verbs, nouns or adjectives, but many of them belong to related families. For instance, from the adjective root, sweet, we can derive the verb sweeten, the noun sweetness and the adverb sweetly. The preliminary exercises here are meant to draw your attention to the ‘commonest families of related words in English, where the forms have the same beginnings or endings, and also to the exceptions, which are the ‘ones most likely to appear in an examination! Check the Appendix to see if any are irregular. Did you know which they were? Now form verbs in the same way from the following: fat, fresh, hard, long, ripe, sharp, soft, straight, thick, white. Only one in this list is irregular. Which is it? Jn completing the exercises that follow, you must, decide on the function of the word in the sentence and whether itis affirmative or negative. Look at ‘these examples. a These days many people use saccharin to sweeten their tea. (SWEET) b Putting saccharin in the tea has sweetened it. (SWEET) € Putting saccharin in the tea makes it sweeter: it has a sweetening effect. (SWEET, SWEET) d She sang so sweetly that everyone was impressed. (SWEET) © She had the sweetest singing voice I've ever heard. (SWEET)Complete the following sentences with appropriate words, derived from the root word supplied, 1 The sky and filled with black clouds. (DARK) 2 December 21st is one of the .. os days of the year because there are very few hours of sunlight. (DARK) 3. He thinks itis a sign of to admit that he is wrong but I would change my view if I thought it would do any good. (WEAK, GLAD) 4 The of the spring flowers her heart. (FRESH, GLAD) 5 Ac first they were surprised by the ...of the resistance to their plan but now it seems to be .. (STRONG, WEAK) 6 He should go on a diet because he’s got much .. sw and the kind of food he is fond of is very .... (FAT, FAT) 7 You can’t expect me to sit here .. when I know someone is deliberately ... ... my character. (QUIET, BLACK) 8 The only way to produce a square room would be to svseee the front wall and ssssssseneuen the side wall so that the .. and the would be exactly the same, (SHORT, LONG, LONG, WIDE) 9 ‘What a lovely day!’ she said ., but the from the street outside, where the workmen were ... .. the road, prevented me from hearing any more. BRIGHT, DEAF, WIDE) noise Noun root: adjective -ful, -less Adjectives ending in -ful and -less are formed from a large number of common nouns. in general, those ending in -ful indicate that the person or thing shows or has that quality, soa beautiful person is one who has beauty, a merciful person shows mercy, a hopeful person is a person ‘with hope.’ In the same way, the tess. ‘ending indicates that the person or thing lacks or does not show the quality, or is ‘without’ it - a merciless person shows no mercy, a hopeless situation is one without hope of a solution, ‘Study Appendix 5:2 on page 122. Note the variations from the regular pattern, and the difference between such words as hel unhelpful. Then complete the sentences below with an appropriate adjective form or adverb, Using the noun root given. Consider whether the adjective required is affirmative or negative, whether the correct form is merciful or merciless, for example. 1 Ted like to live im a nice ...sssenrne SPOE in the country, a old village where nothing changes. (PEACE, SLEEP) 2 I don’t know if we're going there for our holiday yet ~ it’s stil = so it’s arguing about what to do when we get there. (DOUBT, POINT) 3. The room was .. designed and decorated. (BEAUTY, TASTE) 4 She moves so about the tennis court that it is a pity she makes so MANY ssstssensesne MISTAKES. (GRACE, CARE) 5 Iwas lost in a strange city and felt ssonnn because I could not speak the language; when I finally found someone who spoke English and asked her the way, she was ‘Idon’t know,’ she said, and walked away. (HELP, HELP) 6 He was very upset to discover that the painting he thought was ..... only a copy and almost (VALUE, WORTH) 7 Twas ver was ‘0 her for her advice when I was young. When I was leading an existence, she put me on the road to a career. (GRATITUDE, THOUGHT, AIM, SUCCESS) 8 When I was a child and suffered hours at the dentist’ I always wondered why dentists were so cnnesnsnn » Why couldn’t they be honest and say: “This is going to hurt!” (PAIN, TRUTH)© Common negative prefixes You have already seen how the negative of many adjectives in English is formed either with the prefix un- (unhelpful) or with the suffix less (helpless). Other common prefixes with negative force are dis-, mis- and in-. The prefix mis- usually indicates something done wrongly or badly, so children who misbehave behave badly. Negative forms beginning with in- are subject to some variations, depending on the first letter of the root word. If it begins with I, m or, the letter is usually doubled, (not legal = illegal, not moral = immoral and not regular = irregular). If the root word begins with p, the negative prefix will usually be im- (not proper = improper). Complete the following sentences with appropriate words, derived from the root word supplied. In all cases the word will begin with one of the negative prefixes indicated above. Before you complete the sentence, decide whether the word you require is a noun, a verb, an adjective or an adverb, 1 On the whole I like living in the country but it has some . (ADVANTAGE) 2 Ifyou answered the first question , look again at the instructions. (CORRECT) 3. I'msorry if I gave you the wrong information, I didn’t mean to peenstnsees YOU (LEAD) 4 What you're saying doesn’t make sense. Its completely . (LOGIC) S_— The driver responsible for the accident was from driving for ten years. (QUALIFY) 6 Everyone at the hospital was very efficient, but there was nothing friendly about them - it was all very ” : (PERSON) 7 Ifyou find a word spelt wrongly in this book it’s a ... (PRINT) 8 There was some between them about the best treatment to give the patient. (AGREE) 9 didn’t mean to insult you. I think you've . what I said. (UNDERSTAND) 10 His poetry is 1.5 it will never die. (MORTAL) 11 He said my advice was and had nothing to do with the case. (RELEVANT) 12 Twas very ssn . that I couldn't come to your wedding, (APPOINT) 13 I thought he was rather unpleasant when I first met him, but I realise that I on . him; actually, he’s quite nice, (JUDGE) s soon as they heard of the climbers’ : . in the fog, they organised a search party. (APPEAR) 15. When he suddenly appeared with so much money we wondered if he had acquired it . (HONEST) 14 Verb root: adjective -able, -ible A large number of verbs that take an object form adjectives with the ending -able or with the variations indicated below. The meaning is normally equivalent to ‘can be + past participle’ so a proposal that ‘can be accepted’ is acceptable. When the adjective is applied to a person it sometimes has the adcitional meaning of ‘willing to + infinitive’. An adaptable machine is one that can be adapted for use in different conditions; an adaptable person is one who can work in different conditions, and is probably willing to do 50. Note the following variations in form: forms are sometimes made with the ending -ible (sensible, responsible); Most forms derived from verbs ending in-e drop the e so that something that can be argued is arguable, something that can be imagined is imaginable; forms derived from verbs ending in -mit are made with -missible (for example, admit — admissible); forms derived from vers ending in -ate are made without the , so someone who can be educated is educable; 2 few other irregular forms, such as applicable from apply and soluble from solve;negative forms are usually made with the prefix un; a proposal that cannot be accepted is unacceptable. Some, however, are made with other common negative prefixes like in- and the variations ib, im, ir- that you have seen in Exercise C. Something that cannot be compared, normally because it is superior to everything else of its kind, is incomparable; something that cannot be moved is immovable. Study Appendix 5:3 on page 123 and then form adjectives ending in-able or -ible, derived from the following verbs: allow, enjoy, manage, notice, divide, sense, permit, communicate, operate, explain, practise, remember. Now make negative adjectives ending in -able or -ible derived from the following verbs: employ, believe, govern, describe, solve, imitate, pass, respond, explain, practise. In the exercise that follows replace the word or phrase in italic type with an appropriate adjective form derived from the verb given in brackets. Change the word order to put the adjective in front of the noun where necessary. Note that in all these cases the meaning is not exactly ‘can (not) be + past participle’, 1 If anything goes wrong, you will be held responsible. (account) 2. For some reason that I cannot explain I left all my luggage on the station platform, (account) 3. T've never met such an unpleasant person. (agree) 4 She always wears clothes that are no longer in fashion. (fashion) 5. We'll go sailing if the weather is in our favour. (favour) 6 They are people whose behaviour is accepted by society. (respect) 7 She is a person with common sense. (sense) 8 He hit his head on the wall and fell to the ground unconscious. (sense) 9. He's behaved in a completely careless manner. (respond) 10 The plan they have suggested is impossible to put into practice. (practise) E 11. The painting is worth a lot of money. (value) 12 The painting is worth so much money that its value cannot be estimated. (value) Participles used as adjectives Present participles, like exciting and past participles, ike excited, can be used as adjectives. The past participle forms indicate how people feel, the present participle forms describe what causes tthe feeling. Compare: The exciting game kept the crowd on their feet. Ar the end of the game, the excited crowd ran. onto the field. (The game was exciting because it filled the crowd with excitement; the crowd were excited because of the game.) Present or past participle Complete the sentences with a participle derived from the verb given in brackets. There are two sentences for each verb. 1a The success of the film is ... No one expected it. BP ceegvnesnsene the film has been so successful. (SURPRISE) 2 a The travellers were resting after their journey You need a rest after such a .. journey. (TIRE) 3a Ie was such an. .. book that Icouldn’t put it down until I had finished ic. b- Anyone . in attending the lectures should fill in the form provided. (INTEREST) 4 a. ‘Stop making that awful noise!” he said in an +. VOICE. b He has an voice. It’s very sharp and unpleasant to listen to. (IRRITATE) 3a. They shouldn’t show horror films with scenes in them at times when children are watching TV. b Sarah was looking at the TV with a . expression, horrified by the images on the screen. (FRIGHTEN)Present participle combinations Some present participle-noun combinations define the purpose of a thing, so a walking stick is a stick people use to help them walk, running shoes are special shoes they use for running (not shoes that run!). Others define people or things actively. A working group is a group of people chosen to work on a project, for example; running water is water that runs, either because we turn on a tap or naturally, ina river. Produce noun combinations that mean the following: a room where people live a pool where people can swim a machine used to wash clothes a basket used when people go shopping soap used when shaving . Now, link the participles in box A below with nouns in box B to make common expressions in English, asin the example that has been done for you: A. advertising developing dividing greetings helping leading losing managing opening performing surrounding - B. agency animals article card countries director hand line side speech villages I don’t like going to the circus very much because I'm not fond of watching performing animals doing tricks. 1 He’s one of those unfortunate people who always seems t0 pick the sienna seewutenenuen i ANY argument. 2. There are times when the .. . between what is right and wrong is very difficult to define 3 Thadn’t heard from her for a few months but she sent mea ... : entniuene the other day t0 say she had been made sales representative for Fairton and the si. 4 TRB emems in the newspaper today says that it is the responsibility of people in the richer nations to lend a to those in the of the Third World. sat the 5 Inhis convention, the .. of the began by saying that he was pleased to report increased business during the past year. Past participle combinations Most combinations with the past participle have a passive sense; a detached house is one that is detached from those near it, dyed hair is hair that has been dyed a different colour. There are some exceptions with an active sense; a qualified teacher has passed an examination. Link the participles in box A below with nouns in box B to make common expressions in English, as in the ‘example that has been done for you: ‘A. broken buried detached elected fitted lost packed prescribed revised satisfied used representative treasure B_ book cars carpets cause customers edition heart house lunch ‘As a Member of Parliament, she is an elected representative of the people. 1 Ifyou go out for the day, the hotel will supply you with a 2 RL Stevenson’s most famous novel is about pirates looking for ona desert island. 3 Isa. with . in every room. 4 The page numbers in my copy of the are different from yours; perhaps you have a She died of a... when she realised that her country’s independence was a 6 He's like most salesmen selling he’s more interested in a quick profit than