English

Word formation (2)

I- Participles

A participle is a word that is made from a verb and usually ends in -ING or -ED. For example, the verb “to surprise” can be made
into the words “surprising” and “surprised.”
Adjectives with -ING endings often describe a quality of a person, thing or idea. They describe the thing that causes a feeling or
emotion.

I was shocked by the news.

The news was really shocking.

In the first sentence, “shocked,” tells us how the speaker felt. In the second, “shocking” describes the thing that caused the
speaker’s feelings – the news.
In other words, the shocking news made the person feel shocked.
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Exercise 1: Choose the correct participial adjective (-ED or -ING) for each sentence.

1. I went to Thailand last month. It was (excited / exciting)!

2. She is (interesting / interested) in joining a sports team.

3. He was really (tiring / tired) when he left work last night.

4. I am (embarrassed / embarrassing) by my child’s behavior.

5. The people I work with are (satisfied / satisfying) with their jobs.

6. John was (disgusted/ disgusting) by the news report.

7. We thought that the instructions were (confusing/ confused).

8. It's an (amusing/ amused) little story. You should read it.

9. Do you feel (worried/ worrying) about them?

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10.It's so (frustrated / frustrating)! No matter how much I study I can't seem to remember this vocabulary.

11.I'm feeling (depressed / depressing), so I'm going to go home, eat some chocolate, and go to bed early with a good book.

12.The journey was (exhausted / exhausting)! Twelve hours by bus!

Exercise 2: Underline the correct form.

There are some students who feel (depressed / depressing) by studying, especially subjects which they find (confused /

confusing). They often leave their work until the last minute, and then find the amount they have to do is simply (exhausted /

exhausting), or they are (embarrassed / embarrassing) to admit that they need help. They simply become more and more

(worried / worrying), and then work even less than before. Or they blame the school system, because the subjects they are

studying are just not (interested / interesting). However, you may be (surprised / surprising) to know that very few students

feel this way, according to recent research. In fact, most students don't find school work (annoying / annoyed) at all. They are

usually (excited/ exciting) by the subjects they are studying, and they feel (satisfied / satisfying) when they do something well!
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II- Adverbs

An adverb is a word that modifies (describes)

a verb: he sings loudly,
an adjective: She is a very smart girl,
another adverb: He finished his work too quickly.
a whole sentence: luckily, I arrived on time.

Adverbs often end in –ly.

Slow ----slowly / rapid---rapidly / harsh ----harshly / fortunate-----fortunately / extreme ----extremely
He was clam when I told him. / He behaved calmly

But some look exactly the same as their adjective counterparts.

He is a fast runner. / he runs very fast.
He works hard. / it is a hard exercise.
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1. Adverbs and verbs

Adverbs often modify verbs. This means that they describe the way an action is happening.

The adverbs in the following sentences answer the question in what manner? or How the action is performed.

John sings loudly in the shower.

The pupils wait impatiently for their results.
I will seriously consider your suggestion.

Note: Verbs like feel, sound, look, taste, appear and seem are called sense verbs. In English, we normally use sense verbs with
adjectives not adverbs.

I feel bad today. I feel badly today

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2. Adverbs and adjectives

Adverbs can also modify adjectives. Often, the purpose of the adverb is to add a degree of intensity to the adjective.

The woman is quite pretty.

This book is extremely interesting.
I was slightly late to the meeting.

3. Adverbs and other adverbs

You can use an adverb to describe another adverb.

Jeff is running very fast.

Jenny sang her favorite song extremely well.
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4. Adverbs and sentences

Some adverbs can modify entire sentences. Common ones include generally, fortunately, interestingly, luckily etc.

Sentence adverbs don’t describe one particular thing in the sentence; instead, they describe a general feeling about all of the
information in the sentence.

Fortunately, we got there in time.

Luckily, nobody was hurt in the accident.

Exercise 1: Use the words in brackets as adjective or adverb in the gaps

1. The bus driver was…………………….. injured. (serious)

2. Kevin is ……………………..clever. (extreme)

3. This hamburger tastes …………………. (awful)

4. Be ……………………with this glass of milk. It's hot. (careful)

5. Robin looks ……………………. What's the matter with him? (sad)

6. Jack is…………………. upset about losing his keys. (terrible)

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7. This steak smells……………………… (good)

8. Our basketball team played…………………… last Friday. (bad)

9. ………………………., the fire was discovered soon after it had started. (fortunate)

10.……………………. we’ll be there by dinner. (hopeful)

Exercise 2: Put the bracketed words in the right form (adjective or adverb)
1. I have been very …………………….. (PATIENT) up to now.

2. The sky became ……………….. (SURPRISING) dark as the moon moved in front of the sun.

3. Jake took a ………………… (SHORT) break after so many hours of work.

4. Mr Smith will see you ……………… (SHORT).

5. He would be a ………………….(PERFECT) match for my mother.

6. He ………………….. (OBVIOUS) needed a long holiday.

7. John is …………………… (GOOD) known for his jokes.

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8. That jacket fits you …………………… (PERFECT).

9. The answer seems ………………….. (OBVIOUS).

10.You are ………………………. (BAD) hurt. Wait until I get a doctor.

Exercise 3: Complete the paragraph with the correct adjective or adverb form of the words in parentheses.

Paul and his boss don't get along very ………………… (good). They see a lot of

Things …………………. (different). Paul thinks he's a…………………… (careful) worker. He likes to do a job …………………… (proper).

In his opinion, he works very ………………….. (hard). To his boss, Paul seems ………………….(slow). When Paul doesn't work

………………… (quick) enough, his boss gets ……………………(impatient). He sometimes argues with Paul and that

…………………… (automatic) has a……………….. (bad) effect on Paul's work.