forming verbs + making words “negative”

prefixes and one suffix to make words “negative”

un- in dis- im-

unexpected, inaccurate, disapprove, improbable,

unaware, inappropriate, dislike, impossible,
unbelievable, inefficient, disagree, impolite,
unknown, unable, incapable, disbelief, imperfect,
unprofessional ineffective dishonest impatient

mis- -less il- ir-

misbehave irregular,
careless, harmless, illegal, illiterate,
misunderstand irresponsible,
helpless, endless illogical, illegible
misspell, misuse irrational

how to make verbs

en- -ify -ise / -ize -en

enlarge beautify televise widen

enable clarify advise lengthen tighten
prioritise
entrust specify organise deepen brighten
criminalise
enrage identify specialis shorten darken
apologize
ensure terrify e weaken strengthen
endanger purify

Choose the correct words from above to complete this conversation. You may
need to adjust the form.

A: When my dad had a stroke (Schlaganfall) he was _______________ to speak.

B: Go lord, really? But he can speak again, can’t he?
A: Yes, we immediately _________________ speech-therapy from him. We had a lady
to work with him, but she didn’t do well, she was just really _______________, she
spent most of her time packing and unpacking her things.
B: Was she the one who also ___________________ ? I remember you said one of the
ladies refused to take off her shoes and talked on her phone during sessions.
A: Yes, that was her! She was also very _______________, she called everyone by their
first name and never said “thank you” or “please”. You know, we talked to her a lot

word formation: un, in, dis, im, mis, less, il, ir, en, ify, ise, en page 1 of 5
and we openly __________________ her work, but she didn’t react. We
________________ what we were expecting her to do, we really had
__________________ discussions, she probably spent more time with my brother and
I than she did with my dad. But nothing changed and my dad’s abilities just
__________________ .
B: That’s plainly ____________________. I bet you got ________________ after a
while. So in the end you let her go. Did she ever ____________________ for not
listening to your wishes and complaints?
A: No. That lady was just ________________ of accepting feedback. And after that we
had that crazy alternative lady who turned out to be _________________ .
B: Well I suppose you don’t strictly have to be able to read and write to be able to
teach a stroke patient to speak again. I remember your brother got really
_______________ when he found out about that.
A: Yes, he had a real freak-out.
B: Was the next person the medic student who _________________ in stroke-
rehabilitation?
A: Yes, he did a fantastic job and he was really happy to work with my dad, he said it
really _________________ his understanding of stroke related speech impairments.
There was only one drawback….
B: What was that?
A: He was ________________ of cats. And he went on about it _______________. I
swear it was a constant topic.
B: Just to _________________ ? He was scared of cats?
A: Yes, he did say himself that it was an __________________ fear. I _______________
him to see a psychologist about that and that maybe he could get some medication to
ease his fear. But he said he _________________ of taking medicine for psychological
conditions. And then he added that he had ________________ ibuprofen for a while
and hence had to stay away from drugs.
B: Didn’t that worry you?

word formation: un, in, dis, im, mis, less, il, ir, en, ify, ise, en page 2 of 5
A: No, not really. After all he did his job, he did it really well and he struck me as a
totally ________________ person, I don’t think he could hurt a fly. Also I think it was
very brave of him to tell me about that, after all he could have also given me a
_________________ answer.

word formation: un, in, dis, im, mis, less, il, ir, en, ify, ise, en page 3 of 5
Choose the correct words from above to complete this conversation. You may
need to adjust the form.

A: When my dad had a stroke (Schlaganfall) he was __unable__ to speak.

B: Go lord, really? But he can speak again, can’t he?
A: Yes, we immediately ___organised__ speech-therapy from him. We had a lady work
with him, but she didn’t do well, she was just really __impossible/unprofessional___,
she spent most of her time packing and unpacking her things.
B: Was she the one who also __misbehaved__ ? I remember you said one of the ladies
refused to take off her shoes and talked on her phone during sessions.
A: Yes, that was her! She was also very __impolite____, she called everyone by their
first name and never said “thank you” or “please”. You know, we talked to her a lot
and we openly ___criticised___ her work, but she didn’t react. We __specified__ what
we were expecting her to do, we really had __endless__ discussions, she probably
spent more time with my brother and me than she did with my dad. But nothing
changed and my dad’s abilities just __deepened/enlarged___ .
B: That’s plainly ___inacceptable___. I bet you got __impatient___ after a while. So in
the end you let her go. Did she ever _apologise__ for not listening to your wishes and
complaints?
A: No. That lady was just __incapable__ of accepting feedback. And after that we had
that crazy alternative lady who turned out to be __illiterate__ .
B: Well I suppose you don’t strictly have to be able to read and write to be able to
teach a stroke patient to speak again. I remember your brother got really
___enraged__ when he found out about that.
A: Yes, he had a real freak-out.
B: Was the next person the medic student who __specialised___ in stroke-
rehabilitation?
A: Yes, he did a fantastic job and he was really happy to work with my dad, he said it
really __deepened/widened__ his understanding of stroke related speech
impairments. There was only one drawback….
B: What was that?

word formation: un, in, dis, im, mis, less, il, ir, en, ify, ise, en page 4 of 5
A: He was ___terrified___ of cats. And he went on about it ___endlessly___. I swear it
was a constant topic.
B: Just to __clarify__? He was scared of cats?
A: Yes, he did say himself that it was an __irrational__ fear. I __advised__ him to see a
psychologist about that and that maybe he could get some medication to ease his fear.
But he said he __disapproved__ of taking medicine for psychological conditions. And
then he added that he had __misused__ ibuprofen for a while and hence had to stay
away from drugs.
B: Didn’t that worry you?
A: No, not really. After all he did his job, he did it really well and he struck me as a
totally __harmless_ person, I don’t think he could hurt a fly. Also I think it was very
brave of him to tell me about that, after all he could have also given me a
___dishonest___ answer.

word formation: un, in, dis, im, mis, less, il, ir, en, ify, ise, en page 5 of 5