Concept of Word
Formation
Definition
There is a always a method for Word formation
through which words are created. It can also be
said as creation of new words.
Just by adding affixes to existing words, news
words can be created. By adding prefixes and
suffixes to the existing words, new words can be
created or formed.
Prefixes
At the beginning of a word, Prefix is adding for creating a
word.
Examples: dis + appear = Disappear
De+activate= Deactivate
Anti(against)+social= anti-social
Co(together)+operate=cooperate
Suffixes
At the end of a word, a suffix is added for creating or
forming a word
Examples: 1. Friend+ship=Friendship
2. Child+hood=Childhood.
3. Adult+hood=Adulthood
Compounding
Just by joining two words, compound word can be
formed.
Examples:
Black+Board= Blackboard
Pass+port=Passport.
Types of compound words
Open compound - words that are written
separately (Ex: Satellite Communication)
Hyphenated compound - words that are
connected by a hyphen
Examples: 1. Ferrous oxide-coated tape
2.Post-war.
Solid Compound
The words which are written as single word
with no space or hyphens in it and it is
called solid compound.
(Examples: Snowball, grandmother,
upstream, mailbox, railroad, sometimes,
and upstream)
.
Acronyms and Clipped words
Acronym
It is created by combining the initial letters of the
successive words and it is also pronounced as a new word.
Examples: NASA, ISRO, ASAP, IMAX, and LASER
Clipped Words: It is a process cutting off the beginning
or end of a word or both, leaving a part to stand for whole.
Clipping word is made by shortening a word.
Examples: Ad (Advertisement),
Phone ( Telephone), Exam (Examination),
Lab(Laboratory), and Gym (Gymnasium)
Blending of Words
By Joining two parts of two different words, it is
formed.
It can be called as portmanteau.
Examples : Education+entertainment=
Edutainment, Fan+magazine= Fanzine,
Cyberspace+magazine= Cyberzine,
Telephone+marathon= Telethon,
Medi+care=Medicare, and
Parachute+troops= Paratroops.
Borrowing
From other languages words are being borrowed
and made use as English words.
Examples: menu (French), piano (Italian)
Onomatopoeia (Formation of a word from a
sound associated with what is named as cuckoo,
sizzle) and its usage has literary effect. )
On the basis of the sound made by the object words
are formed.
Examples: hiss (snake), Murmur, and whisper etc.,
Formation of Nouns from Verbs
Live- Living, liveliness
Speak- speaker
Wait- Waiter, Waiting
Bless- Blessing, Bliss
Choose-Choice
Correspond-Correspondence
Break- Breakage
Accept-Acceptance
Strike- Striker, Striking
Formation of verbs from Adjectives
Able- Enable
Civil-Civilize
Different-Differentiate
Equal –Equalize
Fertile-Fertilize
Successful- Succeed
Weak-Weaken
Quick-Quicken
Short-Shorten
Formation of Nouns from Adjective
Abundant –Abundance
Active-activity
Dense-Density
Enormous-Enormity
Frequent-frequency
Nervous-Nervousness
Stupid-Stupidity
Uniform-Uniformity
Young-Youth
Formation of Adjectives from Verbs
Advise-Advisable
Account-Accountable
Drink-Drinkable
Eat-Eatable
Laugh-Laughable
Move-Movable
Talk-Talkative
Work-Workable
Formation of Adjectives from Adjectives
Black-Blackish
Blue-Bluish
Green-Greenish
Red-Reddish
White-Whitish
Yellow-Yellowish
Economic-Economical
Tragic-Tragical
Whole-wholesome
Exercise1 for practice:
Complete the following to provide the correct form
of the words shown for the given parts of speech:
1. _______ ________ Pollute _______
2. Environment ______ _______ _______
3. Prevention _______ _______ _______
4. ________ destructive _______ ________
5. Variation _______ ________ __________
6. _________ _______ conserve ________
7. ________ ________ ________ protectively
8. ______ _______ specify _______
Exercise 2 for practice
Give the verb forms of the following:
1. Beauty
2. Stabilisation
3. Recovery
4. Strength
5. Derivation
6. Production
7. Class
8. Weakness
9. Sadness
Exercise 3 for Practice
Give the noun form of the following:
1. Verify
2. Derive
3. Weaken
4. Dispose
5. Observe
6. Require
7. Stabilise
8. Generate
Thank you all.
