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What is Word Formation in English?

Word formation is the process of creating new words from existing ones. You take a base word and add prefixes or suffixes to change its meaning or its grammatical function.

• A base word is the simplest form of a word, like happy or agree.
• A prefix is added to the beginning of a base word, for example, un- in unhappy.
• A suffix is added to the end of a base word, for example, -ness in happiness.

This process allows you to build a family of words from a single root, making your vocabulary much richer.

Why is Word Formation Important for Your English?

Learning word formation is a highly effective way to improve your English skills, especially at the B2 level.

• Expand Vocabulary: You can learn many new words from one base word. For example, from employ, you get employer, employee, employment, and unemployment.
• Understand New Words: If you know common prefixes and suffixes, you can often guess the meaning of an unfamiliar word.
• Improve Accuracy: You will learn to use the correct part of speech (noun, verb, adjective, adverb) in sentences, which makes your English more precise.
• B2 First (FCE) Exam Success: Word formation is directly tested in the Use of English Part 3 of the B2 First exam.

Common Suffixes: Changing Words to Nouns

Suffixes often change a verb or adjective into a noun. Here are some common ones:

• -tion / -sion: (from verbs) decide → decision, inform → information.
• -ment: (from verbs) develop → development, agree → agreement.
• -ness: (from adjectives) happy → happiness, kind → kindness.
• -ity: (from adjectives) active → activity, possible → possibility.
• -er / -or: (for people who do something) teach → teacher, act → actor.

Common Suffixes: Making Adjectives and Adverbs

Suffixes can also change words into adjectives or adverbs, which are essential for describing things and actions.

• -able / -ible: (from verbs, meaning 'can be done') enjoy → enjoyable, access → accessible.
• -ful: (from nouns, meaning 'full of') beauty → beautiful, care → careful.
• -less: (from nouns, meaning 'without') care → careless, hope → hopeless.
• -ive: (from verbs, meaning 'tending to') create → creative, express → expressive.
• -ly: (from adjectives, to form adverbs) quick → quickly, careful → carefully.

Common Prefixes: Changing Meaning

Prefixes are added to the beginning of a word and usually change its meaning, often to the opposite.

• Un-: (negation) happy → unhappy, certain → uncertain.
• Dis-: (negation or reversal) agree → disagree, connect → disconnect.
• In- / Im- / Il- / Ir-: (negation, used before certain letters) complete → incomplete, possible → impossible, legal → illegal, regular → irregular.
• Re-: (meaning 'again' or 'back') write → rewrite, build → rebuild.

Examples of Word Families

Base Word	Noun	Verb	Adjective	Adverb
decide	decision	decide	decisive	decisively
employ	employment	employ	employed
happy	happiness		happy	happily
inform	information	inform	informative
possible	possibility		possible	possibly

Examples

• The development of new technology is very important.
• She made a careful decision and acted carefully.
• It was an unforgettable experience, full of happiness.
• The manager disagreed with the proposal.
• His creativity led to a truly creative solution.

Practice

Common mistakes for Spanish speakers

Spanish speakers sometimes make specific mistakes with word formation because of differences between English and Spanish.

• Using the wrong part of speech: Forgetting to change the word form. For example, saying I need a decide instead of I need a decision. Remember to check if you need a noun, verb, adjective, or adverb.
• Incorrect spelling changes: Many suffixes cause spelling changes in the base word. For instance, possible becomes possibility (dropping the final 'e' and adding -ity), or happy becomes happiness (changing 'y' to 'i').
• Over-generalising prefixes: Not all negative prefixes work with all words. For example, you say unhappy, not dishappy. Learn which prefixes go with which words.

Frequently asked questions

What is a base word?

A base word is the main part of a word that carries its core meaning. You can add prefixes or suffixes to it to create new words. For example, comfort is a base word.

Can one word have both a prefix and a suffix?

Yes, absolutely! Many English words have both. For example, from the base word comfort, you can form uncomfortable (prefix + base + suffix) or discomforting.

How does word formation help me in the B2 First (FCE) exam?

Word formation is directly tested in Part 3 of the B2 First (FCE) Use of English paper. You will see a text with eight gaps. For each gap, you are given a base word, and you must transform it into the correct part of speech (noun, verb, adjective, or adverb) to fit the sentence's meaning and grammar. Mastering this skill is essential for a good score.

Are there rules for which suffix or prefix to use?

There are general patterns and common combinations, but not always strict rules. Often, it's about recognising common pairings (e.g., un- for adjectives, -tion for nouns from verbs). The best way to learn is through exposure, practice, and building word families in your vocabulary notebook.

Related lessons

• Word formation
• Word formation