Week 6, Activity 2 – Word formation: adjctives
What is an adjective? How do we form adjectives?
Adjectives are words that describe nouns. We can make adjectives by adding prefixes and
suffixes.
Suffixes to form adjectives
Suffixes go on the end of words. They change a word from one part of speech, such as a noun
or a verb, to another, such as an adjective.
For example, if you add ‘-able’ to ‘solve’, you create the adjective ‘solvable’.
They told me the problem was not solvable, but I thought it was easy.
The professional secretary was very helpful. She immediately understood what I
needed.
The word ‘professional’ comes from ‘profession’, and ‘helpful’ comes from ‘help’.
The most common adjective suffixes and their meaning:
Suffix Meaning Examples
-able/-ible Worth, ability Solvable, accessible, believable, reliable
-al, -ial, Quality, relation Professional, structural, national, legal
-ical
-ent/-ant Having a certain quality Important, dependent, relevant
-ed Having the quality of Bored, interested, fascinated
-ic Quality, relation Generic, archaic, idealistic, historic
-ing Referring to an activity Boring, interesting, fascinating
Having the character of,
-ish Newish, reddish
about, almost
-ful Having a characteristic Helpful, colorful, useful
-less Without, missing Worthless, careless, useless, hopeless
-ous Having the quality of, relating Adventurous, courageous,
to advantageous
-ive Having the quality of Festive, cooperative, sensitive
Thus, suffixes can determine the word’s part of speech. Certain suffixes make the base or
root word a noun, a verb, an adjective, or an adverb. For example, if you know suffixes
that are typical for adjectives you will easily differentiate the adjectives from other parts
of speech or determine the meaning of a word:
history (noun) – historic (adjective)
hopeful (giving hope) – hopeless (without hope)
Note: Some words can be two parts of speech. This is true for words that end in ‘-ed’ and
‘- ing’, such as ‘bored‘ and ‘boring‘. In the first and third sentences below, the words are
verbs, while in the others they are adjectives. In the second sentence, ‘bored’ describes
the person ´I´, and in the last sentence ‘boring’ describes the word ´subject´.
His lecture bored the class so everyone fell asleep.
I was so bored in his class that I fell asleep.
You are boring me with all this information about insects.
This is a very boring subject.
Here’s an interesting video about how to use adjectives with suffixes ‘-ing’ and ‘-ed’
correctly:
Prefixes to form adjectives
Prefixes go at the beginning of words.
The most common adjective prefixes and their meaning:
Prefix Meaning Examples
Illegal, Illegible, imperfect, impolite,
il-, im-, ir-, in- Not/opposite
irrelevant, irrational, inconvenient, inactive
of
un- Not/opposite Unusual, unhappy, uninterested, unpleasant
of
dis- Not/opposite Dishonest, disloyal, dissimilar, disabled
of
ultra-,
Extreme Ultra-compact, ultrasound, hyperactive
super-, -
hyper-
inter- Between International, interdisciplinary
trans- Across Transatlantic, transmarine
I cannot read anything she writes; her writing is illegible.
Companies don’t like to work with dishonest employees.
Spelling rules for il-, im-, ir-, in-
1. Use ‘il-’ for words starting with ‘l’, such as legal (illegal) and legible (illegible).
2. Use ‘ir-’ for words starting with ‘r’, such as relevant (irrelevant) and rational
(irrational).
3. Use ‘im-’ for words starting with ‘m’ or ‘p’, such as mature (immature) and
polite (impolite).
4. For other adjectives, use ‘in-’, such as convenient (inconvenient) and active (inactive).
Note: Not all prefixes can go on all words, so it is important to use your dictionary to help
you learn which prefixes are used with which words.
In this video from Shaw English Online, you’ll see how different adjectives are formed using
prefixes and suffixes: (Vídeo em anexo)
Practice makes perfect!
1 - Complete each sentence by adding a prefix to the adjective to make it negative.
A. Carol thinks that boys with long hair are really _______. I disagree ! (ATTRACTIVE)
B. That shop assistant was so ________that I went out of the store without buying anything
(HELPFUL).
C. Did you know that it is __________ for women to wear make up in some countries ? (LEGAL)
D. Rain is _______today. the skies are very clear. (LIKELY)
E. Did you really think that the exam was so easy ? - I thought it was ___________(POSSIBLE).
F. Some ________________people suffer from the lack of confidence (EMPLOYED).
G. He is very _____________about what he should do next (CERTAIN)
H. Don't be so ___________________. They will surely arrive soon (PATIENT)
I. Why are you so __________________? You have everything you need. (HAPPY)
J. The report in the news paper was totally ___________. They got all the facts wrong.
(ACCURATE)
K. I felt very ____________ when I told him what was wrong. (COMFORTABLE)
L. The answer is ______________. Try again (CORRECT)
M - I think that is a highly ___________ thing to do. (MORAL)
N - When you talk to her you can use ____________language . She likes that. (FORMAL)
Soluções:
A – unattractive
B – unhelpful
C – illegal
D – unlikely
E – impossible
F – unemployed
G – uncertain
H – impatient
I – unhappy
J – inaccurate
K – uncomfortable
L – incorrect
M – immoral
N – informal
2 - Fill in the correct word:
1. The new rules are very ________. use
2. Mona is a very ________ person. create
3. This armchair is very_________. comfort
4. Pam’s hair is black and ________. curl
5. Be _________! It is very slippery here. care
6. The weather is often ________ here. change
7. The injection was very _________. pain
8. The operation was _________. success
9. I think the prices are quite _________. reason
10. It is a _________ holiday in our country. nation
11. Helen is a very _________ young lady. beauty
12. Tom is _________ and sociable. friend
13. This snake is very _________. harm
14. The situation on the roads was rather________. danger
15. Ben plays several _________ instruments. music
16. This place is very ________. I don’t hear you. noise
17. My friend is always _________. help
18. We read the text about the ________ traditions. culture
19. Liz is a _________ person. We like her. cheer
20. Don’t be afraid of this lizard. It is _________. harm
21. The film was boring and seemed to be ________. end
22. This sandwich is not __________. eat
23. Our leaders discussed the ________ situation. economy
24. Your advice is ________. Thanks a lot. value
25. Mona is very ________. I’m tired of her. talk
26. The weather was cold and _________. wind
27. Tim’s car is new and ________. rely
28. Ingrid had a _________ dress on yesterday. love
29. Have you seen that _________ advertisement? origin
30. There are two ________ parties in this country. policy
Soluções:
1. The new rules are very useful/useless.
2. Mona is a very creative person.
3. This armchair is very comfortable.
4. Pam’s hair is black and curly.
5. Be careful! It is very slippery here.
6. The weather is often changeable here.
7. The injection was very painful.
8. The operation was successful.
9. I think the prices are quite reasonable.
10. It is a national holiday in our country.
11. Helen is a very beautiful young lady.
12. Tom is friendly and sociable.
13. This snake is very harmful.
14. The situation on the roads was rather dangerous.
15. Ben plays several musical instruments.
16. This place is very noisy. I don’t hear you.
17. My friend is always helpful.
18. We read the text about the cultural traditions.
19. Liz is a cheerful person. We like her.
20. Don’t be afraid of this lizard. It is harmless.
21. The film was boring and seemed to be endless.
22. This sandwich is not eatable.
23. Our leaders discussed the political situation.
24. Your advice is valuable. Thanks a lot.
25. Mona is very talkative. I’m tired of her.
26. The weather was cold and windy.
27. Tim’s car is new and reliable.
28. Ingrid had a lovely dress on yesterday.
29. Have you seen that original advertisement?
30. There are two political parties in this country.
