ENGLISH LANGUAGE SKILLS FOR COMMUNICATION II (BELH 1002) 2024

SEMESTER: EVEN
MODULE II

WORD FORMATION PROCESSES

Word Formation Processes: 2. Derivation: It is a process of adding prefix or suffix

The process by which we make new words is called with other words. This is different than inflection in
the word formation process. The domain of study that the way that in derivation, by adding affixes the
deals with words and their formations is called meaning and the category/part of speech of the word
Morphology. changes. For example, there are Nominal affixes which
change a verb or an adjective into nouns-contradict
1. Inflection (verb)+ tion=contradiction (noun), Slow (adjective) +
It is done by adding affixes (prefixes or suffixes) with ness = Slowness (Noun), write (verb) + er = writer
a free word. Inflection does not change the meaning (Noun) etc.
of the word. Rather, it serves a grammatical purpose There are similar adjectival, adverbial and verbal
of changing tense (‘-ed’ for past tense; ‘-ing’ for affixes too.
continuous tense), person, number (‘-s/es’ with It comprises of affixation which is the process of
nouns), gender, voice etc. For example, if we add ‘-s’ adding a morpheme—or affix—to a word to create
with the word ‘car’ it becomes plural.) either a different form of that word or a new word with
a different meaning. An affix is a word used to alter
Part of Grammatic Inflectio Examples
the meaning or form of a word and comes in the form
Speech al Category n of either a prefix or a suffix.
Noun Number -s, -es Flower →
Flowers 1. Prefixes are a syllable, or group of syllables,
Glass → added to the beginning of a word to alter its
Glasses meaning. For ex - mono- means ‘one’
Noun, Case -'s, -', -s Paul → (monolingual), multi- means ‘many’
Pronoun (Genitive) Paul's (multipurpose), post- means ‘after’
Francis → (postgraduate) etc.
Francis'
2.1 Prefixes of Negation - These are prefixes that when
It → Its
added to a word, they negate the meanings of such word.
Pronoun Case -self, - Him → As in:
(Reflexive) selves Himself  ‘un’ – unhappy, untie, unconscious,
Them → unreasonable, etc.
Themselve  ‘mis’ – misuse, misdirect, misguided,
s misunderstand, misspelled, etc.
Verb Aspect -ing Run →  ‘non’ – nonentity, nonsense, non-academic,
(Progressive) Running nonreactive, non-teaching, etc.
Verb Aspect -en, -ed Fall →
(Perfect) (Has) 2.2 Prefixes of Number – These are prefixes that when
fallen added to a word, they inform about the numbers
Finish → present. As in:
(Has)  ‘uni’ – unidirectional, unilateral, unisexual,
unicellular, etc.
finished
 ‘bi’ – bi-annual, bi-weekly, bilateral, bicameral,
Verb Tense (Past) -ed Open → bicycle, bilabial, bifocal, etc.
Opened  ‘tri’ – tricycle, triangle, trisect, etc.
Verb Tense -s Open →  ‘quad’ – quadruplet, quadrangle, quadrilateral,
(Present) Opens etc.
Adjectiv Degree of -er Smart →
e Comparison Smarter 2.3 Prefixes Emphasizing Degree - These are prefixes
(Comparativ that when added to a word, emphasizes the degree
e) of the word, as in:
Adjectiv Degree of -est Smart →  ‘super’ – supermarket, superman, supernatural,
e Comparison Smartest supernormal, superstar, etc.
(Superlative)  ‘mini’ –miniskirt, minibus, minivan, etc.

[FOR B TECH I YEAR, II SEMESTER STUDENTS]

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 ENGLISH LANGUAGE SKILLS FOR COMMUNICATION II (BELH 1002) 2024

SEMESTER: EVEN
MODULE II

WORD FORMATION PROCESSES

 ‘hyper’ – hyperactive, hyperventilate,  -wise - Meaning: in relation to

hypersensitive, hypermarket, etc. Examples: clockwise, edgewise, lengthwise,
otherwise
2. Suffixes are a letter or group of letters added to 3. Compounding
the ending of words to change their meaning or When we use compounding, we link together two or
function. more bases to create a new word. For example, the
two bases back and ache can combine to form the
2.4 Noun Suffixes - compound noun backache, and the two
 -eer - Meaning: engaged in something, bases post and card combine to form the compound
associated with something noun postcard. Other examples of compound nouns
Examples: auctioneer, volunteer, engineer, are: wristwatch, notebook, grandfather etc.
profiteer
 -ion - Meaning: the action or process of Adjectives: heartbreaking, sugar-free, airsick,
Examples: celebration, opinion, decision, bittersweet
revision Adjective-noun compound: blueberry
 -ity - Meaning: the state or condition of Verbs: oven-bake, baby-sit, chain-smoke, stirfry
Examples: probability, equality, abnormality, Adverbs: good-naturedly, nevertheless
civility Preposition: into, upto, before, beyond
 -ment - Meaning: the action or result of Verb-noun compound: workroom, pickpocket
Examples: movement, retirement, abandonment, Noun-verb compound: breastfeed, haircut, rainfall
 -th - Meaning: state or quality Adjective-verb compound: highlight, whitewash
Examples: strength, labyrinth, depth, warmth Preposition-verb compound: outrun, overthrow

2.5 Adjective Suffixes -

4. Blending: Blending is formed by combining two
 -able, -ible - Meaning: capable of being
parts of two different words. 1. Blending the first
Examples: preventable, adaptable, predictable,
and last parts-brunch (Breakfast and Lunch); 2.
credible
Blending the beginnings of two words-cyborg
 -al - Meaning: pertaining to (Cyber and organism); 3. One complete word is
Examples: theatrical, natural, criminal, seasonal blended with the first part of another-Guesstimate
 -ant - Meaning: inclined to or tending to (Guess and estimate) etc.
Examples: vigilant, defiant, brilliant, reliant Examples:
 -ary - Meaning: of or relating to Brunch = (breakfast + lunch),
Examples: budgetary, planetary, military, Emoticon = (emotion + icon)
honorary Frenemy =( friend+enemy)
 -ful - Meaning: full of or notable of Sitcom = (situation+comedy)
Examples: grateful, beautiful, wonderful, Smog = (Fog+ smoke)
fanciful Blog = (web + log)
Cyborg = (cybernetic + organism)
2.6 Verb Suffixes -
 -ed - Meaning: past-tense version of a verb
5. Clipping: In this process certain part of a word is
Examples: laughed, climbed, called, missed
 Examples: faster, bigger, fuller, longer cut short or reduced. There are four types. Fore-
 -ing - Meaning: verb form/present participle of clipping: Phone (telephone), Varsity (University),
an action Chute (parachute) etc. In these the first half of the
Examples: laughing, swimming, driving, writing word is removed. Back clipping: Ad
 -ize, -ise - Meaning: to cause or to become (advertisement), gas (gasoline), gym
Examples: memorialize, authorize, (gymnasium), math (mathematics), exam
commercialize, advertise (examinations), fax (facsimile). In these the latter
half/halves are clipped or removed. Middle
2.7Adverb Suffixes
 -ly - Meaning: in what manner something is Clipping or syncope: Flu (influenza) etc. Here only
being done the middle half is retained.
Examples: bravely, simply, honestly, gladly For ex - ad = advertisement, Fridge – refrigerator
Gym - gymnastics, gymnasium, Flu – influenza
[FOR B TECH I YEAR, II SEMESTER STUDENTS]
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 ENGLISH LANGUAGE SKILLS FOR COMMUNICATION II (BELH 1002) 2024

SEMESTER: EVEN
MODULE II

WORD FORMATION PROCESSES

Sci-fi - science fiction, Disco – discotheque karaoke tsunami sushi origami tycoon karate soy
Vet – veterinarian, Lab – laboratory (Japanese)
croissant macaroon resume mayonnaise coup d'etat
6. Abbreviation - are shortened forms of words or (French)
lengthy phrases. yoga shampoo (Indian)
For ex – acc – according to, admin - yogurt kebab (Turkish)
administration, administrative, arch -
archive(s)/architecture, Brit – British, Capt. –
Captain, cent – century , col. – colonel, dept. –
deputy, dept – department, E.d/ed. - edition
Name of months – Jan, Dec, Apr etc.

7. Acronyms: These are initial letters or parts of a

whole phrase pronounced as a word. There are several
types of it: 1. Pronounced as a word-NATO (North
Atlantic Treaty Association), CRY (Child Relief and
You) etc; 2. Pronounced as a word but containing non-
initial letters-Amphetamine (Alpha-methyl-
phenethylamine); 3.Pronounced only as the letters are
arranged-BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation),
UNO (United Nations Organizations), UPTU (Uttar
Pradesh Technical University); 3.Pseudo(False/Look
alike)-acronyms-FYI (For You Information), IOU (I
Owe You), LOL (Laugh Out Loud) etc.
Examples: NATO (The North Atlantic Treaty
Organization)
UNICEF (The United Nations Children's Fund),
RSVP (Répondez s'il vous plaît" – please respond),
PM/AM (post meridiem"- after noon, ante meridiem -
before noon, AD/BC – (Anno Domini, Before Christ)

8. Coinage is the invention of a totally new term named

after anything famous. The most typical sources are
invented trade names for commercial products,
technology, movies, music that become general terms.
For ex – Xerox (for photocopy), Google (for search
engines), Fevicol (for glue), Jacuzzi (for hot tub),
Popsicle (for ice cream on sticks), Ping Pong (Table
tennis).

9. Borrowing is one of the most common sources of

new words in English. The words formed by
borrowing of words from other languages are called
loanwords. Over 80% of the English words are
loanwords, and they are from over 120 languages.
Examples:
ketchup gweilo cha chaan teng laisee dim sum
(Chinese)
balcony opera violin spaghetti macaroni
(Italian)
kindergarten pretzel hamburger iceberg
(German)

[FOR B TECH I YEAR, II SEMESTER STUDENTS]

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