Word Formation

FCE (First Certificate) Word Word Formation: Negatives For the FCE exam, there's nearly always at least one negative in the word formation paper. There are lots of prefixes and suffixes we can use to make negatives. 1. egative egative prefixes prefixes can !e used with with nouns, nouns, ver!s, ad"ectiv ad"ectivee and adver!s. adver!s. For example disapproval, disapprove, disapproving, disapprovingly. #. $sual suallly im % p &impatient !ut not always &unpleasant. (. )ften il % l &illegal !ut not always &unlikely. *. )ften ir % r &irregular !ut not always &unresponsive. +. $sual suallly -ful changes to -less &harmfulless !ut not always &endless. -. f you you can't can't reme remem!e m!er, r, choose choose un / it's the most common negative prefix. 0ook at the information in the ta!le for 1 minute and try to remem!er the words. Then click !elow to hide the information and try to answer the uestions at the !ottom.

un-

in inaccurate unexpected inappropriate unaware inefficient un!elieva!le incapa!le unknown una!le ineffective ilirirregular illegal illiterate irresponsi!le illogical illegi!le irrational irregular

dis-

imimpro!a!le disapprove dislike impossi!le disagree dis!elief impolite dishonest imperfect impatient mis-less

mis!ehave misunderstand misspell misuse

careless harmless helpless endless

Click here to showhide this information 2rite the correct E34T5E E34T5E form of the word in !rackets to complete these sentences. 6e very careful7 some words have different negative forms &e.g. un!elieva!ledis!elief, unlikelydislike, una!ledisa!led. 1. The politician politician was accused of !eing #. 8is story was so

 thought thought he was cra:y. cra:y. &6E0E5E &6E0E5E

(. 9he looked looked at him in *. ;any people people are

&8)E9T &8)E9T

when he told her the shocking shocking news. &6E0E5E &6E0E5E of the dangers dangers of mo!ile mo!ile phones. phones. &424 &424
+. 8e's invited invited me to his party. party. t would !e

to say no. &=)0TE &=)0TE

-. Too Too many children children nowadays nowadays are growing growing up >. That's not what  said? @ou've B. ;y dog is completely completely

. &0TE<4 &0TE<4T TE

me. &$AE<9T &$AE<9T4 4A A .  promise promise he won't won't !ite. &84<; &84<;

. The medicine was

/ he didn't recover. &EFFECT

1D. 8is answers were very 11. t's

so he failed the ;aths exam. &4CC$<4TE

that people will ever live on the moon. &0E0@

1#. 8e waited 1(. t's

for the train. &=4TET to smoke in pu!lic places nowadays. &0E340

1*.  would never teach children. They always 1+. The shirt he's wearing is completely &4==<)=<4TE 1-. 8is speech was

. &6E845E for a "o! interview.

.  thought he'd never stop talking. &EA

FCE (First Certificate) Word Formation: Nouns with -ion )ne of the most common ways to change a ver! to a noun is with /ion &e.g. act to action and /ation &e.g. o!serve to o!servation. 9ometimes we also change the ver! stem as well when we make the noun like this &e.g. explain to explanation. The ta!le !elow shows common nouns in which the spelling of the stem also changes.

0ook at the information in the ta!le for 1/# minutes and try to remem!er the words. Then click !elow to hide the information and try to answer the uestions at the !ottom.

Noun

application permission solution description intention competition decision explanation production repetition consumption ualification

Verb

apply permit solve descri!e intend compete decide explain produce repeat comsume ualify

Click here to showhide this information

d!ective applica!le permissa!le unsolved descriptive unintended competitive decisive unexplained productive repetitive consuma!le ualified

2rite the correct form of the word in !rackets to complete these sentences. 9ome of the answers are irregular &from the ta!le a!ove, !ut there are other regular nouns included here. Aon't forget to use an /s if necessary.

1. =lease send a photograph with your C5 and #. @ou need to make a (. 8er

form. &4==0@

today. &AECAE

of the grammar was very unclear. &E=04

*. 2e had a long

a!out our pro!lems. &A9C$99

+. 9tudents must have their parent's

to come on the trip. &=E<;T

-. 8e is still in hospital, recovering from his >.  entered a !owling

. &C);=ETE

B. ;y children never show

for anything  do? &4==
.  can't come up with a 1D. The

to this pro!lem. &9)05E

of "unk food has increased over the last #D years. &C)9$;E

11. @ou need a lot of

for this "o!. &G$40F@

1#. 2hen  lived a!road,  found the &9E=4<4TE 1(. The

. &)=E<4TE

from my family very difficult.

of the new flats is nearly finished. &C)9T<$CT

1*. 2e don't want a &
of the violence at last year's foot!all match.

1+. The police are conducting an 1-.  gave the police a 1>. t wasn't my 1B. 2e are making

into the murder. &5E9T34TE of the thief. &AE9C<6E

to offend you. &TEA for the wedding. &=
1. 've "ust had a very interesting

with your sister. &C)5E<9E

#D. @ou can try our product for free, with no

to !uy it. &)603E


Noun (-ence) evidence existence &independence difference

d!ective

evident existing &independent different

Verb

/ to exist to depend to differ

intelligence &diso!edience excellence silence violence innocence occurrence &impatience Noun (-ance) attendance attendant &person assistance assistant &person &disappearance distance &unimportance acceptance reassurance &irrelevance &insignificance

intelligent &diso!edient excellent silent violent innocent / &impatient

/ to &diso!ey to excel to silence to violate / to occur /

d!ective

Verb

/

to attend

/

to assist

apparent distant &unimportant accepting reassured &irrelevant &insignificant

to &disappear / / accept to reassure / to signify

ote7  have only given the more common words here. There are other forms &for example, it is possi!le to use Hto evidence somethingH as a ver! !ut these are less common.


2rite the correct form of the word in !rackets to complete these sentences. The answer could !e a noun or an ad"ective. Aon't forget to use an /s or a negative prefix if necessary.

1. $nfortunately, accidents are a common #. t's difficult to !elieve in the (. The police are looking for

of aliens. &E9T of the attack. &E5AET

*. 9he thinks everyone hates her and needs time. &
along this road. &)CC$<

from her friends all the of millions of !ees is due to

-. 2hat's the !est punishment for a

teenagerI &)6E@

>. 2hat he said was true, !ut it was completely B. 1DDJ

. &
is necessary to pass this course. &4TTEA

. 'm the only person who !elieves in his guilty. &)CET 1D. There are three shop help. &4999T

. Even the police think he's

over there / you should ask one of them for

11. 9ome people think that if you en"oy your "o!, the salary is love money? &;=)
, !ut 

from Cam!ridge

animals. They don't really need people. if you want to work with children. &=4TET


Noun &dis!elief a choice a defense a death a gift a loss a marriage practice pretense proof safety a sight a speech a success a thought

Verb &dis!elieve choose defend die give lose marry practise pretend &disprove save see speak succeed think

d!ective &un!elieva!le chosen defensive deaddeadly / lost &unmarried practising / &unproven &unsafe unseen &unspoken &unsuccessful thoughtfulless

dverb &un!elieva!ly / defensively deadly / / / / / / safely / / &unsuccessfully thoughtfullylessly


2rite the correct form of the word in !rackets to complete these sentences.

1. The flowers are

poisonous / don't eat them? &AE

#. @ou have no

/ you must do it. &C8))9E

(. Their

was a very happy one. &;4<<@

*. @ou need to do some more +. 2e don't have any

of this grammar. &=<4CT9E that he committed the crime. &=<)5E

-. 9he's really

a!out her new haircut.&AEFEA

>. The company made a

on their new product. &0)9E

B.  stared at him in

. &6E0E5E

. @our parents really care a!out your 1D. The politician's

really made me think a!out the issues. &9=E4

11. 2e tried to keep up the 1#.  need to get a

that everything was ). &=
1(. 'm really sorry. @ou were 1*. 8e lost his

. &945E

in your "o! application. &9$CCEEA

in the accident &9EE

1+. 8e's really selfish and

. &T8

;ost ad"ectives which end in /ful make the negative with /less. 6ut, not all. ote also that we can make adver!s from these ad"ectives with /fully or /lessly. For example, carefull" and carelessl". This is a list of key words which might appear in the FCE exam.


The words in this ta!le all use /ful and /less to make the ad"ectives. Noun

care harm help hope pain power use thought taste

Verb

care harm help hope pain power use think taste

d!ective

carefulcareless harmfulharmless &unhelpfulhelpless hopefulhopeless painfulpainless powerfulpowerless usefuluseless thoughtfulthoughtless tastefultasteless

The ad"ectives in this ta!le take /ful or /less, !ut not !oth. Noun

count end home peace play price success truth worth

Verb

d!ective countlesscounta!le endless homeless peaceful playful priceless &unsuccessful &untruthful&untrue worthless

count end / / play price succeed / worth


2rite the correct ad"ective or adver! for each of these uestions. @ou will need to use -ful#-less or -full"#-lessl". 9ome answers will also need un-.

1. 2hat a lovely present? That was very #. 8e drives really (. 8e's told me

of you. &T8

/ one day he's going to have an accident. &C4
*. 6ecause of his !ad interview, he was &9$CCEEA

in his "o! application.

+. H didn't eat your chocolate,H she said &T<$E

, hiding the empty wrapper.

-. t's

. England will never win the 2orld Cup foot!all again. &8)=E

>. ;y !est friend is a rich,

lawyer. &=)2E<

B. @ou must remem!er to recharge your phone. 2ithout its !atteries, it's &$9E . Cigarettes are

to your health. &84<;

1D. The sales assistant was really 11. 4 new!orn !a!y is completely

and rude. &8E0= . &8E0=

1#. HAon't worry / this in"ection will !e completely 1(. Thieves !roke into the museum and stole a &=<CE

. &=4 painting !y 5an 3ogh.

.

1*. 9he's really rich, !ut her clothes are always very and elegant. &T49TE 1+.  !ought some shares in the company + years ago, !ut unfortunately now they are

. &2)
1-. 8is speech went on

.  thought he'd never stop talking. &EA

The word formation part of the FCE use of English exam often tests ad"ectives such as 'short', 'wide', 'dark' and their nouns and ver!s. 8ere is a list of some of the more common ad"ectives and their forms.


d!ective deep high / wide long

short large low tight loose strong weak dark !right

Noun

depth height weight width length shortage &K not enough shortness &K not tall enlargement / tightness looseness strength weakness darkness dark !rightness

Verb deepen heighten weigh widen lengthen

shorten enlarge lower tighten loosen strengthen weaken

darken !righten


2rite the correct form of the word in !rackets to complete these sentences.

1. ormally  prefer tall men, !ut my hus!and's &98)
isn't a pro!lem. . &AEE=

(. 4 healthy diet will *. f they

your life expectancy. &0)3

this road, there would !e fewer accidents. &2AE

+.  think 'll

this photograph. &04<3E

-. The airport has

security at passport control. &T38T

>.  do yoga to

my !ack. &9T<)3

B. There is a water &98)
nearly every summer in the south of England.

. The moment  left work  1D. 2hen 

my tie and started to relax. &0))9E

myself,  found out 'd lost 1Dkg? &2E38T

11. The

of my computer screen gives me a headache. &6<38T

1#. 'm afraid of

so  couldn't live on the 1Dth floor. &838

1(. The lights went out and the room was plunged into 1*. 'm afraid of the

so  sleep with the lights on. &A4<E

1+. The government are going to 1-. 8is long illness has

. &A4<

the legal drinking age to 1B. &0)2 him. &2E4

0ook at the information in the ta!le for 1 minute and try to remem!er the words. Then click !elow to hide the information and try to answer the uestions at the !ottom.

en-

enlarge ena!le entrust enrage ensure endanger

-if"

!eautify clarify specify identify terrify purify

-ise

-en

televise advise organise specialise prioritise criminalise apologise

widen lengthen deepen shorten tighten !righten darken weaken strengthen


2rite the correct form of the word in !rackets to complete these sentences. 6e very careful / these are ver!s. 9o, for example, if the word is AEE=, the ver! could !e deepen , deepens, deepening or deepened .

1.  find it difficult to

my work. &=<)<T@

#. 'm studying medicine.  want to

in genetics. &9=EC40

(. This photograph is too small. Can you

it for meI &04<3E

*.  didn't understand what you "ust said. Could you

itI &C0E4<

+. ;y electronic dictionary words. &460E

me to listen to the pronunciation of new

-. 8e loves insects. 8e can &AETT@

over +D different types of !eetle.

>. There are a lot of accidents on this road / the council should &2AT8 B. The time we spent apart only . @ou didn't &9=ECFC

my love for him. &9T<)3

what flavour you wanted, so  got you chocolate.

1D. 8is speech was too long. 8e should have 11. 8e always thinks he's right. 8e never 1#.  think the government should

1+. The film HThe
it. &98)
alcohol. &C<;40

1(. Thank you for the flowers. They really 1*. The !urglar

it.

up the room. &6<38T

that no one was in the house !efore he !roke in. &9$
1-. The government's plans for the hospitals will &A43E<

thousands of lives.

Word Formation

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