Noun Formation

Autor: Profesor Andreia Camelia Timofte

Limba engleză

Nouns

Let's take a look at the ways in which nouns can be formed!

Noun prefixes

A prefix is a letter or a group of letters that appears at the beginning of a word and changes the word’s original meaning.

Nouns can be formed using prefixes. Prefixes are added to the root and may have various meanings.

• Prefixes over-, under-, up-, down-, and hyper- mean the degree, quality, quantity, or a trend:

• Prefixes like anti-, de-, dis-, un-, or non– are used to mean opposite of a word:

Prefix meanings:

• override
• downfall
• hyperactivity
• underground

• antisocial

• deactivation
• disability
• nonsense

She lives in a subdivision outside of a large city.

That is nonsense. I can’t believe you think that.

His lack of experience had led to his downfall.

He crossed London by underground.

• Prefixes mega-, mini-, macro-, and micro- express the degree :

• Prefixes like mono-, bi-, uni-, di-, and omni- indicate the quantity:

Prefix meanings:

• miniskirt
• macrocosmic
• megabyte

• omnipresence

• bilingualism
• monopoly

The government has a monopoly on rail travel.

Some results suggest bilingualism helps people.

A megabyte is one million bytes of data.

He travelled by minibus.

Most common noun prefixes

The most common prefixes used to form new nouns in academic English are: co- and sub-.

Eg. The college students Jerry Yang and David Filo are the Yahoo co-founders. An organization provides IT services to the school though a subcontract.

Credit:https://dictionary.cambridge.org

Some other prefixes:

• auto - autobiography, automobile
• ex - ex-chairman, ex-hunter
• in - inattention, incoherence,
• inter - interaction, interference
• mal - maltreatment, malnutrition
• mis - misdeed, mismanagement
• neo - neo-colonialism, neo-impressionism
• re - re-organisation, re-examination
• semi - semicircle, semi-darkness
• tele - telecommunications
• vice - vice-president

Noun suffixes

A suffix is a letter or a group of letters that are added to the end of a word to make a new word.

When a suffix is added to a base word and that base word becomes a noun, it is called a noun suffix.

Credit: https://grammar.collinsdictionary.com

• Suffixes like -age, -al, -ation, -(a)ence, -dom , -mess, -ness, -ure, -ship are used to express notions or concepts, feelings and emotions:

• Suffixes like -ant, -ee, -ent, -(e)er, -or , -ian, -ic, -or, -ist are used to express occupations:

Suffix meanings:

• participant

• referee
• manager
• librarian
• biologist

• percentage
• information
• kingdom
• variety
• friendship

I don’t think I am a good writer.

She works as a violonist in an orchestra.

The flood survivor is in desperate need of help.

I felt such a sense of freedom, up in the hills.

The explosion caused the crashing of the house.

• Suffixes like -ity, -ism, are used to express state or condition, practice :

• Suffixes like -er, -or are used to express equipment, appliances, or devices:

Suffix meanings:

• activity
• reality
• tourism
• capitalism

• opener

• sharpener
• razor
• alternator

Tourism is vital for some economies.

It was meant as a suggestion, not a criticism.

Sometimes it's hard to accept reality.

You can take part in this activity.

Noun suffixes

Often, the suffix can cause a spelling change to the original word.

Credit: https://grammar.collinsdictionary.com

Some spelling changes are:

• heavy + - ness → heaviness (-y changes to i)

• able + - ity → ability (-le changes to il)

• permit + - ion → permission (-t changes to ss)

• create + - ion → creation ( -e disappears)

Tip: Look up in a dictionary to find more information on the topic!

Now you must know a lot about forming nouns!

Această resursă a fost creată în cadrul proiectului „Curriculum Relevant, Educație Deschisă pentru toți”- CRED