Vocabulary Affixes
Affixes include both prefixes, e.g. un-, dis-, and suffixes, e.g.-tion. Many affixes are grammatical, and do not have much 'meaning', for example the prefix -un shows an opposite, and the suffix -ity shows that the word is probably a noun. Sometimes a suffix can be taken away to leave the root word, e.g. intensity-* intense, but sometimes this does not work, e.g. capacity. Affixes can help you recognize word class, which in turn can help you understand wider meanings and sentence structure.
TASK 1 Using suffixes to recognize word families
1 Match each group of suffixes to their typical word classes.
J -tion, -sion, -ity, -ment, -ism, -ness Nouns:
2 -!y, -ily Verbs:
3 -ify, -ize, -ate Adjectives:..............
4 -al, -ous, -ent, -ive Adverbs:
2 Choose one group, and give at least one example word for each suffix.
Example: -ity: authority, intensity
3 Write a sentence related to your own area of study using each example word from 2.
TASK 2 Building word families using affixes
1 Decide on the word class for words 1-8. Then write in the remaining forms where possible. The first is done as an example.
noun verb adjective adverb
1 centre centre centralize central centrally
2 divide -
3 discuss
4 category
5 theoretical
6 similar -
7 differentiate
8 collectively
2 Add the word class to words 1-8. Then complete the second column with the word class given.
1 involve ( ) ................... (n)
2 similar ( ) ...........................<n)
3 market ( ) ............................(adj)
4 intense ( ) .............................(adv)
5 summary ( ) ............................(v)
6 division ( ) .............................(adj)
7 equal ( ) .............................(n)
8 resource (  ) ...........................(adj)
3 Complete the sentences with the appropriate form of the word given.
1 UN in recent elections has helped stabilize the region, (involve)
2 Life on other planets is...................................................possible, but highly unlikely, (theoretical)
3 The..................................................between rich and poor has increased with each generation, (divide)
4 Researchers noted a ..............................................in responses from male and female test groups, (similar)
5 Attempts to.....................................................the flora and fauna of rainforests have been limited, (category)
4 Write a short paragraph related to your own area of study using at least three of the words from 2.
076   UNIT 5E VOCABULARY