Professional Documents
Culture Documents
MOST COMMON
The most common prefixes used to form new
verbs in academic English are: re-, dis-, over-,
un-, mis-, out-. The most common suffixes
are: -ise, -en, -ate, -(i)fy. By far the most
common affix in academic English is ise.
WHAT DO THEY MEAN?
PREFIX MEANINGS
re- again or back restructure
dis- reverses the meaning of the verb
over- too much
un- reverses the meaning of the verb
mis- badly or wrongly
out- more or better than others
EXAMPLES of VERBS
restructure, revisit, reappear, rebuild, refinance
disappear, disallow, disarm, disconnect,
discontinue
overbook, oversleep, overwork
unbend, uncouple, unfasten
mislead, misinform, misidentify
outperform, outbid, outshine
NOW TRY TO FIND SOME NOUNS AND
ADJECTIVES
visualise, specialise
-ate differentiate, liquidate, pollinate,
duplicate, fabricate
-fy classify, exemplify, simplify, justify
-en awaken, fasten, shorten, moisten
ANSWER: -TION
The most common suffixes are: -tion, -ity, -er,
-ness, -ism, -ment, -ant, -ship, -age, -ery
SAMPLE NOUNS
QUIZ
QUIZ PART II
6 In Garner's case the formal elements often go unnoticed because
they are __________ and made almost invisible by the emotional
power and urgency of the story. (merge)
7 Of themselves, of course, the rules are normative, and their validity is
thus __________ by issues of fact. (affect)
8 He became a porter, was __________, often not paid at all, but did
not complain. (pay)
9 The Maya priests discovered, however, that they had slightly
__________ the average synodic period of Venus. (estimate)
10 Nevertheless, this peculiar combination had a long life and was
destined to __________ in the Middle Ages. (appear)