English Word

Formation
 Types of Word Formation

1. Compounding
2. Prefixation
3. Suffixation
4. Conversion
5. Clipping
6. Blends
7. Backformation
8. Acronyms
9. Onomatopoeia
10. Eponyms
11. Toponyms
1. Compounding
 Definition: Two or more words joined together to
form a new word.
 Examples:
 Home + work  homework
 Pick + pocket  pickpocket
 The meaning of a compound is not always the
sum of the meanings of its parts.
 Types of compounds:
 Compound nouns
 Compound verbs
 Compound adjectives
Compound Nouns
1. Boyfriend, hatchback 1. Noun + Noun
2. Cut-throat, breakfast 2. Verb + Noun
3. Sunshine, birth control 3. Noun + Verb
4. Software, fast food 4. Adjective + Noun
5. In-crowd, overkill 5. Particle + Noun
6. Drop-out, put-on 6. Verb + Particle
Compound Verbs
1. Carbon-copy, sky-dive 1. Noun + Verb
2. Fine-tune 2. Adjective + Verb
3. Overbook 3. Particle + Verb
4. Bad-mouth 4. Adjective + Noun
Compound Adjectives
1. Capital-intensive 1. Noun + Adjective
2. Deaf-mute 2. Adjective + Adjective
3. Coffee-table 3. Noun + Noun
4. Roll-neck 4. Verb + Noun
5. White-collar 5. Adjective + Noun
6. Before-tax 6. Particle + Noun
7. Go-go 7. Verb-verb
2. Prefixation
 Class-changing prefixes:
 a-  asleep  V to Adj
 be-  bewitch  N to V
 en-  enslave  N to V
 Class-maintaining prefixes:
 in-  indefinite  Adj to Adj
 fore-  foreman  N to N
 Etc.
3. Suffixation
 Suffixes forming Nouns
 N from N: -dom  kingdom
 N from V: -ee  employee
 N from Adj: -ce  dependence
 Suffixes forming Verbs
 V from N: -ify  beautify
 V from Adj: -en  shorten
 Suffixes forming adjectives
 Adj from N: -al  educational
 Adj from V: -able  understandable
 Adj from Adj: -ish  greenish
 Suffixes forming Adverbs: -ly, -ward, and –wise.
4. Conversion
 Definition: Assigning an already existing word
to a new syntactic category.
 Types of Conversion
 Verb to Noun: to hit  a hit
 Adj to N: a final game  a final
 N to V: a sign  to sign
 Adj to V: an empty box  to empty
5. Clipping
 Definition: Shortening a polysyllabic word by
deleting one or more syllables
 Examples:
 Gasoline  Gas
 Hamburger  Burger
 delicatessen  deli
 microphone  mike
6. Blends

 Definition: Similar to compounds, but

parts of the words are deleted.
 Examples:
 Motor + hotel  Motel
 Breakfast + lunch  Brunch
 Wireless + Fidelity  Wi-fi
 Sheep + goat  Shoat
7. Back-formations
 Definition: Creative reduction due to incorrect
morphological analysis.
 Examples:
 editor (1649)

 edit (1791)
 television (1907)

 televise (1927)
 Paramedical (1921)

 paramedic (1967)
 8. Acronyms
 Definition: Words derived from the initial letters of
several words and use them as a new word
 Examples:
 Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Treats

 SWOT
 Self-contained underwater breathing apparatus

 SCUBA
9. Onomatopoeia
 Definition: Words created to sound like the thing
that they name.

English Japanese Tagalog Indonesian

Cock-a-doo Kokekokko Kuk-kakauk Kukuruyuk

Meow Nya Niyaw Meong

10. Eponyms

 Definition: a person after whom a

discovery, invention, place, etc., is
named.
 Examples:
 Celcius (Anders Celcius)
 Cook Islands (James Cook)
11. Toponyms
 Definition: a place name, especially one
derived from a topographical feature.
 Examples:
 Montana (‘mountains’ in Spanish)
 Mississippi (‘big river’ in Chippewa)
 Identify the type of word formation:

1. information, commercials  = Blend

Informercials = Back-
2. Babysitter  babysit formation
3. Demi + god  Demigod = Prefixation
4. Do + able  doable = Suffixation
5. A catalogue  to catalogue = Conversion
6. Drama + comedy  dramedy = Blend
7. Game + pad  gamepad = Compound
8. Greek + god  Greek god = Compound
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