English Word Formation

Types of Word Formation

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. Compounding Prefixation Suffixation Conversion Clipping Blends Backformation Acronyms Onomatopoeia Eponyms 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
3. Sunshine, birth control 4. Software, fast food 5. In-crowd, overkill 6. Drop-out, put-on

2. Verb + Noun
3. Noun + Verb 4. Adjective + Noun 5. Particle + Noun 6. Verb + Particle

Compound Verbs
1. Carbon-copy, sky-dive 1. Noun + Verb

2. Fine-tune
3. Overbook 4. Bad-mouth

2. Adjective + Verb
3. Particle + Verb 4. Adjective + Noun

Compound Adjectives
1. Capital-intensive 1. Noun + Adjective

2. Deaf-mute
3. Coffee-table 4. Roll-neck 5. White-collar 6. Before-tax

2. Adjective + Adjective
3. Noun + Noun 4. Verb + Noun 5. Adjective + Noun 6. Particle + Noun

7. Go-go

7. Verb-verb

2. Prefixation
Class-changing prefixes:

abeeninforeEtc.

asleep bewitch enslave indefinite foreman

V to Adj N to V N to V Adj to Adj N to N

Class-maintaining prefixes:

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 Cock-a-doo Meow Japanese Kokekokko Nya Tagalog Kuk-kakauk Niyaw Indonesian Kukuruyuk 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)