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B2Vocabulary

Word Formation

Word formation: building nouns, adjectives and adverbs with prefixes and suffixes

26 questions · 3 exercises · instant feedback · free, no sign-up

Start practising ↓Review the rules
The rulesHow word formation works

Many English words come in families: decide, decision, decisive, decisively. Look at the gap first and ask what kind of word fits, then check the meaning.

  • Noun

    after an article or a possessive. Common endings: -tion, -ment, -ness, -ence, -ity; -er/-or for people.

    her confidence

  • Adjective

    before a noun, or after be, seem, become. Common endings: -ful, -less, -ous, -ive, -able, -ing/-ed.

    a useful change

    It was unclear.

  • Adverb

    to say how someone does something, often with -ly.

    She speaks fluently.

  • Negative prefixes

    un-, in-, im-, il-, ir-, when the meaning is negative.

    unexpected

    illegal

Common mistakes

  • ✗ I was boring in the lesson.✓ I was bored in the lesson.-ing causes the feeling; -ed has it.
  • ✗ It's unlegal to park here.✓ It's illegal to park here.
  • ✗ She drives very careful.✓ She drives very carefully.

Exercise 1: Form the word

Use the word in capitals to form a word that fits the gap.

0/10 answered
  1. 1.

    The of the new bridge took almost three years.CONSTRUCT

  2. 2.

    She gave a really answer, so nobody asked any more questions.CONVINCE

  3. 3.

    It's to drive without a seatbelt here. You can get a big fine.LEGAL

  4. 4.

    The hotel staff were very and answered all our questions.HELP

  5. 5.

    I can't make a yet. I need more time to think.DECIDE

  6. 6.

    There has been a huge in the number of people working from home.GROW

  7. 7.

    She's always , even when things go wrong.OPTIMISM

  8. 8.

    Please read the carefully before you start the test.INSTRUCT

  9. 9.

    The ending of the film was completely . Nobody saw it coming.EXPECT

  10. 10.

    He has a lot of in his own abilities.CONFIDENT

Exercise 2: Choose the answer

Choose the correct option.

0/8 answered
  1. 1.

    We were … by how quickly the children learned the song.

  2. 2.

    The new manager has made some … changes to the timetable.

  3. 3.

    He apologised … for being late.

  4. 4.

    There was a long … before anyone answered the question.

  5. 5.

    Learning a language takes a lot of ….

  6. 6.

    The directions were so … that we got lost twice.

  7. 7.

    Most of the … in the survey were under 30.

  8. 8.

    It's … to leave fish out of the fridge all day.

Exercise 3: Find the mistake

Some sentences have one mistake and some are correct. Find the mistakes and correct them.

Tap the wrong word. If the mistake is more than one word, tap the first and then the last. Type the correct version (leave it empty to delete). If the sentence is fine, choose No mistake.

0/8 answered
  1. 1.

  2. 2.

  3. 3.

  4. 4.

  5. 5.

  6. 6.

  7. 7.

  8. 8.

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