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Building Words with Suffixes

Suffixes are similar to prefixes. However, they are different in that you add them to the end of a word in order to give it a different meaning.^[1]https://www.thoughtco.com/common-suffixes-in-english-1692725

The Most Common English Suffixes

The 4 most common English suffixes are: -ate, -en, -(i)fy, and -ise_{.^[2]http://www.uefap.com/vocab/build/building.htm}

-ate

This suffix means cause to be.

For example:

differentiate
duplicate
fabricate
liquidate
pollinate

-en

This suffix means cause to be.

For example:

awaken
fasten
moisten
shorten

-(i)fy

This suffix means cause to be.

For example:

classify
exemplify
justify
simplify

-ise

This suffix means cause to be.

For example:

characterise
specialise
stabilise
symbolise
visualise

Some Common Suffixes

There are a lost of suffixes in English.

Below are some of the most common. If you memorize these suffixes, it can help you identify and understand words that you might have never seen before.

Suffix	Meaning	Example
-able	capable of being	edible
-acy	state or quality	privacy
-al	act or process of	refusal
-al	pertaining to	regional
-ance	state or quality of	maintenance
-ate	become	regulate
-dom	place or state of being	freedom
-en	become	enlighten
-esque	reminiscent of	picturesque
-ful	notable for	fanciful
-ic	pertaining to	musical
-ify	make or become	terrify
-ious	characterized by	nutritious
-ish	having the quality of	childish
-ism	doctrine, belief	communism
-ist	one who	chemist
-ity	quality of	inactivity
-ive	have the nature of	creative
-ize	become	civilize
-less	without	endless
-ment	condition of	argument
-ness	state of being	heaviness
-ship	position held	ownership
-sion	state of being	concession
-y	characterized by	sleazy

References[+]

References
↑1	https://www.thoughtco.com/common-suffixes-in-english-1692725
↑2	http://www.uefap.com/vocab/build/building.htm

Building Words with Prefixes

Prefixes are letters that you add to the front of a word in order to give it a different meaning. In many cases, it can actually completely reverse the original meaning of the word.^[1]https://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/prefixes

The Most Common English Prefixes

The 4 most common English prefixes are: dis-, in-, re-, and un-.

In fact, they make up around 58% of all English words with prefixes!^[2]https://howtospell-letterpatterns.co.uk/building-words-prefixes/

Dis-

This prefix means negative, not, or opposite.

For example:

disadvantage
disagree
disappear
disgrace
dishonest
dislike
disloyal
disobey
dissatisfied
distrust

In-

This prefix means negative, not, or opposite.

For example:

inaccurate
incompetent
incomplete
incorrect
indecent
indirect
inefficient
informal
insecure

Re-

This prefix means reverse, back, or again.

For example:

rebuild
redo
regain
remodel
repaint
replay
retell
retry
return
reuse
reword

Un-

This prefix means negative, not, or opposite.

For example:

unable
uncover
unequal
uneven
unfair
unkind
untidy
unusual

Hyphens

There isn’t any absolute rules for using hyphens with prefixes. The best way to known if there is a hyphen or not is to look in the dictionary.

However, there are some general rules including:

Use a hyphen if the prefix comes before a capital letter such as anti-European.
With single letter prefixes such as e-mail. However, this rule is also slowly changing.
With a prefix that end in a vowel and come before a word starting in a vowel such as co-operate.

Some Common Prefixes

There are a lot of prefixes in English.

Below are some of the most common. If you memorize these prefixes, it can help you identify and understand words that you might have never seen before.

Prefix	Meaning	Example
anti-	against, opposite	antimatter
de-	opposite, remove	deactivate
il-	not	illegal
im-	not	impossible
ir-	not	irresponsible
non-	not	nonliving
un-	not	unable
fore-	before	foreman
pre-	before	preplan
em-	to make happen	empower
en-	to make happen	encircle
over-	to much, above	overreact
super-	above, beyond	superman
sub-	under	subpar
under-	under, not enough	underwater
inter-	between	interstate
mid-	middle	midway
mis-	wrong	misbehave
semi-	half, part	semicircle
trans-	across, change	transformational

References[+]

References
↑1	https://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/prefixes
↑2	https://howtospell-letterpatterns.co.uk/building-words-prefixes/

Common Intensifying Adverbs

There are certain adverbs called intensifying adverbs that commonly are used with other words in order to strengthen their meaning.^[1]https://biblioberlitz.com/mapfre/course/esther-grammar-c1-c2-advanced/lessons/esther-intensifying-adverbs

Below are some common adverb collocations that you should know.

Bitterly

This intensifying adverb is often used to express a strong negative emotion.

For example:

Cold: It was a bitterly cold winter.
Disappointed: We were bitterly disappointed in losing the match.
Regret: I bitterly regretted not studying for the exam.
Resent: She bitterly resented us for abandoning her.

Deeply

This intensifying adverb is often used with strong emotions.

For example:

Ashamed: I am deeply ashamed of my actions.
Hurt: We were deeply hurt that you did not come to the funeral.
Move: The movie was deeply moving.
Offended: They were deeply offended for not being invited to the party.

Highly

This intensifying adverb is often used to express probability.

For example:

Controversial: That is a highly controversial topic.
Effective: This is a highly effective form of therapy.
Probable: It is highly probable that you will get in a crash.
Unlikely: It is highly unlikely that anything bad will happen.

Ridiculously

This intensifying adverb is often used when something is extreme or difficult to believe.

For example:

Cheap: The sale is great. All the stuff in the store are ridiculously cheap!
Easy: The exam was ridiculously easy.
Long: That was a ridiculously long journey.
Small: We have a ridiculously small car for the number of people we need to take.

Strongly

This intensifying adverb is often used to express opinions.

For example:

Believe: I strongly believe that exercise and a healthy diet are good for you.
Deny: The defendant strongly denied their involvement in the crime.
Dislike: She strongly dislikes vegetables.
Support: We strongly support your decision.

References[+]

References
↑1	https://biblioberlitz.com/mapfre/course/esther-grammar-c1-c2-advanced/lessons/esther-intensifying-adverbs

Similes and Metaphors

Similes and metaphors are two of the most popular ways that writers can create a mental image for their reader. They help make a text more interesting.

Similes

You can use similes to compare two seemingly unlike things by using the words “like” or “as”.

For example:

He is as tall as a giant!
It is like the North Pole in this room.
Your skin is white as snow.
I slept like a baby.
You have eyes as black as midnight.
You are walking as slow as a snail! Hurry up!
She has reflexes like a cat.
Your smile brightens the room like the sun.
Run like the wind!

Metaphors

You can use metaphors to compare two seemingly unlike things. However, unlike a simile you don’t use “like” or “as”. Rather, you say that something ‘is’ something else.^[1]https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/marvellous-metaphors

This helps make the image much stronger than a simile.

For example:

You are a giant!
It is the North Pole in this room.
Thanks for helping! You’re an angel.
That computer is an old dinosaur.

Practice Exercise

Read each of the following sentences. Identify the two subjects being compared and state whether the sentence is a simile or a metaphor.

References[+]

References
↑1	https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/marvellous-metaphors

Reflexive Pronouns

Reflexive pronouns are pronouns ending in –self or –selves that are used when the subject and object of a sentence are the same.^[1]https://www.grammarly.com/blog/reflexive-pronouns/

Direct Objects

Reflexive pronouns can be a direct object in the sentence.

For example:

I hurt myself playing hockey.
The girl kicked herself.
I am teaching myself to speak English.

Indirect Objects

They can be an indirect object in the sentence.

For example:

We made ourselves some coffee.
She made herself a sandwich for lunch.
They can teach themselves the lesson.

Intensive Pronouns

Intensive pronouns are a type of reflexive pronoun that is used to emphasize the subject.^[2]https://slideplayer.com/slide/9013049/

For example:

She herself did all the work.
He himself paid for the meal.
I myself did all of the work.

Common Reflexive Pronoun Errors

Reflexive pronouns are commonly misused in the following grammatical areas:

Compound Subjects

For example:

Incorrect: Susie and myself will study.

The easiest way to understand that this is incorrect is by splitting up the subjects.

You can’t say

Myself will study.

Rather you would say

I will study.

Therefore, the correct sentence becomes

Correct: Susie and I will study.

Compound Objects

For example:

Incorrect: You can hand in the project to Frank and myself.

The easiest way to understand that this is incorrect is by splitting up the objects.

You can’t say

You can hand in the project to myself.

Rather you would say

You can hand in the project to me.

Therefore, the correct sentence becomes

Correct: You can hand in the project to Frank and me.

References[+]

References
↑1	https://www.grammarly.com/blog/reflexive-pronouns/
↑2	https://slideplayer.com/slide/9013049/

Inversion

In English, an inversion is the reversal of the normal word order, putting the verb before the subject.^[1]https://www.thoughtco.com/inversion-grammar-term-1691193

So when do we use inversions?

Questions

The most well-known case to use an inversion is in a question.

For example:

Phrase: You are hungry.

Question: Are you hungry?

In this case, the verb goes before the subject. However, there are cases where an auxiliary verb is used. In those cases, only the auxiliary verb goes before the subject.

For example:

Phrase: She is going to go to the store.

Question: Is she going to go to the store.

Negative Adverbs

You can use a inversions when a negative adverb or adverb phrase is at the beginning of a sentence.

For example:

Never had I seen such a beautiful sunset in my whole life.
Seldom do we eat so well.
Nowhere have I had such bad service.

Conditionals

You can replace the “if” in a conditional with a inversions when using words such as had, were, and should.

This is a more formal way of speaking.

For example:

Normal conditional: If I had studied, I would have done well on the test.

Inversion: Had I studied, I would have done well on the test.

Adverbial Expression of Place

You can use an inversion to replace an adverbial expression of place. Similar to the previous example this is quite formal.

For example:

Adverbial Expression of Place: All the candy that we had received for trick-or-treating on Halloween was on the table.

Inversion: On the table was all the candy we had received for trick-or-treating on Halloween.

So + Adjective…that

You can use an inversion after the phrase “so + adjective…that”.

For example:

Original sentence: The turkey was so big that we couldn’t fit it in the oven.

Inversion: So big was the turkey that we couldn’t fit it in the oven.

Practice Exercises

Restructure the following phrases to form an inversion.

Please go to Inversion to view this quiz

References[+]

References
↑1	https://www.thoughtco.com/inversion-grammar-term-1691193

Prepositions in Relative Clauses

In English, we often use prepositions in relative clauses. These include words such as at, on, in, before, and after.^[1]https://www.ef.com/wwen/english-resources/english-grammar/preposition-placement-relative-clauses/

Formal Speech

In formal speech, we place the preposition before the relative pronoun.

For example:

Is that the person with whom she talked?
The lawyer with whom we are arguing against is known as the best.
She liked the roommates with whom she lived.
The chapel in which they had their wedding was very beautiful.
That is the car in which he prefers to drive.
The neighborhood in which we lived was full of mansions.
The classroom in which we studied was freezing!

As you can see, this sounds rather formal. As such, in informal speech we tend to follow a different pattern.

Informal Speech

In informal speech, prepositions in relative clauses go after the relative clause.

For example:

Is that the person (who) she talked with?
The lawyer (who) we are arguing with is known as the best.
She liked the roommates (that) she lived with.
The chapel (that) that they had their wedding in was very beautiful.
That is the car (that) he prefers to drive in.
The neighborhood (that) we lived in was full of mansions.
The classroom (that) we studied in was freezing!

References[+]

References
↑1	https://www.ef.com/wwen/english-resources/english-grammar/preposition-placement-relative-clauses/

Connotations

Connotations are ideas or feelings which a word invokes for a person in addition to its literal or primary meaning. This is in contrast to a denotation, which is the literal meaning of a word.

Examples of Connotations

In English, connotations can have negative, neutral, or positive meanings.

The best way to understand this is by looking at a few examples.

skinny/thin/slender

He is too skinny. The connotation is that the person is underweight and unhealthy.

He is thin. There is no connotation.

He is slender. The connotation is that the person looks good.

bizarre/unusual/extraordinary

This is a bizarre situation. The connotation is that situation is strange.

This is an unusual situation. There is no additional connotation.

This is an extraordinary situation. The connotation is that this situation is unique in a good way.

domineering/forceful/assertive

My boss is domineering. The connotation is that my boss is very bossy in a bad way.

My boss is forceful. No additional connotation.

My boss is assertive. The connotation is that my boss is a good leader and can get their points across.

Why do we use connotations?

To influence people

One of the best reasons to use connotation is to influence your reader. By carefully picking the words that you use, you can bias or not bias people into thinking what you want.

For example, I can say:

My parents are stingy.

I could use many different words instead such as prudent, careful with their money, thrifty, frugal, ect…^[1]https://www.grammar-monster.com/glossary/connotation.htm#exam

However, I carefully chose the word stingy. Stingy gives the connotation that my parents don’t care about me and only care about themselves, especially with regards to money.

To be concise and precise

The best writers and speakers are concise and precise with their words. This means that they are able to use the least amount of words to fully convey their meaning.^[2]https://literaryterms.net/when-and-how-to-use-connotation/ This is where connotation comes into play.

For example, I can say

My boss is very thorough with his work.

Or I can say

My boss is very nitpicky with his work.

This is much stronger than the previous word as it gets to the connotation that my boss is overly concerned with insignificant details.

Example Exercises

Read each sentence and choose the word that has a positive connotation.

Please go to Connotations to view this quiz

References[+]

References
↑1	https://www.grammar-monster.com/glossary/connotation.htm#exam
↑2	https://literaryterms.net/when-and-how-to-use-connotation/

Word Pairs

In English, there are certain word pairs that always go together. If you try to reverse their order it sounds weird to a native speaker.^[1]https://www.sightwordsgame.com/vocabulary-words/word-pairs/

Below are a few popular examples of English word pairs.^[2]https://www.thoughtco.com/nonreversible-word-pairs-1209931

Bacon and Eggs

Would you like some bacon and eggs for breakfast?

Back and Forth

They kept on arguing back and forth.

Bed and Breakfast

We stayed in a beautiful little bed and breakfast by the beach.

Brick and Mortar

It is an online only store. It doesn’t have any brick and mortar locations.

Bride and Groom

The bride and groom looked so happy walking down the aisle together.

Business and Pleasure

I try to not mix business and pleasure.

Cause and Effect

There is a clear cause and effect to the situation that you find yourself in.

Coffee and Donuts

Would you like to get some coffee and donuts for breakfast?

Cream and Sugar

Do you take cream and sugar with your coffee?

Dead or Alive

The wanted poster said that they wanted the criminal dead or alive.

Fun and Games

It is all fun and games until someone gets hurt.

Front and Center

The teacher told me to stand front and center to give my presentation.

Hammer and Nail

This job requires a hammer and nail to complete.

Knife and Fork

Can you set knives and forks on the table?

Ladies and Gentlemen

Ladies and Gentlemen can I have your attention please?

Law and Order

Law and order is the rule of the land.

Life or Death

The people in the sinking boat are in a life or death situation.

Lost and Found

Check the lost and found to see if you can find your lost cellphone.

Pots and Pans

I had to clean all the pots and pans.

Rain or Shine

We will be there rain or shine.

Salt and Pepper

Can you pass me the salt and pepper please?

Sooner or Later

Sooner or later you will need to study if you want to do well in the class.

Sweet and Sour

I really like sweet and sour chicken.

References[+]

References
↑1	https://www.sightwordsgame.com/vocabulary-words/word-pairs/
↑2	https://www.thoughtco.com/nonreversible-word-pairs-1209931

Common English Euphemism Examples

In English, a “euphemism” is a nicer way to say something that could be offensive or unpleasant.^[1]https://www.englishclub.com/vocabulary/euphemism.htm

We might use them to not be as direct in how we talk or not to offend someone.

Euphemisms Describing People

He is big boned. – He is fat.^[2]https://www.clarkandmiller.com/25-english-euphemisms-for-delicate-situations/

She is vertically challenged. – She is short.
Frank is between jobs. – Frank is unemployed.
Susie is not the sharpest tool in the shed. – Susie is not the smartest.
They are on the streets. – They are homeless.

Euphemisms about Getting Fired

My boss let me go. – My boss fired me.
You have been made redundant. – You are not needed anymore. (you have been replaced at your job)

Euphemisms about Death

My mother passed away/passed on/met her maker last year. – My mother died last year.
My father lost his battle with cancer. – My father died due to cancer.^[3]https://www.verywellhealth.com/euphemisms-for-dead-death-or-dying-1131903

Euphemisms about Bad

Your work just isn’t up to scratch. – Your work just isn’t good enough.
The repairman’s work left a lot to be desired. – The repairman’s work was bad and unsatisfying.

Other Euphemisms

My wife is expecting. – My wife is pregnant.
They come from an underprivileged family. – They come from a poor family.^[4]https://www.englishclub.com/vocabulary/euphemism.htm
I need a bit of peace and quiet. – Go away!^[5]https://i.pinimg.com/originals/91/9d/49/919d49e43bb8152657a1a2680c3a7dcd.jpg
My parents gave me the birds and the bees talk when I was young. – My parents told me about sex when I was young.^[6]https://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples-of-euphemism.html
They are chronologically challenged. – They are late.
It has been a long week, I really need some adult beverages. – It has been a long week, I really need some alcohol.^[7]https://peptalkindia.com/100-popular-euphemisms-in-english-language/
I need to go to the little boy’s room/little girl’s room. – I need to go to the restroom.
My cousin had to stay in a correctional facility for a few months. – My cousin had to stay in jail for a few months.

References[+]