Suffixes

-ish

(i) -ish sometimes means ‘with the qualities of’ e.g. boyish.

Put each of the following words in its correct place in the sentences below.
childish
girlish
amateurish
piggish
monkish

(a) He lives in one small room and he hasn’t many needs. He leads an almost ____ life.

(b) He is usually a very fine actor, but last night he was terrible, really _________

(c) He’s nearly eighteen but he still has very _______attitudes and interests.

(d) He behaved very badly at lunch. He really has __________ manners.

(e) She still wears rather young, fashions.

(ii) -ish often means ‘rather’, ‘about’, ‘more or less’ e.g. yellowish (more or less yellow),
eightish (about eight), slowish (rather slow). This use of -ish is colloquial, so is not often used in written English.

Put each of the following words in its correct place in the passage below, in which a man who has witnessed a crime describes to a police officer what he saw.

smallish
fairish
sevenish
greenish
twentyish
darkish
tallish

Well, it happened very quickly, officer. I was just leaving my office. It was fairly late, perhaps (a) ________ and I couldn’t see very well because it was already getting (b) _________ . A man came out of the bank. He had (c)________ hair. His age, well,
he was (d) _________ or maybe twenty-five. I couldn’t guess his height, but he was (e) ________. He had a suitcase and he got into a car, not a very big one, (f)_________ in fact. The colour? I think it was (g) _________ . Sorry I can’t be more exact.

2 -ful -less

-ful means ‘having’, ‘with’ e.g. careful, colourful

-less means ‘without’, ‘lacking’ e.g. careless, windowless

Put each of the following words in its correct place in the sentences below.

thoughtful
harmful
successful
friendless
thoughtless
harmless
beautiful
waterless

(a) The Sahara Desert is a vast _______area which runs from east to west across Africa.

(b) Smoking is ______to your health.

(c) This present is just what I want and need. How ____________of you.

(d) I hope you are_____________ in your exams.

(e) Don’t be afraid of the dog. He’s _____________

(f) It was very _________ of you to play the radio so loud so late at night.

(g) She’s very ___________ . Three artists have painted her.

(h) I was alone and _____________ in a strange city.

3 -er -ee

-er usually has an active meaning e.g. examiner (a person who examines, i.e. sets an examination)

-ee usually has a passive meaning e.g. examinee (a person who is examined, i.e. takes an examination)

Put each of the following words in its correct place in the sentences below.

interviewer
trainer
employer
interviewee
trainee
employee

(a) I was given a pay rise of £1,000 by my ______________

(b) A football team normally has a ______________ to keep the players fit

(c) A television _______should always give the ____________a proper chance to express his or her opinions.

(d) That company has 200 people working in its factory. My brother works there and I, too, am an _______________

(e) At the moment he’s a management ____________ . If he’s successful, he’ll be given his first responsible position in January.

4 -proof

-proof means ‘safe against’, ‘able to resist’ e.g. a fireproof door.

Put each of the following words in its correct place in the sentences below.

waterproof
soundproof
bulletproof
heatproof
shockproof
childproof
foolproof

(a) The windows of the President’s car were made of ___________glass in case of an assassination attempt

(b) Our tent wasn’t completely ___________ and the rain came through.

(c) The soldiers were given ____________watches.

(d) These dishes are ________________. You can put them in the oven.

(e) The bank’s security system is completely _____________. It can’t possibly go wrong.

(f) The car locks should be ____________, otherwise my young sons will open them during a journey and fallout

(g) The recording studio was completely ____________

5 -ful

-ful is often used to indicate quantity e.g. a pocketful (the contents of a pocket) of coins.

Put each of the following words in its correct place in the sentences below.

houseful
cupful
tankful
handful
mouthful
teaspoonful

(a) Put a large __________of rice in boiling water, then add a little salt, just a _______

(b) At Christmas we had a ____________ of visitors.

(c) The foreign tourist put a _________of money in front of the taxi driver and said, ‘Is this enouqh?’

(d) After just one ________________ I knew she was a wonderful cook.

(e) A ____________ of petrol should take this car over 200 miles.

6 -er -or -ar

From the verbs below make nouns describing people by adding -er; -or or -ar to the end and making any other necessary spelling changes.

e.g. liberate liberator
drum drummer

(a) teach

(b) direct

(c) beg

(d) interpret

(e) translate

(f) collect

(g) sail

(h) murder

(i) operate

(j) demonstrate

(k) inspect

(l) act

(m) buy

(n) edit

(o) work

(p) donate

(q) visit

(r) produce

(s) travel

(t) compete

7 Instructions as above.

(a) sing
(b) govern
(c) announce
(d) admire
(e) decorate
(f) rob
(g) survive
(h) supply
(i) control
(j) investigate
(k) ski
(l) instruct
(m) elect
(n) write
(o) photograph
(p) swim
(q) contribute
(r) create
(s) manage
(t) lie

8 -ist -ian

From the nouns below make other nouns describing people by adding -ist or -ian to the end and making any other necessary spelling changes.

e.g.
Brazil Brazilian
violin violinist

(a) motor
(b) electricity
(c) Paris
(d) Christ
(e) piano
(f) history
(g) Buddha
(h) economy
(i) art
(j) bicycle
(k) guitar
(l) politics
(m) science
(n) music
(o) psychiatry
(p) terror
(q) magic
(r) flower
(s) comedy
(t) beauty
(u) journal
(v) parachute
(w) language
(x) archaeology

Prefixes

In the following exercises syllables or words are to be added to the front of other words to change or add to their meaning. Where necessary, hyphens have been placed in the sentences.

1 co-(with, together) re-(again) ex-(former, before) inter-(between)

Put one of the above prefixes in each of the spaces in the sentences below.

(a) The ____________-pilot took over the plane’s controls while the captain had a coffee and sandwich.

(b) The US and Russia have the capacity to attack each other with _______ -continental missiles.

(c) Germany and France are _________-operating on the design of a new space- rocket.

(d) She’s divorced but she’s still on good terms with her __________-husband.

(e) Does ________national sport really improve relations between countries?

(f) The teacher told his student to __________ write his bad composition.

(g) The local trains are slow but the -city services are excellent.

(h) Most houses need to be ___________painted every five to seven years.

(i) Men who once served in the armed services are called __________-servicemen.

(j) Both boys and girls go to that school. It’s _________-educational.

2 bi-(two) pre-(before) semi-(half) counter-(in the opposite direction)

Instructions as above.

(a) We managed to drive the enemy back, but they __________attacked.

(b) The back wheel of a __________cycle bears more weight than the front wheel.

(c) Dinosaurs lived millions of years ago in ___________historic times.

(d) The pupils’ desks were arranged in a __________circle round the teacher.

(e) His father is Greek and his mother is Italian so he’s _________lingual.

(f) It was a ____lateral agreement signed by India and Pakistan.

(g) Libby is three . She goes to a ___________-school playgroup every morning.

(h) The _______espionage department has caught three foreign spies.

(i) Houses in Britain are often built in pairs. They’re called _______-detached.

(j) He was only ______-conscious when the ambulance arrived and he died in hospital.

3 post-(after) mono- (one) anti-(against) non-(not)

Instructions as above.

(a) He got his university degree last year. Now he’s doing _______graduate studies.

(b) Some flights go from London to the Middle East ____-stop.

(c) The words ‘fat’, ‘help’ and ‘come’ are all ________syllables.

(d) That’s _____sense! You don’t know what you’re talking about’

(e) The principal ______-war problem was to rebuild the destroyed cities and industries.

(f) Maybe future trains will run on just a single rail. This system is called a ____ rail.

(g) To prevent petrol from freezing, put ____freeze in the tank.

(h) I’m not _______-marriage. I think it’s a very good custom.

(i) I’m afraid the club is not open to _______-members.

4 multi-(many) trans-(across) super-(above, more than) de-(acting against)

Instructions as above.

(a) The countryside is becoming _____forested so quickly that soon there’ll be no trees left at all.

(b) He works in London and in New York so he’s a regular _____atlantic air passenger

(c) The train became _______railed at 60 miles per hour but no one was seriously hurt.

(d) He was so powerful that he sometimes seemed almost ________human.

(e) It is now possible to ________plant a heart from a dead person to a living one.

(f) Britain has people from all over the world. It’s a _______racial society.

(g) The villages are becoming _______populated as more and more people move to
the cities.

(h) He believes in ghosts and magic and other __________natural things.

(i) Concorde was a __________sonic plane. It used to fly faster than sound.

j) He’s incredibly rich He’s certainly a _______-millionaire.

5 pro-(for, in favour of) sub-(under) uni-(one) tri-(three)

Instructions as above.

(a) That road is very dangerous. Use the __________way to get across.

(b) That newspaper is very left-wing. In fact it’s ______-communist.

(c) The ________marine approached the warship unseen.

(d) They have discovered some ________terranean caves 200 feet down.

(e) Soldiers, policemen and firemen wear _______form. Teachers don’t.

(f) Small children ride _______cycles, not bicycles.

(g) He likes British people and culture. He’s very ______-British

(h) A shape with three angles is called a _______angle.

(i) The ________-war party wanted more arms and a bigger army.

j) Both men and women have their hair cut there. It’s a ________sex salon.

6 over- (too much) under-(not enough)

Put one of the above prefixes in each of the spaces in the sentences below.

(a) He needs a good holiday. He’s suffering from _____work.

(b) She didn’t hear the alarm clock and ______slept.

(c) It needs to be cooked a little more. It’s ________done.

(d) You’ve ________charged me. The price is £8 not £10.

(e) They say they’re _________paid and want more money.

(f) There aren’t enough people in the country. It’s _____populated.

(g) There were too many people in the room. It was _______crowded.

(h) Rich nations should give more aid to developed countries.

(i) He’s fat and lazy. It’s because he _____eats.

j) We estimated the cost of the holiday and ran out of money.

7 un- dis-

Put one of the above prefixes in each space in the phrases below to make the word which follows it opposite in meaning.

(a) a(n) ______comfortable chair

(b) a(n) ______believable story

(c) a(n) ____punctual train

(d) a(n) ________respectful pupil

(e) a(n) _______popular man

(f) a(n) ________honest shopkeeper

(g) a(n) _________lucky accident

(h) a(n) _______familiar city

(i) a(n) ________satisfied customer

(j) a(n) _______grateful child

(k) a(n) ______united party

(l) to ______lock a door

(m) to ______obey an order

(n) to ______believe a story

(o) to _______agree with someone

(p) to _____load a ship

(q) to _______approve of someone

(r) to ________like cheese

(s) to ______appear round the corner

(t) to _____button a jacket

(u) to ______cover buried treasure

(v) to _____trust a politician

8 ir- il- im- in-

Put one of the above prefixes in each space in the phrases below to make the word which follows it opposite in meaning.

(a) an __ resistible temptation

(b) an _______possible plan

(c) an _____legal business deal

(d) an _____accurate calculation

(e) an _____mature young man

(f) an ______moral action

(g) an _____convenient arrangement

(h) an _____logical answer

(i) an ______responsible boy

(j) an ______patient motorist

(k) an _____secure feeling

(l) an _____relevant question

(m) an ______polite letter

(n) an _____literate person

(o) _____frequent buses

(p) _______legible handwriting

(q) an ______curable illness

(r) an _______regular train service

(s) an ______dependent country

(t) _______formal clothes

(u) an ______replaceable work of art

(v) an ____expensive present