Chapter 4
The Internal Structure of Words and Processes of Word Formation in English
Exercise 4.6Derivational Prefixes and Suffixes
Sort the prefixes in the words below into the following seven categories according to meaning:
Time
Number
Place
Degree
Privative
Negative, and
Size
Each category has two prefixes. After you have classified the prefixes, use a dictionary to identify whether the prefix is native English, Latin, or Greek in origin.
postdate
maladjusted
macrocosm
forewarn
bifocal
outdoor
hyperactivity
demilitarize
megawatt
defrost
polyglot
nonentity
disclose
foreshadow
macroeconomics
malpractice
polygon
bisexual
postelection
nonsmoker
subway
disarm
megalosaur
outhouse
ultraconservative
hyperthyroidism
subfloor
ultraviolet
Sort the suffixes in the words below according to their class-changing function. The categories include the following:
N > N
V > N
A > N
N/A > V
N > A
V > A
N/A > Adv
(There are two examples of each suffix.)
broaden
syntactic
width
idealism
participant
falsehood
closure
straighten
rhetorician
clockwise
refusal
vaccinate
gangster
stardom
warmth
tireless
twofold
trial
accidental
selfish
advisory
likelihood
friendless
politician
conservatism
mobster
kingdom
facilitate
inhabitant
contradictory
boyish
seizure
manifold
stepwise
thankless
global
historic
penniless
Can you think of a reason why -en may attach to some adjectives, but not to others, as shown below?
blacken
broaden
stiffen
ripen
deafen
tighten
soften
loosen
*thinen
*longen
*slimen
*nearen
*slowen
*narrowen
highen
*holyen
*noblen
Can you think of a reason why -ed may attach to some nouns, but not to others, as shown below?
brown-haired
kind-hearted
low-spirited
left-handed
narrow-minded
strong-headed
*brown-coated
*heavy-pursed
*long-skirted
*one-childed
*two-catted
*silly-hatted
Which is the proper derivation of unknowledgeable? Explain.
| a. |
Time |
post- fore- |
postdate, postelection forewarn, foreshadow |
| b. |
Number |
bi- poly- |
bifocal, bisexual polyglot, polygon |
| c. |
Place |
out- sub- |
outdoor, outhouse subway, subfloor |
| d. |
Degree |
hyper- ultra- |
hyperactivity, hyperthyroidism ultraviolet, ultraconservative |
| e. |
Privative |
de- dis- |
demilitarize, defrost disclose, disarm |
| f. |
Negative |
non- mal- |
nonentity, nonsmoker maladjusted, malpractice |
| g. |
Size |
mega- macro- |
megawatt, megalosaur macrocosm, macroeconomics |
English: fore-, out-
Latin: post-, bi-, sub-, ultra-, de-, dis-, non-, mal-
Greek: poly-, hyper-, mega-, macro-
| a. |
N > N |
-dom -ster -(ic)ian |
kingdom, stardom gangster, mobster politician, rhetorician |
| b. |
V > N |
-al -ant -ure |
refusal, trial inhabitant, participant seizure, closure |
| c. |
A > N |
-th -ism -hood |
warmth, width conservatism, idealism falsehood, likelihood |
| d. |
N/A > V |
-en -ate |
broaden, straighten facilitate, vaccinate |
| e. |
N > A |
-ic -less -ish |
historic, syntactic friendless, penniless selfish, boyish |
| f. |
V > A |
-ory -less |
advisory, contradictory tireless, thankless |
| g. |
N/A > Adv |
-wise -fold |
stepwise, clockwise twofold, manifold |
The reason here is phonological: -en may attach only to monosyllabic adjectives ending in obstruents (stops and fricatives), not to those ending in vowels, nasals, or liquids.
The reason here is semantic: -ed may attach only to adjectives denoting inalienable possession (things that are possessed intrinsically) and not to those denoting alienable possession (things that may be separated from the possessor).
This is incorrect because un- does not attach to nouns; it produces the nonword of English *unknowledge.
This is correct; every stage in the derivation produces a word of English.
This is incorrect because while un- does attach to verbs, this also produces the nonword of English *unknowledge.