¡Descarga English Grammar: Suffixes, Prefixes, Compounds and Tenses y más Apuntes en PDF de Idioma Inglés solo en Docsity!
SUFFIXES
Noun Suffixes -er added to a verb is used for the person who does an activity: writer, worker, singer,... (sometimes -or, as in actor, sailor, supervisor,...) -er/-or are also used for things which do a particular job: tin-opener, projector, ... -er and -ee can contrast with each other, meaning "person who does something" (-er) and "person who receives or experiences the action" (-ee): employer/employee, ... -(t)ion is used to make nouns from verbs: communication, pollution, admission, ... -ist (person) and -ism (activity or ideology): marxist/Marxism, terrorist/terrorism, ... -ist is also used for people who play musical instruments: pianist, violinist, ... -al is added to some verbs to make nouns: arrival, refusal, ... -ness is used to make abstract nouns from adjectives: happiness, goodness, weakness, ... -ment is used to make abstract nouns from verbs: excitement, enjoyment, ... -hood is used to make abstract nouns, especially family terms, from nouns: childhood, brotherhood, ... -ship is used to make abstract nouns, especially status, from nouns: friendship, membership, partnership, ... -(i)ty is used to make abstract nouns from adjectives: honesty, loyalty, ...
Adjective Suffixes -able/-ible with verbs means "can be done": readable, countable, edible, flexible, ... -ive is used to make adjectives from verbs: active, passive, ... -al is used to make adjectives from nouns: brutal, legal, ... -ous is used to make adjectives from nouns: dangerous, furious, ... -ful is used to make adjectives from nouns or verbs: hopeful, useful, forgetful, ... -less is used to make adjectives from nouns or verbs: useless, harmless, cloudless, ... -ic/-ical is used to make adjectives with nouns: economic/economical, ... -ish can be added to most common adjectives, ages and times to make them less precise: reddish hair, she's thirtyish, come about eightish, ... Verb Suffixes -ise/-ize makes verbs from adjectives: modernise, industrialise, ...
-ify makes verbs from nouns: electrify, terrify, ... -en makes verbs from adjectives: shorten, deepen, darken, ... PREFIXES Prefixes are often used to give adjectives a negative meaning. The most common adjective prefixes are un-, in- and dis-: uncomfortable, inconvenient, dissimilar, ...
in- becomes im- before a root beginning with 'm' or 'p' (immature, impatient), ir- before a word beginning with 'r' (irregular) and il- before a word beginning with 'l' (illegal, illiterate).
in- does not always have a negative meaning; it often gives the idea of inside or into: internal, import, ...
un- and dis- can also form the opposites of verbs: appear/disappear, load/unload, ...
Other common prefixes are: anti against anti-war, antisocial multi many multi-lingual, multi-purpose auto of or by oneself autograph, autobiography over too much overdo, ovetired, oversleep bi two, twice bicycle, bilingual post after postwar, postgraduate ex former ex-wife, ex-president pre before pre-listening out of extract, exhale pro in favour of pro-government micro small microwave pseudo false pseudo-intellectual mini small minu-skirt re again / back retype, reread mis badly/wrongly misunderstand, misbehave semi half semi-detached, semicircular mono one/single monologue, monotonous sub under subway, submarine under not enough underpaid, undercooked COMPOUNDS Compound Nouns
- A compound noun is a fixed expression which is made up of more than one word and functions as a noun. They can be written as two words (tin opener, address book, ...), with a hyphen (post-office, ice-cream, ...) or as one word (earring, teapot, ...).
PRESENT TENSES
Simple Present Form: base form of the verb (3rd person singular + -s/-es) auxiliary DO / DOES for negatives and questions Use: permanent facts - natural and scientific laws simple fact repeated actions (habits / routines)
verbs which cannot take the progressive form verbs of thinking and understanding: believe, think (=believe), know, ... verbs of the senses (involuntary actions): see, hear, ... verbs of state: remain, be, have got, ... verbs denoting feelings and emotions: love, like, hate, ... to give instructions (usually in the 2nd person) WHEN + Simple present to describe the future (usually combined with a verb in the future) Simple present as future to describe an organized future timetable. Present Continuous Form: AM / IS / ARE + VERB-ing Use: for an action in progress now to show temporary events (=/= Simple present - permanent things) for a repeated action to express the speakers annoyance to express future plans (+ TIME WORD) to express duration
PAST TENSES Simple Past Form: regular verbs (V+-d/-ed) / irregular verbs same form for all persons, except to be (was/were) auxiliary DID for negatives and questions Use: definite past action or state (long or short) finished past actions Past Continuous Form: WAS / WERE + VERB-ing Use: to describe a past action at some point between its beginning and its end combined with a simple past action to indicate an interrupted action often used in a past simple narrative to describe the background history or environment PERFECT TENSES
Past Perfect Simple Form: HAD + past participle Use: to describe a time before the past time which is being discussed to describe a period of time leading to the past time which is being discussed often combined with the simple past Past Perfect Continuous Form: HAD + BEEN + V-ing Use: for an action over a period of time up to a past time not used with verbs that cannot take the progressive FUTURE TENSES Present continuous + TIME WORD Form: AM / IS / ARE + V-ing Use: plans arranged for a particular time in the future Be going to Form: AM / IS / ARE + GOING TO + V Use: planned future action to talk about the results of things happening now (predictions based on present evidence) for neutral statements about the future Simple Present Form: base form of the verb (3rd person singular +-s/-es) auxiliary DO / DOES for negatives and questions Use: to describe an organized future timetable clauses of time and condition combined with the future simple (WHEN + simple present) Future Simple Form: WILL + V Use: certain / uncertain statements about the future (predictions) sudden decision (=/= going to) to show willingness
offers and promises Future Continuous Form: WILL + BE + V-ing Use: actions / events that will be in progress at some time in the future activity / state that covers the whole of a future time future event that is already arranged or which is part of a regular routine to refer to the present (guessing what people are doing) Future Perfect Simple Form: WILL + HAVE + past participle Use: to look ahead to a time in the future when an expected event will be in the past Future Perfect Continuous Form: WILL + HAVE + BEEN + V-ing Use: with FOR and SINCE for a period of time which precedes a point in the future for an activity which leads to a point in the future Other future forms WAS / WERE + GOING TO + V I THOUGHT I WOULD + V Use: for a planned future action that did not happen or did not come trueFuture in the past BE LIKELY TO + V Use: an action will probably happen BE BOUND TO + V / BE SURE T + V Use: an action will certainly happen BE ABOUT TO + V Use: something is going to happen very soon (very near future)
