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⏱️ 12 Minutes Level: B2 English

Word formation: noun, adjective and verb endings and prefixes

Learn how small additions at the start or end of a word build new words.

📋 How to use this lesson

👨‍🏫 For the Teacher

Give students 12 minutes to read the rule table and finish the practice exercises. Check the answers automatically using the instant check buttons below each question.

🎒 For the Learner

First, read the four simple rule cards and notice the underlined words in the examples. Next, complete each activity from question 1 to 12 using the clue word in brackets.

Four Simple Rules for Making Words

Read each rule on the left, then look at the two examples on the right.

Rule 1: Making Nouns

The endings -ation and -ment change an action word into a naming word for the action or its result. When you add -ation, drop the silent letter e at the end of the base word. When you add -ment, keep the letter e.

Examples

• The arrangement of the trees in straight rows makes cutting easier.

• The management of the plantation protects native wildlife.

Rule 2: Making Describing Words

The endings -able and -ive make words that describe things. The ending -able means that something can be done. The ending -ive shows that someone or something tends to do an action.

Examples

• This cardboard is recyclable, and the new design is very attractive.

• Strong bark gives trees a protective shield against harmful insects.

Rule 3: Starting Words with de- and re-

The word beginnings de- and re- change the meaning of an action word. The beginning de- means to remove or undo something. The beginning re- means to do an action again, and you join both parts without a dash.

Examples

• Workers will replant the hill because the first trees died.

• Illegal logging will deforest large riverbanks.

Rule 4: Starting Words with over- and under-

The word beginnings over- and under- show amount. The beginning over- means too much. The beginning under- means too little, and both join the main word without a dash.

Examples

• Some mills overuse water, and some of their workers feel underpaid.

• Local timber projects often undervalue the danger of soil erosion.

Practice Exercises

12 Tasks

Test your knowledge from easy to hard. Pay attention to the single-word hint in brackets.

Part 1: Choose the correct sentence

Pick the sentence with the correct spelling and word parts.

Question 1 (spelling)

Choose the sentence that spells the new noun correctly:

____ a. Good organiseation at the sawmill keeps timber cutting safe. ____ b. Good organisation at the sawmill keeps timber cutting safe. ____ c. Good organisement at the sawmill keeps timber cutting safe.

Question 2 (adjective)

Choose the sentence that builds the describing word correctly:

____ a. Wood pulp is a renewive material when forests are protected. ____ b. Wood pulp is a renewation material when forests are protected. ____ c. Wood pulp is a renewable material when forests are protected.

Question 3 (prefix)

Choose the sentence that writes the prefix correctly without a dash:

____ a. The plantation workers will reforest the bare valley next spring. ____ b. The plantation workers will re-forest the bare valley next spring. ____ c. The plantation workers will unforest the bare valley next spring.

Part 2: Fill the gaps

Type the correct form of the word in brackets to complete each sentence.

Question 4 (adjective)

The sawmill staff must wear ____ glasses to stop flying timber dust.

Base word: protect

Question 5 (noun)

Illegal timber clearing causes rapid ____ and leads to severe soil erosion.

Base word: deforest

Question 6 (verb)

If paper mills ____ fresh river water they cause serious ecological damage.

Base word: use

Part 3: Rewrite the sentence

Rewrite the sentence using a new word built with the named ending or prefix.

Question 7 (noun)

Use -ment to rewrite the action in the sentence below.

Original: The foresters arrange the timber logs near the road.

New sentence: The neat ____ of the timber logs near the road keeps work tidy.

Question 8 (noun)

Use -ation to rewrite the action in the sentence below.

Original: They will plant new pine trees across the hillside.

New sentence: The new pine tree ____ will provide clean pulp in twenty years.

Question 9 (verb)

Use under- to rewrite the idea of paying too little.

Original: Small sawmill companies pay their timber cutters too little.

New sentence: Small sawmill companies ____ their timber cutters.

Part 4: Correct the error in a short message

Read each coworker chat and choose the correct word to fix the mistake.

Question 10 (noun)

💬 Message from Mark to Elena: "Hi Elena! The timber team finished their work today. They noticed bad soil erodeation along the northern hill trail."

Which word corrects the misspelled noun in Mark's message?

____ a. erodement ____ b. erosion ____ c. erosive

Question 11 (adjective)

💬 Message from David to Sarah: "Please inspect the storage yard tomorrow morning. We must ensure that no harmable chemical enters the local stream."

Which word corrects the describing word in David's message?

____ a. harmive ____ b. harmment ____ c. harmful

Question 12 (prefix)

💬 Message from Officer Tom to Team: "Alert: Rangers found unlegal timber cutting inside the protected zone. Please report to the sawmill entrance now."

Which word corrects the word beginning in Officer Tom's message?

____ a. illegal ____ b. delegal ____ c. dislegal

🌲

Why this works: Recognising word beginnings and endings helps you read and write reports on timber and forests with confidence.

Word formation: Noun, adjective, and verb endings and prefixes

Word formation: noun, adjective and verb endings and prefixes

📋 How to use this lesson

Four Simple Rules for Making Words

Practice Exercises

Part 1: Choose the correct sentence

Part 2: Fill the gaps

Part 3: Rewrite the sentence

Part 4: Correct the error in a short message

Related lessons

IELTS Reading: World Forests and Timber Trade

IELTS Speaking: Forests and Timber Trade

Vocabulary: Forests and the Timber Trade

Writing Task 1: Forests and the Timber Trade

Passive Voice and Causative

Reported Speech and Reporting Verbs