Words · pillar 1 of 16

Word classes & word formation

parts of speech · prefixes · suffixes · conversion

5 lessons from A1 to C2 · 18 grammar points

Mindmap: Word classes from A1 to C2

Starts folded: recall each level's points, then open the branch to check.

Recall modeSay each branch aloud, then click it to check.

Drawing the mindmap…

# 1 Word classes & word formation ## A1 - Parts of speech: noun, verb, adjective, adverb, pronoun, preposition, conjunction, determiner - Sentence parts: subject, verb, object, complement, adverbial - Interjections (Oh! Wow! Ouch!) ## B1 - Noun suffixes: -tion, -ment, -ness, -ity, -er/-or, -ance/-ence - Adjective suffixes: -ful, -less, -able, -ive, -al, -ous, -y - Verb suffixes: -ise/-ize, -en, -ify - Adverb suffix -ly (and adjectives ending in -ly: friendly, lovely) - Word families (act, action, active, actively) ## B2 - Negative prefixes: un-, in-, im-, il-, ir-, dis-, non- - Prefixes of meaning: re-, mis-, over-, under-, pre-, post-, co-, anti-, inter-, sub-, ex-, multi- - Prefix spelling: im- before m/p, il- before l, ir- before r ## C1 - Conversion: same word, new class (to email, a must, the dos and don'ts) - Compound nouns, adjectives and verbs: open, closed, hyphenated - Suffixes -ism, -ist, -hood, -ship, -dom, -ee ## C2 - Back-formation (edit ← editor, babysit ← babysitter) - Blends and clipping (brunch, smog; phone, exam) - Productive affixes in new words (-ify, de-, -friendly, -proof) - Acronyms and initialisms (NASA, the UN, an FBI agent)

Lessons in this pillar

A1.1Parts of speech & sentence partsCoreSoonComing soon
B1.49Word formation 1: suffixesCoreSoonComing soon
B2.48Word formation 2: prefixesCoreSoonComing soon
C1.38Word formation 3: conversion & compoundsCoreSoonComing soon
C2.18Word formation: expertCoreSoonComing soon

Every grammar point

The complete checklist for this pillar. Nothing is left out.

A1

Parts of speech: noun, verb, adjective, adverb, pronoun, preposition, conjunction, determiner
Sentence parts: subject, verb, object, complement, adverbial
Interjections (Oh! Wow! Ouch!)

B1

Noun suffixes: -tion, -ment, -ness, -ity, -er/-or, -ance/-ence
Adjective suffixes: -ful, -less, -able, -ive, -al, -ous, -y
Verb suffixes: -ise/-ize, -en, -ify
Adverb suffix -ly (and adjectives ending in -ly: friendly, lovely)
Word families (act, action, active, actively)

B2

Negative prefixes: un-, in-, im-, il-, ir-, dis-, non-
Prefixes of meaning: re-, mis-, over-, under-, pre-, post-, co-, anti-, inter-, sub-, ex-, multi-
Prefix spelling: im- before m/p, il- before l, ir- before r

C1

Conversion: same word, new class (to email, a must, the dos and don'ts)
Compound nouns, adjectives and verbs: open, closed, hyphenated
Suffixes -ism, -ist, -hood, -ship, -dom, -ee

C2

Back-formation (edit ← editor, babysit ← babysitter)
Blends and clipping (brunch, smog; phone, exam)
Productive affixes in new words (-ify, de-, -friendly, -proof)
Acronyms and initialisms (NASA, the UN, an FBI agent)