Vocabulary: Word Formation and Classes

Study Notes

Word Formation

Prefixes: added to the beginning of a word to change its meaning (e.g., un-, re-, de-)
Suffixes: added to the end of a word to change its meaning (e.g., -ly, -ment, -ful)
Roots: core of a word that carries the main meaning (e.g., tele- means "far")
Compounding: combining two or more words to create a new word (e.g., blackboard, toothbrush)

Word Classes

Nouns: persons, places, things, and ideas (e.g., dog, city, happiness)
Verbs: actions, events, or states of being (e.g., run, eat, be)
Adjectives: describe or modify nouns or pronouns (e.g., big, happy, blue)
Adverbs: describe or modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs (e.g., quickly, very, well)
Pronouns: replace nouns in a sentence (e.g., he, she, it, they)
Prepositions: show relationships between words (e.g., in, on, at, with)
Conjunctions: connect words, phrases, or clauses (e.g., and, but, or)
Interjections: express emotion or feeling (e.g., oh, wow, ouch)

Vocabulary Building

Etymology: study of word origins and history
Synonyms: words with similar meanings (e.g., big, large, huge)
Antonyms: words with opposite meanings (e.g., hot, cold)
Homophones: words that sound the same but have different meanings (e.g., to, two, too)
Idioms: phrases with figurative meanings (e.g., "break a leg," "on the same page")

Common Vocabulary Mistakes

Misused words: words with similar meanings but distinct uses (e.g., accept/except, affect/effect)
Homophone confusion: using the wrong homophone in a sentence
Word order: incorrect placement of words in a sentence
Colloquialisms: using informal language in formal writing or speech

Prefixes alter word meanings when added to the beginning (e.g., un- means "not" as in unhappy)
Suffixes change word meanings when added to the end (e.g., -ly forms adverbs like quickly)
Roots carry main word meanings (e.g., tele- means "far" as in telephone)
Compounding creates new words by combining two or more words (e.g., blackboard from black and board)

Nouns represent persons, places, things, and ideas (e.g., dog, city, happiness)
Verbs express actions, events, or states of being (e.g., run, eat, be)
Adjectives describe or modify nouns or pronouns (e.g., big, happy, blue)
Adverbs describe or modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs (e.g., quickly, very, well)
Pronouns replace nouns in a sentence (e.g., he, she, it, they)
Prepositions show relationships between words (e.g., in, on, at, with)
Conjunctions connect words, phrases, or clauses (e.g., and, but, or)
Interjections express emotion or feeling (e.g., oh, wow, ouch)

Etymology explores word origins and history
Synonyms are words with similar meanings (e.g., big, large, huge)
Antonyms are words with opposite meanings (e.g., hot, cold)
Homophones are words that sound the same but have different meanings (e.g., to, two, too)
Idioms are phrases with figurative meanings (e.g., "break a leg," "on the same page")

Misused words have similar meanings but distinct uses (e.g., accept/except, affect/effect)
Homophone confusion occurs when using the wrong homophone in a sentence
Word order mistakes involve incorrect placement of words in a sentence
Colloquialisms are informal language used in formal writing or speech