Formation of Adjectives and Their Opposites
We form some adjectives by adding suffixes either to nouns or verbs.
Pay close attention to the following:
- Adjective: Noun + suffix « able /ible »
Noun + « ful /less »
Noun + « ic »
Noun + “ous”
- Adjective: Verb + « able /ible »
Verb + « ful »
Verb + « ing »
Verb + « ive »
Many suffixes have a meaning; therefore, you should know them.
Suffixes | Meanings | Examples |
noun+”able/ible” |
Showing qualities |
Fashionable |
verb+ “able/ible” |
That can be |
Eatable |
noun+”al” |
No meaning |
No meaning |
Noun /verb+”ful” |
Full of / having the quality of/ with |
Painful |
Noun+ “less” |
without |
Painless |
Noun + “ic” |
No meaning |
poetic |
Verb+ “ing” |
No meaning |
interesting |
Verb + “ive” |
Having a tendency towards quality of |
constructive |
Noun + “ous” |
having the qualities of | poisonous |
- Sentences:
- Ecology is the way in which plants, animals, and people are related to each other and to their environment.
- Pollution is an ecological problem.
- Sue showed great courage throughout her illness. She was a courageous person.
- You should take medicines to soothe the pain in your leg.
- My leg is very painful. I can’t walk.
- The first day at work was painless.
- You must not use verbal abuse at school. Abusive language is strictly forbidden.
- Countries that are trying to develop their economy are called developing countries.
- Products that we can recycle are called recyclable products.
Noun / verb | Adjective |
Abuse (n) | Abusive |
Courage (n) | Courageous |
Develop (v) | Developing |
Ecology (n) | Ecological |
Pain (n) | Painful # painless |
Recycle (v) | Recyclable |
Verb (n) | Verbal |
To form opposites we can add prefixes,vwhose meaning is negative, to some words.
Appear (v) # disappear
Dress (v) # undress
Expensive (adj) # inexpensive
Legal (adj) # illegal
Possible (adj) # impossible
Relevant (adj) # irrelevant
Rules to keep in mind:
- To form the opposites of some words starting with “m / p” , we add the prefix ‘im’:
Moral # immoral
mature # immature
material # immaterial
Patient # impatient
perfect # imperfect
partial # impartial
- To form the opposites of some words starting with “l”, we add the prefix “il”:
logical # illogical
legible # illegible
literate # illiterate
- To form the opposites of some words starting with “r” we add the prefix “ir”
Rational # irrational
Responsible # Irresponsible
regular # Irregular
- However, words that start with prefixes “dis”,”in” and “un” have no specific rules.
Respectful # disrespectful
honest # dishonest
order # disorder
Cautious # incautious
sensitive # insensitive
justice # injustice
Pleasant # unpleasant
fair # unfair
equal # unequal
To approve of # disapprove of
agree with # disagree with
- إختبارات
- 10
- الأجوبة الصحيحة
- False
- الأجوبة الخاطئة
- False
- مجموع النقاط
- False
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