Advanced Derivation & Word Formation — Gramatika C2

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Rules and examples from this lesson

Affixation: prefixes change meaning, suffixes change word class

A long word is usually a short word with parts added. Read it from the root outwards: in decentralization, central becomes a verb (centralize), is reversed (decentralize) and is then turned into a noun.

Affix	Meaning	Examples
de-	reverse or remove	deregulate, declassify
mis-	wrongly	misinterpret, mismanage
over- / under-	too much / too little	overstate, underfund
out-	do better or more than	outperform, outnumber
counter-	against, in response	counterargument, counterproductive
-ize / -ify	make or become (verb)	prioritize, simplify

The scheme was badly mismanaged from the start.
Small firms often outperform their larger rivals.
Cutting the training budget proved counterproductive.

Conversion: a new word class, the same form

English freely uses a word in a new class without adding anything. You recognise the class from the position and the endings: after to or a subject it is a verb, after a / the it is a noun.

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noun → verb	a chair, a shortlist, a fund	to chair, to shortlist, to fund
verb → noun	to rethink, to upgrade, to divide	a rethink, an upgrade, a divide
adjective → verb	narrow, empty, clear	to narrow, to empty, to clear
phrasal verb → noun	to break down, to take over	a breakdown, a takeover