Word Formation: Adjective Derivation 1

Starter

Read these three sentences. Identify the adjective in each. Discuss if you can add an affixes to change the meaning of the adjective in each sentence. 

1. This is the only weekly magazine.
2. She had a cold and a red nose.
3. My kids always get too active after having sweets.

Here are some ways you could have changed the adjectives with affixes. 

1. This is the only bi-weekly magazine.
2. She had a cold and a reddish nose.
3. My kids always get too hyperactive after having sweets.

Just like with nouns, we can use prefixes and suffixes to alter the meaning of adjectives. 

Activity 1

Read these sentences. Use affixes to alter the meaning of each highlighted adjective.  

1. The pupils don't like that teachers since he's always critical.
2. The newspaper had been left out in the sun and turned yellow.
3. These rich people travel round the world on their private yachts.
4. For a girl on the basketball team, she's on the short side.
5. We arranged the chairs into a circular shape.

Here are some examples of how you may have changed the sentences: 

1. The pupils don't like that teachers since he's always hypercritical.
2. The newspaper had been left out in the sun and turned yellowy.
3. These superrich people travel round the world on their private yachts.
4. For a girl on the basketball team, she's on the shortish side.
5. We arranged the chairs into a semi-circular shape.

Activity 2

The suffixes -ish and -ly are added to nouns to indicate that the adjective has the qualities of the noun. 

• child - childish
• mother - motherly

Can you list any other adjectives derived in the same way? What do you notice about their meaning? 

Usually, adjectives with -ish have a more negative connotation while those with -ly are more positive. 

In the next activity, match the suffixes to the correct adjective. Discuss which ones are more positive or negative, and note any spelling changes. 

Note the spelling changes:

• rogue - roguish
• snob - snobbish

Look back at the adjectives in the last activity. Write seven sentences each using a different -ish or -ly adjective.

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