English · Ancient Civilizations

Word formation — suffixes & prefixes (verb/noun/adj derivation, opposites)

Turning achieve into achievement, and appear into its own opposite

  • Foreign languages important
  • Literature and philosophy important

6 minutes

The academic content is in Arabic, as at the BAC and as in the app.

What the syllabus expects from you

  • Deriving nouns/adjectives from verbs with suffixes: -ic, -ty, -able, -ment, -y, -ing
  • Forming opposites with prefixes de-/dis-
  • Basic spelling rules when adding a suffix

The method

  1. Identify the root, then test which suffix category (noun/adj/verb) the sentence needs

The common mistakes

  • Wrong suffix category (using a noun suffix where an adjective is needed)
  • dis- vs de- misuse

From the lesson

Egyptian engineers achieved something extraordinary: canals dug by hand, stone blocks dragged for miles, tombs cut deep into solid rock.

The vocabulary

  • achieve → achievement (إنجاز)
  • disappear (يختفي)
  • historic (تاريخي)

What is not on the syllabus

  • Full root/prefix/suffix table drilling (that generic skill lives in ENG-BAC-07-C05)

Builds on