Download Derivational Affixes

44166. STRUCTURE OF ENGLISH II: THE WORD
Prof. Yehuda N. Falk
Derivational Affixes, p. 1
Much of this is based on Hans Marchand (1969) The Categories and Types of Present-Day English Word Formation, second edition. München: C. H. Beck, and on Mark AronoT
(1976) Word Formation in Generative Grammar. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.. Some of the analysis is diTerent, however.
Some aUxes, in addition to being attached to words, can also be attached to non-words (either stems which
do not occur by themselves; or stems which are allomorphs of words, but allomorphs which do not
themselves occur as words; or stems augmented by a connector i or u). These are called Class I aUxes. Other
aUxes are more limited: they can only be attached to stems which are words (free forms). These are Class II
aUxes. Since Class II aUxes are restricted to attaching to words, they are said to attach with a word
boundary (#) instead of a simple morpheme boundary (+).
The vocabulary of English, both words and aUxes, is divided into forms that have their origin in Old English
(called native) and those that came into the language later, most commonly from French (called foreign).
Affixes that form nouns
from verbs
action nouns
General comment: when an action noun is formed from a verb, most of its syntactic properties are preserved.
The subject of the verb becomes the ’s-marked “subject” of the noun, the object of the verb becomes the
“object” of the noun (“objects” of nouns are marked with the preposition of), and so on. For example:
[S Bill reorganized the oUce]
[NP Bill’s reorganization of the oUce]
-ing
native
very productive
Class II
drink#ing, bett#ing, jump#ing, kiss#ing, laugh#ing, print#ing, hous#ing, build#ing
derived from noun: bedd#ing, sheet#ing, carpet#ing
44166. STRUCTURE OF ENGLISH II: THE WORD
Prof. Yehuda N. Falk
Derivational Affixes, p. 2
-ion/ation/ition [-ation might be +ate+ion]
foreign
productive with foreign stems
Class I
rebell+ion, commun+ion
The verb stem usually undergoes a phonological change: attract+ion, express+ion, adopt+ion, act+ion,
execut+ion
Verbs that end with -ate keep the -ate: creat+ion, nominat+ion, negat+ion, decorat+ion, moderat+ion,
educat+ion, authenticat+ion, automat+ion
verbs in -ize take -ation: organ+iz+ation, formal+iz+ation, civil+iz+ation, central+iz+ation,
neutral+iz+ation
Verbs in -ify become -ification: glor(y)+ific+ation, pur+ific+ation, beaut(y)+ific+ation, sanct+ific+ation,
cert+ific+ation, mod+ific+ation
Other examples with -ation: represent+ation, administr+ation, affirm+ation, caus+ation, accus+ation,
conserv+ation, inform+ation, damn+ation, tax+ation, deforest+ation, vari+ation,
continu+ation, flirt+ation (native stem), starv+ation (native stem)
Sometimes the stem is a non-free allomorph of a word: resumpt+ion, recept+ion, destruct+ion,
prescript+ion, decis+ion, product+ion, persuas+ion, extens+ion, convent+ion, solut+ion,
resolut+ion, revolut+ion, invers+ion
Sometimes the stem is not an independent word: aggress+ion, cognit+ion, nat+ion, sanitat+ion,
illus+ion, compuct+ion, salv+ation
Examples with -ition: repet+ition, add+ition, defin+ition, compos+ition
-ment
foreign
primarily on foreign stems
Class II
agree#ment, advance#ment, abandon#ment, place#ment, state#ment, advertise#ment,
employ#ment
native roots: acknowledge#ment, amaze#ment, fulfil#ment
There also appear to be words with this suUx with stems that are not words: orna+ment, regi+ment,
environ+ment, or non-free allomorphs of words: excre+ment. But these are diTerent from the
-ment words above because the adjectival suUx -al goes on these words (ornamental, environmental)
but not on the ones above (*statemental, *employmental). So this is a Class I -ment, which is a
distinct suUx from Class II -ment. If we use the -al test, there are three verbs which take +ment
instead of #ment: govern+ment, develop+ment, judg+ment
-al
foreign
on foreign stems with Wnal stress (except bury); not productive
Class II
arriv#al, acquitt#al, refus#al, deni#al, approv#al, betray#al, tri#al, buri#al
44166. STRUCTURE OF ENGLISH II: THE WORD
Prof. Yehuda N. Falk
Derivational Affixes, p. 3
-ance/ence
foreign
on foreign stems; not productive
Class I
accept+ance, disturb+ance, resist+ance, clear+ance, assist+ance, depend+ence, differ+ence
The verb stem sometimes undergoes a phonological change: prefer+ence
Native stem: utter+ance
Can go on non-words: expon+ence, emin+ence
agent (subject) nouns
-er/-ar/-or
both native (-er) and foreign (-or, -ar)
very productive
appears to be both Class I and Class II, since there are doublets like receptor and receiver. Historically, this
is related to the fact that the aUx is both native and foreign, but the historical distinction does not necessarily
correspond to the contemporary analysis. We will assume that whenever the stem is a free form, the suUx
is Class II.
bak#er, driv#er, writ#er, hunt#er, sing#er, boil#er, wait#er, toast#er, remind#er, stick#er,
command#er, juggl#er, farm#er, act#or, conquer#or, visit#or, creat#or, li#ar, begg#ar
sometimes has other meaning: din#er, sweat#er
sometimes goes on nouns or adjectives: pott#er, New York#er, lif#er [slang term for a prisoner serving
a life sentence]; foreign#er, northern#er
sometimes the stem is a non-free allomorph of a word: astronom+er, geograph+er
sometimes the stem is not an independent word: butch+er, aggress+or, incis+or. For some words that
used to belong to this type, a verb has been created by back-formation (peddl+er, burgl+ar)
if the stem is a verb in -ate, sometimes the ate drops and sometimes it stays: don+or, nominat#or
sometimes the stem is a non-free allomorph of a word, but when that happens the free allomorph may also
combine with the aUx with a diTerent meaning: recept+or—receiv#er, divis+or—divid#er
-ant/ent
foreign
Only productive in technical jargon
Class I
inhabit+ant, defend+ant, serv+ant, inform+ant, consult+ant, pollut+ant, cool+ant
sometimes the stem undergoes a phonological change: presid+ent
sometimes the stem is not an independent word: merch+ant, ten+ant
sometimes the stem is a non-free allomorph of a word: oppon+ent
if the stem is a verb in -ate, the -ate drops: particip+ant, stimul+ant, lubric+ant, irrit+ant
patient (object) nouns
-ee
foreign
productive
Class I
appoint+ee, examin+ee, licens+ee, pay+ee, train+ee
for verbs in -ate, the -ate drops: nomin+ee, evacu+ee, amput+ee
for a few cases, it is the subject of the verb: escap+ee, retir+ee
44166. STRUCTURE OF ENGLISH II: THE WORD
Prof. Yehuda N. Falk
Derivational Affixes, p. 4
from adjectives
-ness
native
very productive
Class II
bright#ness, bitter#ness, good#ness, fair#ness, big#ness, fit#ness, righteous#ness,
careless#ness, drunken#ness, fierce#ness, kindhearted#ness, one#ness
-ity
foreign
productive on foreign stems
Class I
divers+ity, odd+ity [native stem]
the stem usually undergoes some phonological change: singular+ity, agil+ity, captiv+ity, sincer+ity,
san+ity, chast+ity, electric+ity, historic+ity, superficial+ity, technical+ity
sometimes the stem is the non-free allomorph of a word: simplic+ity
sometimes the stem is not a word: duplic+ity, felic+ity, fidel+ity, hilar+ity
very productive with -able adjectives,-able+ity becomes -ability: abil+ity, poss+ibil+ity, cap+abil+ity,
believe+abil+ity, vis+ibil+ity, ;
not productive with -ous adjectives, but when they do exist the -ous drops in some words but not in others:
vari+ety, simultane+ity; curi+os+ity, lumin+os+ity
sometimes the suUx is just -ty: certain+ty, safe+ty, sovereign+ty (note British special+ity and American
special+ty)
-th
native
not productive
Class I
The stem undergoes a phonological change: dep+th, wid+th
sometimes the stem is a non-free allomorph of a word or not a word at all: leng+th, bread+th
from other nouns
abstract nouns (usually from concrete nouns)
-hood
native
productive, almost exclusively on native stems
Class II
child#hood, neighbor#hood, baby#hood, parent#hood, brother#hood, nation#hood, state#hood,
priest#hood
sometimes the stem is an adjective: false#hood, likeli#hood
44166. STRUCTURE OF ENGLISH II: THE WORD
Prof. Yehuda N. Falk
Derivational Affixes, p. 5
-dom
native
productive
Class II
king#dom, martyr#dom, duke#dom, whore#dom, saint#dom, sheikh#dom
sometimes the stem is an adjective: free#dom
-ship
native
productive
Class II
friend#ship, lord#ship, fellow#ship, dictator#ship, companion#ship, comrade#ship, kin#ship,
workman#ship, statesman#ship
sometimes the stem is an adjective: hard#ship
-y
foreign
only on foreign stems; not productive
Class I
monarch+y
the stem almost always undergoes a phonological change: pira(t→c)+y, confedera(t→c)+y,
democra(t→c)+y, advoca(t→c)+y, presiden(t→c)+y, constituen(t→c)+y, dependen(t→c)+y,
analog+y
stem is sometimes an adjective: excellen(t→c)+y, efficien(t→c)+y, vacan(t→c)+y, lenien(t→c)+y,
bankrup(t→c)+y
sometimes goes on stems which are not words, or are non-free allomorphs of words: luna(t→c)+y,
conspira(t→c)+y; papac+y
Sometimes the suUx is -cy: captain+cy, normal+cy
Affixes that form verbs
from nouns
∅
“zero derivation” or “conversion”
the most productive way to form verbs from nouns
bridge, hammer, ship, nail, skate, spear, cement, butter, ;
-ize
see below, under “from adjectives”
-ify
foreign
not productive
Class I
pur+ify, speech+ify
sometimes the stem is a non-free allomorph of a word: glor+ify, terr+ify, liqu+efy, beaut+ify [native root]
sometimes the stem is not a word: sanct+ify, quant+ify, cert+ify, mod+ify
44166. STRUCTURE OF ENGLISH II: THE WORD
Prof. Yehuda N. Falk
Derivational Affixes, p. 6
-ate [eyt]
foreign
not productive
Class I
hyphen+ate, assassin+ate
Sometimes the stem undergoes a phonological change: chlorin+ate
Sometimes the stem is not a word, or is a non-free allomorph of a word: dehydr+ate, pagin+ate,
orchestr+ate
Mostly, though, this is used in verbs derived from Latin (and some others); the stem without -ate is an
allomorph of the stem with -ate. It is debatable whether ate is actually a suUx in these cases. educ+ate,
nomin+ate, contamin+ate, dedic+ate, navig+ate, don+ate, ;
en- (em-)
foreign
not productive
Class I
en+danger, en+list, en+slave, en+trust, en+circle, em+power
Sometimes goes on adjectives: en+large, en+rich, em+bitter, en+able
Sometimes the stem it goes on is not an independent word: em+bark, en+dorse
from adjectives
-ize
foreign
relatively productive
Class I
equal+ize, popular+ize, tranquil+ize, liberal+ize, central+ize, minatur+ize, western+ize,
national+ize, legal+ize
Also goes on nouns: organ+ize, cannibal+ize, critic+ize, burglar+ize, item+ize
Sometimes the stem undergoes a phonological change: militar(y)+ize, public+ize, romantic+ize;
harmon(y)+ize, agon(y)+ize, apolog(y)+ize, theor(y)+ize, colon(y)+ize, satir+ize
Sometimes the stem is not a word: anglic+ize, hypnot+ize
-en
native
semiproductive
Class II
dark#en, hard#en, thick#en, light#en, wid#en, tough#en, moist#en, soft#en
sometimes the stem is a noun: length#en, fright#en, threat#en, strength#en
from other verbs
reversative
unnative
very productive
Class II
un#lock, un#pack, un#tie, un#do, un#button, un#saddle, un#delete
44166. STRUCTURE OF ENGLISH II: THE WORD
Prof. Yehuda N. Falk
Derivational Affixes, p. 7
deforeign
only on foreign words; productive primarily in technical vocabulary
Class II
de#militarize, de#frost, de#compose, de#segregate
negative
disforeign
only on foreign words; not productive
Class II
dis#allow, dis#obey, dis#trust, dis#agree, dis#like, dis#believe
sometimes has reversative meaning: dis#arm, dis#honor, dis#appear, dis#connect
goes on verbs with the preWx en-: dis#en+tangle
sometimes the stem is a noun or adjective: dis#honest, dis#comfort
other
reforeign
very productive; with few exceptions, only goes on transitive verbs
Class II
means ‘again’
re#form, re#assemble, re#educate, re#organize, re#produce, re#count, *re#go
misnative
means ‘badly’; relatively productive
Class II
mis#lead, mis#understand, mis#manage, mis#print
Affixes that form adjectives
from nouns
-y
native
very productive
Class II
cloud#y, guilt#y, blood#y, thirst#y, craz#y, storm#y, milk#y, dirt#y, mess#y, risk#y, ;
44166. STRUCTURE OF ENGLISH II: THE WORD
Prof. Yehuda N. Falk
Derivational Affixes, p. 8
-ous
foreign
relatively productive, especially with foreign stems
Class I
poison+ous, adventur+ous, danger+ous, fam+ous, treason+ous, hazard+ous, wondr+ous,
glori+ous, vari+ous.
sometimes the stem undergoes a phonological change: courage+ous, harmoni+ous
sometimes connected to stem with i or u: rebell+i+ous, tempest+u+ous, uproar+i+ous [compound
stem]
sometimes the stem is not a word: ambit+ious, superstit+ious, scrumpt+ious, simultane+ous,
curi+ous, lumin+ous
-ish
native
productive, especially with the meaning ‘approximately’
Class II
fool#ish, fever#ish, Dan#ish, Jew#ish, clown#ish, styl#ish, self#ish, four#ish
sometimes the stem is a verb or an adjective: tickl#ish; green#ish, dark#ish
-al (-ar)
foreign
relatively productive with foreign stems; the form is sometimes -ar when there is an [l] in the stem
Class I
architectur+al, conjectur+al, elector+al, hormon+al, procedur+al, season+al, post+al, pivot+al,
coast+al, trib+al, music+al, logic+al; pol+ar
sometimes the stem undergoes a phonological change: accident+al, environment+al; circul+ar,
triangul+ar, singul+ar, titul+ar; spectacul+ar
Sometimes the stem is not an independent word: eventu+al, feder+al, later+al, horizont+al, vertic+al,
tempor+al, matern+al; perpendicul+ar, lun+ar
Sometimes the stem is a non-free allomorph of a word: crimin+al, societ+al, congression+al; popul+ar
Sometimes the stem (either a word or not) is separated from the suUx by i or u: dictator+i+al,
professor+i+al, senator+i+al, editor+i+al, president+i+al, artific+i+al, manager+i+al,
habit+u+al, sens+u+al, spirit+u+al, intellect+u+al, pictor+i+al, vis+u+al; lin+e+ar
-ic
foreign
on foreign stems, productive mostly in technical terms
Class I
Arab+ic
The stem almost always undergoes a phonological change: poet+ic, German+ic, econom(y)+ic,
histor(y)+ic, demon+ic, parasit+ic, democrat+ic, alcohol+ic, ton+ic
Sometimes the stem is a non-free allomorph of a word: operat+ic, genet+ic, dramat+ic, problemat+ic
Sometimes the stem is not a word: lunat+ic, heret+ic, agnost+ic, anem+ic (anaem+ic), electr+ic
44166. STRUCTURE OF ENGLISH II: THE WORD
Prof. Yehuda N. Falk
Derivational Affixes, p. 9
-ic-al
A combination of the two preceding suUxes
grammat+ic+al, geograph(y)+ic+al, theoret+ic+al, econom(y)+ic+al, histor(y)+ic+al, theatr+ic+al,
morpholog(y)+ic+al (and other ology words), farc+ic+al, bibl+ic+al
Where -ic and -ic-al adjectives both exist, they usually have diTerent meanings (note econom+ic vs.
econom+ic+al; histor+ic vs. histor+ic+al).
-ly
native
not particularly productive
Class II
king#ly, man#ly, scholar#ly, love#ly, priest#ly, friend#ly, coward#ly
sometimes goes on adjectival stem: good#ly, lone#ly, sick#ly
-ful
native
means “full of …”; opposite is -less
not productive
Class II
care#ful, shame#ful, wonder#ful, cheer#ful, skill#ful, success#ful, waste#ful, hope#ful, joy#ful,
help#ful, law#ful
Sometimes the stem is a verb: forget#ful, mourn#ful
from verbs
-ive/ative/itive
foreign
Relatively productive.
Class I
Usually (but not always), if a stem forms an -ive adjective it also forms an ion noun
attract+ive, express+ive, abus+ive, adopt+ive, act+ive
Sometimes the stem undergoes a phonological change: execut+ive
Verbs that end with -ate keep the -ate: creat+ive, nominat+ive, negat+ive, decorat+ive
Sometimes the suUx is -ative: represent+ative, administr+ative, affirm+ative, caus+ative,
conserv+ative, inform+ative, talk+ative [native stem]
sometimes the stem is a non-free allomorph of a word: resumpt+ive, recept+ive, destruct+ive,
prescript+ive, decis+ive, product+ive, persuas+ive, extens+ive, punit+ive
sometimes the stem is not a word: agress+ive, cognit+ive, nat+ive, pass+ive, pens+ive, capt+ive,
incis+ive
examples with itive (formed from the same verbs that take ition): repet+ition, add+ition, defin+ition
44166. STRUCTURE OF ENGLISH II: THE WORD
Prof. Yehuda N. Falk
Derivational Affixes, p. 10
-able (also spelled -ible)
foreign
very productive, produces a “passive” adjective with an ‘able’ meaning
As noted below, there are many doublets. This suggests that -able is both Class I and Class II. Often, there
is a diTerence of meaning between the adjective with +able and the adjective with #able; typically, the
adjective with #able has a more strictly ‘able’ meaning: notice the contrast between cómpar+able and
compár#able. Note also that usually the two pairs of the doublet take diTerent negative preWxes; e.g.
in+divis+ible but un#divid#able.
accept#able, agree#able, commend#able, understand#able, corrupt#ible, discern#ible
With -ate verbs, the -ate usually drops: communic+able, demostr+able, negoti+able
With some -ate verbs, both forms exist: cultiv+able (but also cultivat#able), educ+able (but also
educat#able), navig+able (but also navigat#able), toler+able (but also tolerat#able)
Sometimes the stem can be the non-free allomorph of a word, but it is also possible with the free allomorph:
divis+ible—divid#able, percept+ible—perceiv#able, defens+ible—defend#able
Sometimes the stem is not a word: conscion+able, aud+ible, cred+ible, poss+ible, prob+able,
horr+ible
In a few words, the stem is a noun: service#able, marriage#able, charit+able, objection#able
In addition to the cases mentioned above, there are sometimes two diTerent -able adjectives formed from
the same root with diTerent stress patterns: cómpar+able—compár#able,
répar+able—repáir#able, préfer+able— prefér#able.
from other adjectives
negative
unnative
very productive
Class II
un#fair, un#ripe, un#able, un#certain, un#precedented, un#happy, un#reliable
Occasionally on nouns: un#truth, un#ease
in- (im-, il-, ir-)
foreign
productive on foreign stems
Class I
in+comprehensible, in+animate, im+possible, il+legal, ir+religious
Sometimes the stem undergoes a phonological change: in+finite
Sometimes the stem is a noun: in+fidelity
Sometimes the stem is not a word: in+ept, in+ert, in+sipid, in+vincible, in+grate
Occasionally on nouns which are derived from adjectives: in+ability, in+justice
44166. STRUCTURE OF ENGLISH II: THE WORD
Prof. Yehuda N. Falk
Derivational Affixes, p. 11
Affixes that form nouns/adjectives of “belonging”
-an
foreign
Relatively productive
Class I
Rom+an, Chomsky+an, Tibet+an
sometimes the stem undergoes a phonological change: Elizabeth+an, librari+an
sometimes the stem is a non-free allomorph of a word: Afric+an, Persi+an, Americ+an
very often, the stem is connected to the suUx with i: Boston+i+an, reptil+i+an, mammal+i+an,
Christ+i+an, Canad+i+an, electric+i+an, grammar+i+an, magic+i+an, phonetic+i+an
sometimes the stem is not a word: urb+an, barbar+ian
Sometimes -arian: disciplin+arian, veget+arian, fruit+arian, Parliament+arian, authorit+arian,
totalit+arian
-ese
foreign
not productive
Class I
legal+ese
Usually the stem undergoes a phonological change: Japan+ese, Vietnam+ese, Chin(a)+ese,
Vienn(a)+ese
Sometimes the stem is a non-free allomorph of a word: Portugu+ese
44166. STRUCTURE OF ENGLISH II: THE WORD
Prof. Yehuda N. Falk
Derivational Affixes, p. 12
Latin preWx + stem forms
These words are all made up of two morphemes, a preWx and a stem. E.g. pre+cede
ad
con
de
ex
in
per
pre
pro
re
sub
trans
cede
accede
concede
—
—
—
—
precede
proceed
recede
succeed
—
ceive
—
—
—
perceive
—
—
receive
—
transceive
crete
—
—
—
excrete
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
duce
adduce
—
deduce
—
induce
—
—
produce
reduce
—
—
duct
—
conduct
deduct
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
fect
aTect
—
defect
eTect
infect
perfect
—
—
—
—
—
fer
—
confer
defer
—
infer
—
prefer
—
refer
—
transfer
Wx
aUix
—
—
—
inWx
—
preWx
—
—
suUx
transWx
flect
—
—
deflect
—
inflect
—
—
—
reflect
—
—
flict
aVict
conflict
—
—
inflict
—
—
—
—
—
—
fuse
—
confuse
—
—
infuse
—
—
profuse
refuse
suTuse
—
gest
—
congest
—
—
ingest
—
—
—
—
suggest
—
ject
—
—
deject
—
inject
—
—
—
reject
subject
—
mit
admit
commit
—
emit
—
permit
—
—
remit
submit
transmit
mote
—
—
demote
emote
—
—
—
promote
—
—
—
plode
—
—
—
explode implode
—
—
—
—
—
—
pound
—
compound
—
expond impound
—
—
—
—
—
—
rive
arrive
—
derive
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
sert
assert
—
desert
—
insert
—
—
—
—
—
—
side
—
—
—
—
—
—
preside
—
reside
subside
—
sign
assign
consign
design
—
—
—
—
—
resign
—
—
sist
—
consist
desist
exist
insist
persist
—
—
resist
subsist
—
—
—
—
—
presume
—
sume
conceive deceive
assume consume
resume subsume
—
test
attest
contest
detest
—
—
—
—
protest
—
—
—
vene
—
convene
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
This is far from a complete list.