Tips Part 3-Word Formation- Reading and Use of English

What does it look like?

Just to make things clear

It’s not a task where you match things on the left to things on the right. Everything is right next to where it should go.

Nouns

Examples

• • Names (Captain Jack Sparrow);
  • Concepts (time, information);
  • Names of jobs or types of people (skiiers, doctors, scientists);
  • Things (cheesecake, flowers).

?Sometimes you know a noun because of its ending. Look out for: -eer; -tion; -ment, -age, -al, ance, -hood, -iety, -ness, and so on.?Plural words or possessives are nouns.Words connected to ‘the, my/yours/their (etc), whose, another, other, a/an‘ are probably nouns. Look:

• I want another banana.
• My banana is bigger than yours.
• Whose banana is this?
• A banana is a wonderful thing.

How does this relate to FCE part 3?

1- Change the root word to make nouns that fit the sentences.

1. It is my __________ that global warming is a big threat to the planet.   BELIEVE
2. The __________ of One Direction is a complete mystery to me.  POPULAR
3. It was a great __________ to meet you today.  PLEASE

(Answers: belief/popularity/pleasure.)

Adjectives

Adjectives describe nouns.

Notice that adjectives often come after the verb ‘to be’? What kind of word do you expect in this gap?It is __________ to eat a lot of fruit and vegetables.Yep, an adjective.So, if the root was ‘IMPORT’ you’d probably know you needed to write ‘important’ in the space.

What are the adjective forms of:

• ENJOY
• BELIEVE
• OBJECT

Now plug those answers into these sentences. In one case you need a negative form.

1. Going to the beach can be very __________.
2. The way Bolt accelerated through to the finish line was __________.
3. People being interviewed expect the interviewers to be __________

(Answers: enjoyable/unbelievable/objective.)

Adverbs

Like adjectives they describe nouns, adverbs describe verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs.

People being interviewed expect the interviewers to be __________ objective.    COMPLETE

(Answer: to be completely objective.)

Verbs

Can! Will! Should! Must! These are all followed by the infinitive without ‘to’. So if you see this in the exam:

The most important factor seems to be how quickly muscles can contract and thus __________ the time a runner’s foot is in contact with the ground.  MINIMUM

Positive or Negative?

Read the sentences carefully because some of the words you need are in the negative form.

Example 1:

When I began cycling, I found the flat rounds easy, but the hills almost __________.   POSSIBLE

That’s a pretty clear example of a sentence that needs a negative word in the gap. The first adjective ‘easy’ is positive. Then there is the word ‘but’ which introduces a contrast. Also, we HAVE to change the word. We can’t leave it as ‘possible’. So, that leaves us with the only option of ‘impossible’.

Example 2:

Even skilled interviewers may, without realising it, __________ favour people who make them feel at ease.   CONSCIOUS