This document lists common English word building prefixes, suffixes, and parts of speech. It provides examples of verbs, nouns, adjectives (positive and negative), and adverbs that are commonly used to build new words in the English language. Word parts are grouped by their part of speech and meaning, such as active/inactive for adjectives. Examples are given to demonstrate how to combine word parts to derive new words.

1. WORD BUILDING
VERB NOUN ADJECTIVE (+) ADJECTIVE (-) ADVERB
Act Action Active Inactive Actively
Admire Admiration Admirable --- Admirably
Advise Advice Advisable Inadvisable
Affect Effect Effective Ineffective Effectively
Agree Agreement Agreeable Disagreeable Agreeably
Ambition Ambitious Ambitiously
Amuse Amusement Amused-amusing Amusingly
Excite Excitement Excited- exciting Excitedly
Apologise Apology Apologetic Apologetically
Appear Appearance Apparent Apparently
Arrange Arrangement
Arrive Arrival
Assistance/
Assist
Assistant
Associate Association
Attention/
Attend Attentive Attentively
Attendance
Attract Attraction Attractive Unattractive Attractively
Avoid Avoidance Avoidable Unavoidable
Beauty Beautiful Beautifully
Bleed Blood Bleeding
Bravery Brave Bravely
Brighten Brightness Bright Brightly
Caution Cautious Cautiously
Carefully /
Care Careful Careless
Carelessly
Change Change Changeable Unchangeable
Child/
Childish Childishly
Childhood
Comfort Comfort Comfortable Uncomfortable Comfortably
Compare Comparison Comparable Incomparable Comparably

2. Cook Cook / cooker Cookery
Correct Correction Correct Incorrect Correctly
Courageous
Encourage Courage Encouraged Courageously
Encouraging
Discouraged
Discourage Discouragement
Discouraging
Create Creation/Creature Creative Creatively
Criticize Critic/Criticism Critical Critically
Curiosity Curious Curiously
Cruelty Cruel Cruelly
Dangerous -
Endanger Danger Dangerously
Endangered
Darken Darkness Dark Darkly
Day Daily Daily
Deceit Deceitful Deceitfully
Decide Decision Decisive Indecisive Decisively
Deepen Depth Deep Deeply
Dependence/
Depend Dependent Independent
Independence
Descriptive/
Describe Description Indescribable
Describable
Destroy Destruction Destructive Non-destructive Destructively
Developing-
Develop Development
Developed
Die Death Dead/ Deadly Deadly
Differ Difference Different Indifferent Differently
Direct Direction/Director Direct Indirect Directly
Discover Discovery Discovered
Discuss Discussion
Distance Distant
Doubt Doubt Doubtful Doubtfully
Dust/ duster Dusty
Ease Easy Uneasy Easily
Educate Education Educational Educationally
Embarrassing /
Embarrass Embarrassment Embarrassingly
Embarrassed

3. Employment /
Employed /
Employ Unemployment/
unemployed
Employee/ Employer
Enjoy Joy / enjoyment Enjoyable Enjoyably
Enter Entrance
Spend Expense Expensive Inexpensive
Explain Explanation Explicable Inexplicable
Explode Explosion
Expression /
Express Expressive Inexpressive
Expressiveness
Fail Failure
Fame Famous Infamous
Fashion Fashionable Unfashionable
Fatten Fat / Fatness Fat / Fattening
Fault Faulty Faultless
Fear Fear Afraid/ Fearful Fearless
Fit Fitness Fit Unfit
Forget Forgetfulness Forgetful
Fortune/Misfortune Fortunate Unfortunate Fortunately
Formalise Formality Formal Informal Formally
Free Freedom Free Freely
Frequency Frequent Infrequent Frequently
Friend/Friendship Friendly Unfriendly
Furnish Furniture Furnished Unfurnished
Generosity Generous Generously
Gold Golden
Govern Government Governmental
Grow Growth Growing
Guilt Guilty Guiltily
Happiness/
Happy Unhappy Happily
Unhappiness
Hate Hatred Hateful
Heal Health Healthy Unhealthy Healthily

4. Heat Heat / Heater Hot
Height High
Hero/ Heroine/
Heroic Heroically
Heroism
Honesty Honest Dishonest Honestly
Hunger Hungry Hungrily
Ice Icy
Identify Identification Identified Unidentified
Imaginary /
Image Image/ Imagination Unimaginative Imaginatively
Imaginative
Imitate Imitation
Importance Important Unimportant
Impress Impression Impressive Impressively
Improve Improvement
Influence Influence Influential
Injure Injury
Innocence Innocent Innocently
Interest Interest Interested Uninterested
Jealousy Jealous Jealously
Know Knowledge Knowingly
Laugh Laughter Laughable
Lead - mislead Leader - Leadership
Legalise Legality- Illegality Legal Illegal Legally
Lend Loan
Lengthen Length Long
Light – Lighter -
Lighten Light
Lighthouse
Live- Lively –
Live Life
Alive
Loneliness Lonely – Alone
Loyalty Loyal Disloyal Loyally
Luck Lucky Unlucky Luckily
Manage Management
Marry Marriage Married Unmarried

5. Mountain-
Mountainous
Mountaineer
Measure Measurement Measurable Immeasurable
Morality Moral Immoral Morally
Mother- Motherhood Motherly
Multiply Multiplication Multiple
Mystery Mysterious Mysteriously
Need Necessity/Need Necessary Unnecessary Necessarily
Noise Noisy Noisily
Obey Obedience Obedient Disobedient Obediently
Oblige Obligation Obligatory
Occasion Occasional Occasionally
Office Official Unofficial Officially
Own Owner-Ownership
Patience Patient Impatient Patiently
Pay Payment Payable-Paid Unpaid
Peculiarity Peculiar Peculiarly
Permit Permission Permissive
Person- Personality Personal Impersonal Personally
Perfection Perfect Imperfect Perfectly
Perform Performance
Please Pleasure Pleasant Pleasantly
Politics - Politician Political Politically
Poison Poisonous
Popularity –
Populate Popular Unpopular
Population
Poverty Poor Poorly
Possibility Possible Impossible Possibly
Pride Proud Proudly
Prison- Prisoner
Imprison
Imprisonment
Probability Probable Improbable Probably
Production- Product-
Produce Productive Unproductive
Producer

6. Profession Professional Unprofessional Professionally
Profit Profit Profitable Unprofitable
Pronounce -
Pronunciation Unpronounceable
mispronounce
Propose Proposal
Protect Protection Protective Protectively
Prove Proof
Punish Punishment
Quarrel Quarrel Quarrelsome
Unreal-
Realise Reality Real-Realistic Really
Unrealistic
Reason Reasonable Unreasonable Reasonably
Recommend Recommendation
Regret Regret Regretful
Regularity Regular Irregular Regularly
Refuse Refusal
Relieve Relief
Religion Religious Unreligious Religiously
Respectful-
Respect Respect Unrespectable Respectably
Respectable
Responsibility Responsible Irresponsible Responsibly
Rob Robber- Robbery
Romance Romantic Unromantic Romantically
Satisfied- Unsatisfied-
Satisfy Satisfaction
Satisfactory Unsatisfactory
Save Safety- Safe Safe Unsafe Safely
Science -Scientist Scientific Scientifically
Secure Security Secure Insecure
Insensitive-
Sensitive- Sensibly
Sense - Sensation Senseless-
Sensible Sensitively
Insensible
Serve Service-Servant
Shame Shameful Shameless
Shorten Shortage Short Shortly
Sign Signature

7. Silence Silent Silently
Simplify Simplicity Simple Simply
Sleep Sleep Sleepy - Asleep Sleepless
Slip Slip- Slipper Slippery
Soften Softness Soft Softly
Speak Speech Speechless
Strengthen Strength Strong Strongly
Succeed Success Successful Successfully
Suspect Suspect Suspicious Unsuspicious Suspiciously
Sweeten Sweetness Sweet Sweetly
Talk Talk Talkative
Tend Tendency
Thicken Thickness Thick
Think Thought Thoughtful Thoughtfully
Threaten Threat
Treat Treatment
Trouble Troublesome
Use Use-Usefulness Useful Useless
Value Value Valuable Invaluable
Vary Variety Variable Invariable
Violence Violent Violently
Visibility Visible Invisible
Wave Wavy
Wealth Wealthy
Weaken Weakness Weak Weakly
Widen Width Wide-Widespread
Wisdom Wise Unwise Wisely
Wool Woollen
Worth Worthy Worthless
Youth, youngster Young