FCE READING & USE OF ENGLISH PART 3 WORD FORMATION

FCE (First Certificate) Word Formation: Verbs

There are four main prefixes/suffixes used when making verbs, which you should revise
for the FCE exam.

en- -ify

enla
rge
ena
ble
entr
ust
enra
ge
ensu
re
end
ang
er

bea
utif
y
clari
fy
spec
ify
iden
tify
terri
fy
puri
fy

-ise
televi
se
advis
e
organ
ise
speci
alise
priori
tise
crimi
nalise
apolo
gise

-en
wide
n
lengt
hen
deep
en
short
en
tight
en
brigh
ten
dark
en
weak
en
stren
gthe
n

Write the correct form of the word in brackets to complete these sentences. Be very
careful - these are verbs. So, for example, if the word is DEEP, the verb could
be deepen, deepens, deepening or deepened.
1.

I find it difficult to

my work. (PRIORITY)

2.

I'm studying medicine. I want to

3.

This photograph is too small. Can you

4.

I didn't understand what you just said. Could you

5.

My electronic dictionary

(ABLE)
6.
He loves insects. He can

in genetics. (SPECIAL)
it for me? (LARGE)
it? (CLEAR)

me to listen to the pronunciation of new words.

over 50 different types of beetle.(IDENTITY)

7.

There are a lot of accidents on this road - the council should

8.

The time we spent apart only

9.

You didn't

it. (WIDTH)

my love for him. (STRONG)

what flavour you wanted, so I got you chocolate. (SPECIFIC)

FCE READING & USE OF ENGLISH PART 3 WORD FORMATION

10.

His speech was too long. He should have

11.

He always thinks he's right. He never

12.

I think the government should

13.

Thank you for the flowers you sent last month. They really

14.

(BRIGHT)
The burglar

it. (SHORT)
for his mistakes. (APOLOGY)

alcohol. (CRIMINAL)
up my room.

that no one was in the house before he broke in. (SURE)

15.

The film "The Ring"

me. I couldn't sleep for days. (TERROR)

16.

The government's plans for the hospitals will

thousands of lives.

(DANGER)

FCE READING & USE OF ENGLISH PART 3 WORD FORMATION

FCE (First Certificate) Word Formation: Negatives

For the FCE exam, there's nearly always at least one negative in the word formation
paper. There are lots of prefixes and suffixes we can use to make negatives.
1. Negative prefixes can be used with nouns, verbs, adjective and adverbs. For
example disapproval, disapprove, disapproving, disapprovingly.
2. Usually im + p (impatient) but not always (unpleasant).
3. Often il + l (illegal) but not always (unlikely).
4. Often ir + r (irregular) but not always (unresponsive).
5. Usually -ful changes to -less (harmful/less) but not always (endless).
6. If you can't remember, choose un - it's the most common negative prefix.

un-

in

dis-

unexpecte
d
unaware
unbelieva
ble
unknown
unable

inaccurate
inappropri
ate
inefficient
incapable
ineffective

disapprove
dislike
disagree
disbelief
dishonest

irirregular
irresponsi
ble
irrational
irregular

mismisbehave
misunderst
and
misspell
misuse

ilillegal
illiterate
illogical
illegible

imimproba
ble
impossib
le
impolite
imperfec
t
impatien
t
-less
careless
harmless
helpless
endless

Write the correct NEGATIVE form of the word in brackets to complete these sentences. Be very careful: some words have
different negative forms (e.g. unbelievable/disbelief, unlikely/dislike, unable/disabled).

1.

The politician was accused of being

2.

His story was so

3.

She looked at him in

4.

Many people are

5.

He's invited me to his party. It would be

6.

Too many children nowadays are growing up

7.

That's not what I said! You've

8.

My dog is completely

9.

The medicine was

(HONEST)

I thought he was crazy. (BELIEVE)

when he told her the shocking news. (BELIEVE)
of the dangers of mobile phones. (AWARE)
to say no. (POLITE)
. (LITERATE)
me. (UNDERSTAND)
. I promise he won't bite. (HARM)
- he didn't recover. (EFFECT)

FCE READING & USE OF ENGLISH PART 3 WORD FORMATION

10.

His answers were very

so he failed the Maths exam. (ACCURATE)

11.

It's

12.

He waited

13.

It's

14.

I would never teach children. They always

15.

The shirt he's wearing is completely

16.

His speech was

that people will ever live on the moon. (LIKELY)

for the train. (PATIENT)
to smoke in public places nowadays. (LEGAL)
. (BEHAVE)
for a job interview. (APPROPRIATE)

. I thought he'd never stop talking. (END)

FCE (First Certificate) Word Formation: Nouns with -ion

One of the most common ways to change a verb to a noun is with -ion (e.g. act to action) and -ation (e.g. observe to
observation). Sometimes we also change the verb stem as well when we make the noun like this (e.g. explain to explanation).
The table below shows common nouns in which the spelling of the stem also changes.

Noun
application
permission
solution
description
intention
competition
decision
explanation
production
repetition
consumption
qualification

Verb
apply
permit
solve
describe
intend
compete
decide
explain
produce
repeat
comsume
qualify

Adjective
applicable
permissable
unsolved
descriptive
unintended
competitive
decisive
unexplained
productive
repetitive
consumable
qualified

Write the correct form of the word in brackets to complete these sentences. Some of the answers are irregular (from the table
above), but there are other regular nouns included here. Don't forget to use an -s if necessary.
1.

Please send a photograph with your CV and

2.

You need to make a

3.

Her

4.

We had a long

5.

Students must have their parent's

6.

He is still in hospital, recovering from his

7.

I entered a bowling

8.

My children never show

form. (APPLY)

today. (DECIDE)

of the grammar was very unclear. (EXPLAIN)

about our problems. (DISCUSS)
to come on the trip. (PERMIT)
. (OPERATE)

. (COMPETE)
for anything I do! (APPRECIATE)

FCE READING & USE OF ENGLISH PART 3 WORD FORMATION

9.

I can't come up with a

to this problem. (SOLVE)

10.

The

11.

You need a lot of

12.

When I lived abroad, I found the

13.

The

14.

We don't want a

15.

The police are conducting an

16.

I gave the police a

17.

It wasn't my

18.

We are making

19.

I've just had a very interesting

20.

You can try our product for free, with no

of junk food has increased over the last 20 years. (CONSUME)

for this job. (QUALIFY)
from my family very difficult. (SEPARATE)

of the new flats is nearly finished. (CONSTRUCT)

of the violence at last year's football match. (REPEAT)
into the murder. (INVESTIGATE)
of the thief. (DESCRIBE)
to offend you. (INTEND)
for the wedding. (PREPARE)
with your sister. (CONVERSE)
to buy it. (OBLIGE)

FCE (First Certificate)

Word Formation: Nouns with -ence and -ance
Two common noun endings are -ance and -ence. Usually, their adjectives are made with -ant and -ent. Here are some common
examples which might help you in the FCE exam.

Noun (-ence)
evidence
existence
(in)dependence
difference
intelligence

Adjective
evident
existing
(in)dependent
different
intelligent

(dis)obedience

(dis)obedient

excellence
silence
violence
innocence
occurrence
(im)patience

excellent
silent
violent
innocent
(im)patient

Verb
to exist
to depend
to differ
to
(dis)obey
to excel
to silence
to violate
to occur
-

Write the correct form of the word in brackets to complete

these sentences. The answer could be a noun or an adjective.
Don't forget to use an -s or a negative prefix if necessary.

Noun (-ance)
attendance
attendant
(person)
assistance
assistant
(person)

Adjective
-

to attend

to assist

(dis)appearance apparent
distance
(un)importance
acceptance
reassurance
(ir)relevance
(in)significance

Verb

distant
(un)important
accepting
reassured
(ir)relevant
(in)significan
t

to
(dis)appear
accept
to reassure
to signify

FCE READING & USE OF ENGLISH PART 3 WORD FORMATION

1.

Unfortunately, accidents are a common

along this road. (OCCUR)

2.

It's difficult to believe in the

3.

The police are looking for

4.

She thinks everyone hates her and needs

5.

Scientist believe that the mysterious

6.

What's the best punishment for a

7.

What he said was true, but it was completely

8.

100%

9.

I'm the only person who believes in his

10.

There are three shop

11.

Some people think that if you enjoy your job, the salary is

12.

I'm excited because I've just got a letter of

13.

Cats are extremely

14.

You need a lot of

of aliens. (EXIST)
of the attack. (EVIDENT)
from her friends all the time. (REASSURE)
of millions of bees is due to disease. (APPEAR)
teenager? (OBEY)
. (RELEVANCE)

is necessary to pass this course. (ATTEND)

. Even the police think he's guilty. (INNOCENT)

over there - you should ask one of them for help. (ASSIST)
, but I love money! (IMPORTANCE)
from Cambridge University! (ACCEPT)

animals. They don't really need people. (DEPEND)

if you want to work with children. (PATIENT)

FCE READING & USE OF ENGLISH PART 3 WORD FORMATION

FCE (First Certificate) Word Formation

Verb + ment / adjective + ness
Many verbs can form nouns with the suffix -ment. And many adjectives can form their nouns with the suffix -ness.
Look at the examples in the table for 1-2 minutes and try to remember the words. Then click below to hide the information and
try to answer the questions at the bottom.

Verb
achieve
amuse
argue
develop
encourage
excite
improve
involve
judge
measure

Noun
achievement
amusement
argument
development
encouragement
excitement
improvement
involvement
judgement
measurement

Adjective
aware
dark
forgetful
happy
homeless
lazy
lonely
rude
tidy
weak

Noun
awareness
darkness
forgetfulness
happiness
homelessness
laziness
loneliness
rudeness
tidiness
weakness

Write the correct form of the word in brackets to complete these sentences. There are lots more examples here than in the list
above, so remember that often verbs use 'ment' to make nouns, and often adjectives use 'ness'. And remember that sometimes
the nouns will be plural!

1.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to make an

2.

. (ANNOUNCE)

is a problem everywhere, not just in big cities. (HOMELESS)

3.

His

made me very angry. (RUDE)

4.

What

5.

We had a big

6.

I woke up at 2am. The house was in complete

7.

We need some special

8.

If you drink too much alcohol, it will impair your

9.

The interviewer asked me about my strengths and

10.

My friends gave me a lot of

11.

To my

12.

The company has made lots of

13.

I used to find his

does your doctor recommend for the 'flu? (TREAT)

about whose turn it was to wash up. (ARGUE)
. (DARK)

if we want to go mountain climbing. (EQUIP)

. (JUDGE)
. (WEAK)

when I was worried about my driving test. (ENCOURAGE)

, I was offered 10,000 for my old car! (AMAZE)

to their internet services. (IMPROVE)
funny, but now it really annoys me. (FORGETFUL)

FCE READING & USE OF ENGLISH PART 3 WORD FORMATION

14.

Winning the race was an amazing

for my daughter. (ACHIEVE)

15.

This book is very unrealistic, but that didn't spoil my

16.

We are still making

17.

Drivers should stop to rest during long car journeys, because

18.

People can experience

of it. (ENJOY)

for the wedding next month. (ARRANGE)

can cause accidents. (TIRED)

at many times during their lives, and for many reasons. (LONELY)

FCE (First Certificate)

Word Formation: Irregular Nouns
There are lots of standard noun suffixes (e.g -ment, -tion) or verb suffixes (see my verb word formation pages). But many nouns
and verbs have irregular suffixes which you'll need to know for the FCE exam.

Noun
(dis)beli
ef
a choice
a
defense
a death
a gift
a loss
a
marriag
e
practice
pretense
proof
safety
a sight
a
speech
a
success
a
thought

Verb
(dis)belie
ve
choose

Adjective
(un)believa
ble
chosen

(un)believably

defend

defensive

defensively

die
give
lose

dead/deadly
lost

deadly
-

marry

(un)married

practise
pretend
(dis)prov
e
save
see

practising
-

(un)proven

(un)safe
unseen

safely
-

speak

(un)spoken

(un)success
ful
thoughtful/l
ess

(un)successfull
y
thoughtfully/le
ssly

succeed
think

Adverb

Write the correct form of the word in brackets to complete these sentences.
1.

The flowers are

2.

You have no

3.

Their

poisonous - don't eat them! (DIE)

- you must do it. (CHOOSE)
was a very happy one. (MARRY)

FCE READING & USE OF ENGLISH PART 3 WORD FORMATION

4.

You need to do some more

of this grammar. (PRACTISE)

5.

We don't have any

6.

She's really

7.

The company made a

8.

I stared at him in

9.

Your parents really care about your

10.

The politician's

11.

We tried to keep up the

12.

I need to get a

13.

I'm really sorry. You were

14.

He lost his

15.

He's really selfish and

that he committed the crime. (PROVE)

about her new haircut.(DEFEND)
on their new product. (LOSE)
. (BELIEVE)
. (SAVE)

really made me think about the issues. (SPEAK)

that everything was OK. (PRETEND)
for my parents' wedding anniverary. (GIVE)
in your job application. (SUCCEED)

in the accident (SEE)

. (THINK)

FCE READING & USE OF ENGLISH PART 3 WORD FORMATION

FCE (First Certificate)

Word Formation: Adjectives with -ful/-less
Most adjectives which end in -ful make the negative with -less. But, not all. Note also that we can make adverbs from these
adjectives with -fully or -lessly. For example, carefully and carelessly. This is a list of key words which might appear in the FCE
exam.
Look at the information in the table for 1-2 minutes and try to remember the words. Then click below to hide the information
and try to answer the questions at the bottom.
The words in this table all use -ful and -less to make the adjectives. The adjectives in this table take -ful or -less, but not both.

Noun
care
harm
help
hope
pain
power
use
thought
taste

Verb
care
harm
help
hope
pain
power
use
think
taste

Adjective
careful/careless
harmful/harmless
(un)helpful/helpless
hopeful/hopeless
painful/painless
powerful/powerless
useful/useless
thoughtful/thoughtless
tasteful/tasteless

Write the correct adjective or adverb for each of these

questions. You will need to use -ful/-less or -fully/-lessly. Some
answers will also need un-.
1.
What a lovely present! That was very
of

2.

you. (THINK)
He drives really

Noun
count
end
home
peace
play
price
success
truth
worth

Verb
Adjective
count
countless/countable
end
endless
homeless
peaceful
play
playful
price
priceless
succeed
(un)successful
(un)truthful/(un)true
worth
worthless

- one day he's going to have an accident. (CARE)

3.

He's told me

times about how good he is at football. (COUNT)

4.

Because of his bad interview, he was

in his job application. (SUCCEED)

5.

"I didn't eat your chocolate," she said

, hiding the empty wrapper. (TRUE)

6.

It's

7.

My best friend is a rich,

8.

You must remember to recharge your phone. Without its batteries, it's

9.

Cigarettes are

10.

The sales assistant was really

and rude. (HELP)

11.

A newborn baby is completely

. (HELP)

12.

"Don't worry - this injection will be completely

. England will never win the World Cup football again. (HOPE)
lawyer. (POWER)
. (USE)

to your health. (HARM)

. (PAIN)

10

FCE READING & USE OF ENGLISH PART 3 WORD FORMATION

13.

Thieves broke into the museum and stole a

painting by Van Gogh. (PRICE)

14.

She's really rich, but her clothes are always very

15.

I bought some shares in the company 5 years ago, but unfortunately now they are

16.

His speech went on

and elegant. (TASTE)

. (WORTH)

. I thought he'd never stop talking. (END)

11

FCE READING & USE OF ENGLISH PART 3 WORD FORMATION

FCE (First Certificate)

Word Formation: height, width ...
The word formation part of the FCE use of English exam often tests adjectives such as 'short', 'wide', 'dark' and their nouns and
verbs. Here is a list of some of the more common adjectives and their forms.

Adjective
deep
high
wide
long
short
large
low
tight
loose
strong
weak
dark
bright

Noun
depth
height
weight
width
length
shortage (= not enough)
shortness (= not tall)
enlargement
tightness
looseness
strength
weakness
darkness
dark
brightness

Verb
deepen
heighten
weigh
widen
lengthen
shorten
enlarge
lower
tighten
loosen
strengthen
weaken
darken
brighten

Write the correct form of the word in brackets to complete these sentences.
1.

Normally I prefer tall men, but my husband's

2.

The news report covered the economic crisis in

3.

A healthy diet will

4.

If they

5.

I think I'll

6.

The airport has

7.

I do yoga to

8.

There is a water

9.

The moment I left work I

10.

When I

11.

The

12.

I'm afraid of

isn't a problem. (SHORT)

. (DEEP)

your life expectancy. (LONG)

this road, there would be fewer accidents. (WIDE)
this photograph. (LARGE)
security at passport control. (TIGHT)
my back. (STRONG)
nearly every summer in the south of England. (SHORT)
my tie and started to relax. (LOOSE)

myself, I found out I'd lost 10kg! (WEIGHT)

of my computer screen gives me a headache. (BRIGHT)
so I couldn't live on the 10th floor. (HIGH)

12

FCE READING & USE OF ENGLISH PART 3 WORD FORMATION

13.

The lights went out and the room was plunged into

14.

I'm afraid of the

15.

The government are going to

16.

His long illness has

. (DARK)

so I sleep with the lights on. (DARKEN)

the legal drinking age to 18. (LOW)
him. (WEAK)

13