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.
Look at the information in the table for 1 minute and try to remember the words. Then click below to hide
the information and try to answer the questions at the bottom.
un-

in

dis-

inaccurate
unexpected unaware
inappropriate
unbelievable
inefficient incapable
unknown unable
ineffective
ilirillegal illiterate
illogical illegible

im-

disapprove dislike
disagree disbelief
dishonest

improbable
impossible impolite
imperfect impatient

mismisbehave
irregular irresponsible
misunderstand
irrational irregular
misspell misuse

-less
careless harmless
helpless endless

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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

(HONEST)

I thought he was crazy. (BELIEVE)

3. She looked at him in

when he told her the shocking news. (BELIEVE)

4. Many people are

of the dangers of mobile phones. (AWARE)

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

to say no. (POLITE)

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

12. He waited

me. (UNDERSTAND)
. I promise he won't bite. (HARM)

- he didn't recover. (EFFECT)

10. His answers were very

11. It's

. (LITERATE)

so he failed the Maths exam. (ACCURATE)

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

for the train. (PATIENT)

13. It's

to smoke in public places nowadays. (LEGAL)

14. I would never teach children. They always

. (BEHAVE)

15. The shirt he's wearing is completely

16. His speech was

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.
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.
Noun

Verb

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

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

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

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

form. (APPLY)

today. (DECIDE)

of the grammar was very unclear. (EXPLAIN)

4. We had a long

about our problems. (DISCUSS)

5. Students must have their parent's

to come on the trip. (PERMIT)

6. He is still in hospital, recovering from his

7. I entered a bowling
8. My children never show

. (OPERATE)

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

9. I can't come up with a

10. The

to this problem. (SOLVE)

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

11. You need a lot of

for this job. (QUALIFY)

12. When I lived abroad, I found the

13. The

from my family very difficult. (SEPARATE)

of the new flats is nearly finished. (CONSTRUCT)

14. We don't want a

of the violence at last year's football match. (REPEAT)

15. The police are conducting an

16. I gave the police a
17. It wasn't my
18. We are making

into the murder. (INVESTIGATE)

of the thief. (DESCRIBE)

to offend you. (INTEND)

for the wedding. (PREPARE)

19. I've just had a very interesting

with your sister. (CONVERSE)

20. You can try our product for free, with no

to buy it. (OBLIGE)

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.
Noun (-ence)
evidence
existence
(in)dependence
difference
intelligence
(dis)obedience
excellence
silence
violence
innocence
occurrence
(im)patience

Adjective
evident
existing
(in)dependent
different
intelligent
(dis)obedient
excellent
silent
violent
innocent
(im)patient

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

Adjective

Verb

Noun (-ance)
attendance
attendant (person)
assistance
assistant (person)
(dis)appearance
distance
(un)importance
acceptance
reassurance
(ir)relevance
(in)significance

to attend

to assist

apparent
distant
(un)important
accepting
reassured
(ir)relevant
(in)significant

to (dis)appear
accept
to reassure
to signify

Note: I have only given the more common words here. There are other forms (for example, it is possible to
use "to evidence something" as a verb) but these are less common.

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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.

1. Unfortunately, accidents are a common

2. It's difficult to believe in the

along this road. (OCCUR)

of aliens. (EXIST)

3. The police are looking for

of the attack. (EVIDENT)

4. She thinks everyone hates her and needs

5. Scientist believe that the mysterious
6. What's the best punishment for a

from her friends all the time. (REASSURE)

of millions of bees is due to disease. (APPEAR)
teenager? (OBEY)

7. What he said was true, but it was completely

8. 100%

. (RELEVANCE)

is necessary to pass this course. (ATTEND)

9. I'm the only person who believes in his

10. There are three shop

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

over there - you should ask one of them for help. (ASSIST)

11. Some people think that if you enjoy your job, the salary is
(IMPORTANCE)
12. I'm excited because I've just got a letter of
13. Cats are extremely
14. You need a lot of

, but I love money!

from Cambridge University! (ACCEPT)

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

if you want to work with children. (PATIENT)

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.
Noun
(dis)belief
a choice
a defense
a death
a gift
a loss
a marriage
practice
pretense
proof
safety
a sight

Verb
(dis)believe
choose
defend
die
give
lose
marry
practise
pretend
(dis)prove
save
see

Adjective
(un)believable
chosen
defensive
dead/deadly
lost
(un)married
practising
(un)proven
(un)safe
unseen

Adverb
(un)believably
defensively
deadly
safely
-

a speech
a success
a thought

speak
succeed
think

(un)spoken
(un)successful
thoughtful/less

(un)successfully
thoughtfully/lessly

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

poisonous - don't eat them! (DIE)

2. You have no

- you must do it. (CHOOSE)

3. Their

was a very happy one. (MARRY)

4. You need to do some more

5. We don't have any

of this grammar. (PRACTISE)

that he committed the crime. (PROVE)

6. She's really

about her new haircut.(DEFEND)

7. The company made a

on their new product. (LOSE)

8. I stared at him in

. (BELIEVE)

9. Your parents really care about your

10. The politician's

. (SAVE)

really made me think about the issues. (SPEAK)

11. We tried to keep up the

12. I need to get a

that everything was OK. (PRETEND)

for my parents' wedding anniverary. (GIVE)

13. I'm really sorry. You were

14. He lost his

in your job application. (SUCCEED)

in the accident (SEE)

15. He's really selfish and

. (THINK)

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.
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

The adjectives in this table take -ful or -less, but not both.
Noun
count
end
home
peace
play
price
success
truth
worth

Verb

Adjective

count
end
play
price
succeed
worth

countless/countable
endless
homeless
peaceful
playful
priceless
(un)successful
(un)truthful/(un)true
worthless

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
2. He drives really
3. He's told me

of you. (THINK)

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

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

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

7. My best friend is a rich,

lawyer. (POWER)

8. You must remember to recharge your phone. Without its batteries, it's
9. Cigarettes are

. (USE)

to your health. (HARM)

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

13. Thieves broke into the museum and stole a
14. She's really rich, but her clothes are always very

. (PAIN)
painting by Van Gogh. (PRICE)
and elegant. (TASTE)

15. I bought some shares in the company 5 years ago, but unfortunately now they are
(WORTH)
16. His speech went on

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

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.

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.

Adjective

Noun

deep
high
wide
long

Verb

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

short
large
low
tight
loose
strong
weak
dark
bright

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

. (DEEP)

your life expectancy. (LONG)

this road, there would be fewer accidents. (WIDE)

5. I think I'll

this photograph. (LARGE)

6. The airport has

security at passport control. (TIGHT)

7. I do yoga to

my back. (STRONG)

8. There is a water

nearly every summer in the south of England. (SHORT)

9. The moment I left work I

10. When I
11. The

isn't a problem. (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)

12. I'm afraid of

so I couldn't live on the 10th floor. (HIGH)

13. The lights went out and the room was plunged into
14. I'm afraid of the

so I sleep with the lights on. (DARKEN)

15. The government are going to

16. His long illness has

. (DARK)

the legal drinking age to 18. (LOW)

him. (WEAK)

Look at the information in the table for 1 minute and try to remember the words. Then click below to hide
the information and try to answer the questions at the bottom.
enenlarge
enable

-ify
beautify
clarify

-ise
televise
advise

-en
widen
lengthen

entrust
enrage
ensure
endanger

deepen
shorten
tighten
brighten
darken
weaken
strengthen

organise
specialise
prioritise
criminalise
apologise

specify
identify
terrify
purify

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

in genetics. (SPECIAL)

3. This photograph is too small. Can you

it for me? (LARGE)

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

it? (CLEAR)

5. My electronic dictionary

me to listen to the pronunciation of new words. (ABLE)

6. He loves insects. He can

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

my love for him. (STRONG)

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

10. His speech was too long. He should have

11. He always thinks he's right. He never
12. I think the government should

15. The film "The Ring"

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

alcohol. (CRIMINAL)

13. Thank you for the flowers. They really

14. The burglar

it. (WIDTH)

up the room. (BRIGHT)

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

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

16. The government's plans for the hospitals will

thousands of lives. (DANGER)