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Word formation. Synonyms and Antonyms; Homophones

Word Formation:

Word formation refers to the process of creating new words or forming words from existing ones. There are several ways in which words can be formed. Here are some common processes of word formation:

  1. Prefixation: Adding a prefix to the beginning of a word to create a new word. For example, adding “un-” to the word “happy” forms the word “unhappy.”
  2. Suffixation: Adding a suffix to the end of a word to create a new word. For example, adding “-er” to the word “teach” forms the word “teacher.”
  3. Compounding: Combining two or more words to form a new word. For example, combining “rain” and “bow” forms the word “rainbow.”
  4. Conversion: Changing the part of speech of a word without adding any affixes. For example, the noun “email” can be converted into the verb “email” without any changes.
  5. Clipping: Shortening a word by removing one or more syllables. For example, “advertisement” can be clipped to “ad” or “gymnasium” can be clipped to “gym.”
  6. Acronyms: Forming a word from the initial letters of a series of words. For example, “NASA” stands for “National Aeronautics and Space Administration.”
  7. Blending: Combining parts of two words to create a new word. For example, blending “breakfast” and “lunch” forms the word “brunch.”

Synonyms and Antonyms:

Synonyms are words that have similar or identical meanings, while antonyms are words that have opposite meanings. Here are examples of synonyms and antonyms:

Synonyms:

  • Happy, joyful, delighted
  • Big, large, huge
  • Beautiful, attractive, stunning
  • Brave, courageous, fearless
  • Start, begin, commence

Antonyms:

  • Happy, sad
  • Big, small
  • Beautiful, ugly
  • Brave, cowardly
  • Start, end

Homophones:

Homophones are words that sound the same but have different meanings and may be spelled differently. Here are some examples of homophones:

  • There, their, they’re
  • To, two, too
  • Here, hear
  • Your, you’re
  • Piece, peace

It’s important to note the context in which homophones are used to ensure proper understanding and to avoid confusion.