Word-building

There are no rules to say which words have -er or -or or -ist etc. You have to look in a dictionary.

teacher, builder, waiter, manager, driver, doctor, editor, actor. artist. chemist, journalist. tourist. shop assistant. civil servant. accountant. travel agent. student. president.

Words in -man refer to men; words in -woman or -ess refer to women; other words refer to both men and women, e.g. teacher, doctor, student. But we can say, e.g. a woman teacher, women doctors, a male nurse, a female student.

policeman, postman, milkman, salesman, chairman. policewoman, postwoman, salesperson (=salesman/saleswoman). chairperson. actress, waitress, princess.

We often use a noun like an adjective by putting it in front of another noun.

Sometimes the two nouns are written as one compound word or with a hyphen.

The first noun is nearly always singular,

e.g. a shoe shop (a shop that sells shoes).

a shoe shop

a shop that sells shoes.

a bus-driver

a person who drives a bus.

a London theatre

a theatre in London.

a bedroom

a room with a bed.

a stone wall.

a wall made of stone.

an egg sandwich.

a sandwich with egg in it.

the river bank.

the bank of the river.

Some more examples:

police-car. bicycle factory. youth club. pocket-money. school-bus. bank robber. film star. Christmas present. January sales. evening meal. housework. paper bag. gold watch. orange juice. garden gate. table leg. kitchen door. girl-friend.

greenhouse and waiting room are compound nouns. The stress is on the first part of the compound.

I grow tomatoes in the greenhouse. We sat in the waiting room.

Some other examples:

high school. grandfather. shorthand. hot dog. drinking water. riding lesson. playing-field. washing-machine. shopping bag.

Most nouns formed from verbs have of before the object, but some nouns have other prepositions after them.

e.g. the building of the new university. an attack on the government, a change in/of policy.

give → giving. make → making etc.

The building of the new university will begin next month.

same word for verb and noun (attack, change etc.).

The promise of more money for schools has pleased teachers.

communicate → communication, suggest → suggestion, produce → production etc.

The discussion of our economic problems was very interesting.

move → movement, develop → development etc.

The employment of 3,000 people will be a great help to the area.

The noun in the compound is always singular. e.g. stamp-collecting (=collecting stamps).

One of his hobbies is stamp-collecting. Letter-writing is a job I don't enjoy. I like sunbathing. Is water-skiing difficult?

The noun in the compound is always singular, e.g. a vote-winning policy (= a policy that wins votes).

Britain is an oil-producing country. Reducing taxes is a vote-winning policy. Are the British hard-working enough?

We normally use a hyphen in a compound adjective, especially when it comes before a noun.

Mrs Johnson always looks well dressed. She's the fair-haired woman, isn't she? You've got a very badly paid job.

The noun in the compound is always singular, e.g. a two-car familly (= a family with two cars).

They are a two-car family. It's a fifteen-minute drive to Glasgow.

We can only use a compound adjective with a number before a noun.

Mr Gould is a forty-year-old businessman. There was a three-foot-deep hole in the road.

We use a prefix to change or add to the meaning of a word.

Here are some examples:

We can sometimes use un-, in-, im-, ir-, il-, dis-, or non- to make an opposite.

The story is untrue. It was a very informal meeting. I disagree with you. Let's find a non-smoker.

under = not enough

Most workers here are underpaid.

re = again

You can re-use these envelopes.

mis = wrongly

I must have miscounted the money.

pre = before

Those were pre-war days.

sub = below.

These shoes are substandard.

pro = on the side of.

The government is pro-Catholic.

multi = many.

Try the multi-storey car park.

semi = half.

We all sat in a semi-circle.