Word formation: the suffix -ty and the prefixes dis-, il-

🔊 The teacher reads for you

Honest, dishonest, honesty: three words, one family. With a few letters, English turns an adjective into a noun, or a word into its opposite — and the vocabulary of fraud and counterfeiting is full of such words: illegal copies, dishonest traders, a lack of responsibility. So which letters do you add — and where?

🎓في نهاية هذا الدرس ستكون قادرا على:

تكوين أسماء من صفات باللاحقة ⁦-ty⁩ (وغالبا ⁦-ity⁩)، مثل ⁦hospitable → hospitality⁩
تكوين الأضداد بالسابقتين ⁦dis-⁩ و ⁦il-⁩، وبأخواتهما ⁦im-, ir-, un-⁩
اختيار السابقة المناسبة لكلّ كلمة، ومراعاة تغيّر الإملاء عند إضافة اللاحقة
استعمال الكلمات المكوَّنة في نصّ عن الغشّ والتقليد

🔑يفترض هذا الدرس أنّك تتقن:

أقسام الكلمة: الفعل والاسم والصفة
السابقتان ⁦de-⁩ و ⁦dis-⁩ لتكوين الأضداد
الاسم المجرّد

1. From adjective to noun: the suffix -ty

اللاحقة ⁦-ty⁩، وغالبا ⁦-ity⁩، تصنع من الصفة اسما مجرّدا يدلّ على صفة أو حالة، مثل ⁦hospitable → hospitality⁩.

A suffix added to an adjective can turn it into a noun: « hospitable → hospitality ». The suffix -ty, very often -ity, makes such nouns. They name a quality or a state: they are abstract nouns. Watch the spelling: the end of the adjective can change when the suffix is added, as in hospitable → hospitality.

Form nouns from these adjectives by adding the right suffix

hospitablehoneststupidresponsiblecruelmorallegal

Task 1 — the nouns

كوّن من كلّ صفة اسما بإضافة اللاحقة المناسبة.

Adjective	Noun
hospitable	hospitality
honest	honesty
stupid	stupidity
responsible	responsibility
cruel	cruelty
moral	morality
legal	legality

All seven nouns end in -ty; five of them in -ity. Notice the spelling changes: hospitable → hospitality, responsible → responsibility.

2. Opposites: dis-, il- and their relatives

السابقة المنفية تصنع ضدّ الكلمة دون أن تغيّر قسمها: ⁦dis-⁩ و ⁦il-⁩، وأخواتهما ⁦im-, ir-, un-⁩. ولكلّ كلمة سابقتها.

A negative prefix added to a word forms its opposite, and the word keeps its class: « honest → dishonest », « legal → illegal ». Besides dis- and il-, other negative prefixes do the same job — im-, ir-, un-. Each word takes its own prefix: that is why the prefix is learnt together with the word.

Form the opposites of these words by adding the right prefix

honest (adj)approve (v)agree (v)approval (n)legal (adj)moral (adj)fair (adj)responsible (adj)appear (v)

Task 2 — the opposites

كوّن ضدّ كلّ كلمة بإضافة السابقة المناسبة.

Word	Opposite	Prefix
honest (adj)	dishonest	dis-
approve (v)	disapprove	dis-
agree (v)	disagree	dis-
approval (n)	disapproval	dis-
appear (v)	disappear	dis-
legal (adj)	illegal	il-
moral (adj)	immoral	im-
responsible (adj)	irresponsible	ir-
fair (adj)	unfair	un-

Look at the first letter of these words: legal takes il-, moral takes im-, responsible takes ir-. And the class never changes: a verb stays a verb (disagree), a noun a noun (disapproval), an adjective an adjective (unfair).

3. The new words in a text

لاختيار الكلمة المناسبة انظر إلى ما يسبق الفراغ: بعد الفعل ⁦be⁩ صفة، وبعد ⁦a lack of⁩ اسم، وبعد الفاعل فعل.

Fill in the blanks with the words you have formed in tasks 1 and 2.

It is both …(1) and …(2) to imitate products. Piracy is due mainly to a lack of …(3) and …(4). I totally …(5) with those who say that counterfeiting is beneficial to consumers.

Task 3 — the answers, and the clue for each

انظر إلى الكلمة التي تسبق كلّ فراغ: هل تنتظر صفة أم اسما أم فعلا؟

(1) illegal and (2) immoral (or dishonest) — two adjectives after « It is both … and … »: imitating products is against the law and against morals.
(3) honesty and (4) morality (or responsibility) — two nouns after « a lack of ».
(5) disagree — a verb after « I totally »: the writer rejects the idea that counterfeiting is good for consumers.

Do this alone, in writing. Write three sentences about counterfeiting or fraud, using one noun in -ty and two opposites formed with dis-, il-, im-, ir- or un-. Then check: is each new word in the right class for its place in the sentence?

اكتب وحدك ثلاث جمل عن الغشّ أو التقليد، فيها اسم منتهٍ بـ ⁦-ty⁩ وضدّان مكوَّنان بسابقة منفية.

A model answer

Selling copies of famous perfumes is illegal. A company that sells fake medicines is irresponsible: it puts people's lives in danger. Consumers expect honesty from traders.

In the exam, word formation is tested in a chart to complete or in opposites to form. Before you write, ask which class the word must have. Have three things ready: ① adjective + -ty or -ity → abstract noun (honesty, responsibility); ② dis-, il-, im-, ir-, un- → opposite, the class unchanged; ③ the right prefix for the right word: dishonest, illegal, immoral, irresponsible, unfair. The frequent mistake is to put any prefix on any word — « unlegal », « dismoral »: each word takes its own.

What I keep — -ty, very often -ity, turns an adjective into an abstract noun: honest → honesty, responsible → responsibility, hospitable → hospitality. A negative prefix turns a word into its opposite without changing its class: dishonest, disagree, illegal, immoral, irresponsible, unfair. Each word takes its own prefix: I learn the two together.

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