Negative Prefixes- Word Formation Jigsaw

Negative prefixes word formation jigsaw games

Instructions for teachers

Photocopy one pack of cards per group of two or three students. Cut the left-hand (prefix) cards off, splitting the words into two columns. Leave the right-hand (root words) columns like that, without cutting them up any further, but cut the left-hand cards up further so that there are at least two or three prefixes on each card. For groups who will find the activity difficult, you can cut them into bigger groups of four or more prefixes on one card. Don’t cut them into individual prefix cards (as is usually done with card games).

Perhaps after asking students to guess what negative prefixes could come before each word, ask them to match the prefixes and words, like a kind of jigsaw puzzle. If they get stuck, you can:

• Ask them to try to spot patterns and use that to help with any that they are not sure about
• Give them a couple of key answers
• Get them to listen to all the answers without touching the cards, then try again from what they can remember of what you said

Let them check their answers with an un-cut-up copy of the worksheet.

If the vocabulary on the sheets in useful for your students more generally, you could do the word formation task after the grammar presentation, filling in different versions of each word in the gap given.

Before or after they do the grammar presentation sheet, you can get them to test each other by:

• Reading out a group of words with the same negative prefix missing until their partner remembers what the missing negative prefix is
• Reading out two words with different negative prefixes missing for their partner to complete (in different ways)
• Reading out a word and seeing if their partner can remember the negative prefix
• Reading out a negative prefix and helping their partner add as many suitable words as they can

 

Cards to cut up – CPE Use of English Part Three word formation version

un	acknowledged
dis	advantageous
in	capability
in	capable
un	certain
un	certainty
dis	comfort
un	conditional
non	conformist
un	critically
in	decisive
un	deniable
un	drinkable
in	finite
in	flexible
in	flexibility
de	humidify
un	intended
dis	interested
un	interested
un	just
in	justice
un	licensed
un	likelihood
un	likely
il	legal
il	liberal
im	material
im	mature
im	maturity
un	memorable
a	moral
im	moral
in	numerate
im	patience
im	patient
un	pleasant
dis	pleased
im	possibility
im	possible
im	practical
im	probability
im	probable
un	punctual
ir	regular
ir	regularity
un	reliability
un	reliable
ir	responsible
a	sexual
in	significance
in	significant
non	smoker
in	stability
un	stable
a	symmetrical
in	voluntary

 

Academic vocabulary word formation version

in	accurate
in	accuracy
in	adequate
in	adequacy
un	affected
un	aided
un	ambiguous
un	anticipated
un	attainable
un	biased
in	coherent
in	coherence
in	compatible
in	compatibility
non	conformist
non	conformism
in	consistency
in	consistent
un	constitutionality
in	flexible
in	flexibility
un	just
in	justice
un	justifiable
il	legal
il	legality
il	liberal
dis	locate
dis	location
il	logical
im	mature
im	maturity
im	material
un	modified
ab	normal
ab	normality
im	precise
im	precision
im	probable
im	probability
un	professional
un	professionalism
dis	proportionate
dis	proportionality
ir	rational
ir	rationality
ir	relevant
ir	relevance
un	reliable
un	reliability
un	stable
in	stability
in	sufficient
in	sufficiency
un	sustainable
un	sustainability

 

Negative prefixes grammar presentation 

Which are the top two most common negative prefixes on the cards?

 

Which kinds of words (= part of speech, e.g. adverb) does dis- usually go with? Which of those kinds of words rarely goes with the two most common negative prefixes that you talked about in the previous question above?

 

Which letter usually comes after ir-? Does that letter always have ir- in front of it, or are there examples of different negative prefixes followed by that letter?

 

Which letter usually comes after il-? Does that letter always have il- in front of it, or are there examples of different negative prefixes followed by that letter?

 

Which two different letters usually come after im-? Do those letters always have im- in front of them, or are there examples of different negative prefixes followed by those letters?

 

When there are two different parts of speech of the same word, e.g. a similar noun and adjective, do they usually have the same opposite prefixes or different negative prefixes? Is that always the case?

 

When there are two different negative prefixes with the same word (e.g. “immoral”/ “amoral” and “uninterested”/ “disinterested”), do they usually have the same meaning or different meanings?

 

Different parts of speech word formation practice – CPE version

acknowledgment  (noun)	(adjective)
advantage (noun)	(adjective)
capable (adjective)	(noun)
certain (adjective)	(noun)
condition (noun)	(adjective)
conformist (noun – person)	(noun – not person)
criticism (noun)	(adverb)
decision (noun)	(adjective)
deny (verb)	(adjective)
flexible (adjective)	(noun)
humid (adjective)	(verb)
intention (noun)	(adjective)
just (adjective)	(noun)
likely (adjective)	(noun)
mature (adjective)	(noun)
memory (noun)	(adjective)
patient (adjective)	(noun)
please (verb)	(adjective x 2)
possible (adjective)	(noun)
probable (adjective)	(noun)
regular (adjective)	(noun)
reliable (adjective)	(noun)

 

Different parts of speech word formation practice – Academic vocabulary version

accurate (adjective)	(noun)
adequate (adj.)	(n.)
ambiguity (n.)	(adj.)
attain (v.)	(adj.)
bias (n.)	(adj.)
coherent (adj.)	(n.)
compatible (adj.)	(n.)
conformism (n.)	(n. – person)
consistent (adj.)	(n.)
flexible (adj.)	(n.)
justice (n.)	(adj. x 2)
legal (adj.)	(n.)
logic (n.)	(adj.)
mature (adj.)	(n.)
normal (adj.)	(n.)
precise (adj.)	(n.)
probable (adj.)	(n.)
professional (adj.)	(n.)
rational (adj.)	(n.)
relevance (n.)	(adj.)
rely (v.)	(adj.)
stability (n.)	(adj.)