Word formation: ESL lesson plans and exercises

Q: What is word formation in English?

Making new words with prefixes, suffixes and compounds. A prefix goes at the front ( read → reread ), a suffix at the end ( danger → dangerous ), and a compound joins words into one ( a two-day ride ). Knowing the patterns, learners can work out a new word from its parts and choose the form a gap needs, such as unaffordable or depth .

Q: What are prefixes and suffixes?

Parts added at the start or end of a word. A prefix comes first and usually changes the meaning: mis- means wrongly ( misspell ), re- again ( rewrite ), un- not ( unfair ). A suffix comes last and often makes a new kind of word: -ize , -ify and -en make verbs ( standardize , simplify , widen ), and -ful or -less make adjectives ( helpful , useless ).

Q: What are adjective suffixes?

Endings that turn verbs and nouns into adjectives. Common ones are -able or -ible ( affordable , accessible ), -al ( practical ), -ful ( helpful ), -less ( useless ), -ive ( creative ) and -ous ( famous ). Watch the spelling: the final e usually drops before -ous ( fame → famous ) but stays before -ful ( care → careful ), and a y after a consonant becomes i ( rely → reliable ).

Q: What are compound adjectives?

Two or three hyphenated words that act as one adjective. Before a noun, they replace a longer phrase: a plane that weighs 70 pounds is a 70-pound plane . Number compounds lose the plural -s ( a three-week trip , not a three-weeks trip ). With participles, the past participle is passive ( a solar-powered boat ) and -ing is active ( a long-lasting battery ).

Q: What is nominalization?

Turning a verb or an adjective into a noun. Size adjectives have noun partners ( deep → depth , wide → width , high → height ), the verb weigh gives weight , and phrasal verbs give nouns such as a setback or the outcome . Before of , only the noun fits: at a depth of 1,250 feet , not at a deep of 1,250 feet .

Q: How do I teach word formation to B2 students?

One pattern at a time, with its spelling and stress. English B2.1 on edio.ai covers verbs with prefixes and suffixes, then nouns like depth and compound adjectives; English B2.2 adds adjective suffixes with negative prefixes, and nouns from phrasal verbs. Build word families on the board ( afford , affordable , unaffordable ) and say new words aloud, since stress can move: the team came BACK , but what a COMEback .

Q: What are good word formation games and activities?

Games that make students change a word to fit. Try word-family chains ( use , useful , useless ), a race to give opposites ( possible → impossible ), or a round where teams describe things in the room with compound adjectives ( a three-foot table ). For speaking, every lesson on this page has a chat to complete and a game: Spin the wheel, Open the box or a memory game.

Q: Are there interactive word formation exercises?

Yes: try the word formation exercises above. Each lesson holds the full set, with gap-fills, drag-and-drop, tables to complete and quizzes on prefixes, suffixes and compounds. Students do them in their own edio.ai accounts, and each answer is checked the moment they give it. A free trial unlocks every lesson in the library.

Q: Can I use these word formation lessons one-to-one or as homework?

Yes, with one student live or between classes. In a live session, your student opens the lesson in their own account and moves through it in sync with you, and the chat and game need only the two of you. Set as homework, the drills check themselves, and you can look through the student's answers before the next class.

Levels B2 to C1 5 lesson plans · 1 drill lesson Exercises that check themselves

Word formation is how English makes new words from ones learners already know: spell becomes misspell, afford becomes unaffordable, deep becomes depth and come back becomes a comeback. This page collects 5 ready-made word formation lessons for B2 learners from the edio.ai library, all in American English. Play exercises from them, see the patterns in their grammar schemes, and choose a lesson from the list. Every lesson is interactive, with practice exercises that check themselves and a speaking chapter.

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Word formation lesson plans and drills

5 lesson plans and 1 drill lesson, B2 to C1. Lesson plans are whole lessons with reading, listening and speaking; drill lessons are 46 self-checking exercises with no new words.

Try the word formation exercises

One exercise from each of 6 lessons. These are the same exercises your students do in edio.

Word formation explained

Word formation helps learners guess a new word from its parts and pick the form a sentence needs: a verb, an adjective, its opposite or a noun. A prefix usually changes the meaning (read → misread), while a suffix usually changes the part of speech (wide → widen). Joining words gives compound adjectives such as a 70-pound plane, and phrasal verbs give one-word nouns such as a setback.

Prefixes and suffixes that make verbs

A prefix keeps the verb but changes its meaning: mis- means wrongly, re- again, over- too much and under- not enough. The suffixes -ize, -ify and -en mean make it, and build verbs from adjectives or nouns: modernize, simplify, shorten.

Prefixes: the same verb, a new meaning

Prefix	Meaning	Verbs	For example
mis-	wrongly	misspell, misunderstand, misread, mispronounce, mishear	misspell a name
re-	again	rewrite, reread, reopen, redo, rebuild	rewrite a headline
over-	too much, too long	overuse, overcook, oversleep, overestimate	overuse a word
under-	not enough, too little	underestimate, undercook, underuse	underestimate a job

Suffixes: a new verb from an adjective or a noun

Suffix	Meaning	Word → verb
-ize	make it …	standard → standardize, modern → modernize, popular → popularize
-ify	make it …	simple → simplify, clear → clarify, pure → purify
-en	make it (more) …	short → shorten, wide → widen, weak → weaken, strength → strengthen

From the lesson Why do Americans write “color”? (English B2.1)

Adjective suffixes, then a negative prefix

Suffixes such as -able, -ful, -less and -ous turn a verb or a noun into an adjective, and a prefix makes its opposite: afford → affordable → unaffordable. Un- is the most common, and im-, il- and ir- are forms of in-: impossible, illegal, irregular.

Suffixes: from a verb or noun to an adjective

Suffix	It often means…	Examples
-able / -ible	can be done	afford → affordable, rely → reliable, access → accessible
-al	connected with	practice → practical, agriculture → agricultural, nation → national
-ful	full of, with a lot of	help → helpful, care → careful, beauty → beautiful
-less	without	care → careless, use → useless, speech → speechless
-ive	doing or tending to do	create → creative, attract → attractive, exclude → exclusive
-ous	full of, having	danger → dangerous, fame → famous, mystery → mysterious

Negative prefixes: the opposite

Prefix	When?	Examples
un-	the most common one	unaffordable, unusable, unfair, unusual
in-	with many words: learn them	inaccessible, inexpensive, incorrect
im-	before m and p	impossible, impractical, impatient
il-	before l	illegal, illogical
ir-	before r	irregular, irresponsible, irreplaceable
dis-	with some words: learn them	dishonest, disloyal, disrespectful

From the lesson College for farmers' kids? (English B2.2)

Nouns from adjectives: depth, width, height

Size adjectives have noun partners: deep → depth, wide → width, long → length, thick → thickness. The adjective follows a number (twelve feet deep), while the noun often comes with of or in: a depth of twelve feet, ten feet in width.

Adjective / verb	Noun	With the adjective or verb	With the noun
deep	depth	The pool is twelve feet deep.	The pool has a depth of twelve feet.
wide	width	The boat is ten feet wide.	It's ten feet in width.
high / tall	height	The coral was about five feet tall.	It was about five feet in height.
long	length	The sharks were 18 inches long.	They were 18 inches in length.
thick	thickness	The glass is three inches thick.	It has a thickness of three inches.
weigh (a verb)	weight	The tank weighs 35 pounds.	Its weight is 35 pounds.

From the lesson A walk on the ocean floor (English B2.1)

Compound adjectives with numbers and participles

Before a noun, two or three hyphenated words work as one adjective, and a number compound has no plural -s: a 70-pound plane. A past participle gives a passive meaning (a human-powered plane), and -ing an active one (a record-breaking flight).

Number + noun: one adjective, no -s

Before a noun	The same idea in a sentence
a 70-pound plane	The plane weighed 70 pounds.
a 96-foot wingspan	The wings measured 96 feet from tip to tip.
a 21-year-old student	The student is 21 years old.
a two-day ride	The ride takes two days.
a 20-mile route	The route is 20 miles long.
a 27-minute film	The film lasts 27 minutes.

Participles: -ed (passive) or -ing (active)

Pattern	Examples	Meaning
noun + past participle	a human-powered plane, a solar-powered boat, a hand-built canoe	passive meaning: it is powered by a human or by the sun; it was built by hand
well + past participle	a well-known pilot, a well-designed wing, a well-trained racer	passive meaning: many people know her; someone designed it well
noun + -ing	a record-breaking flight, an energy-saving design	active meaning: it breaks a record; it saves energy
long / slow / hard + -ing	a long-lasting battery, a slow-moving plane, a hard-working team	active meaning: it lasts a long time; it moves slowly; they work hard

From the lesson Flying on pedal power (English B2.1)

Nouns from phrasal verbs: comeback, setback, outcome

Many phrasal verbs have a one-word noun partner: come back → a comeback, break down → a breakdown. The particle usually stays last, but a few nouns put it first: come out → the outcome, bring up → upbringing.

The particle goes last

Phrasal verb	Noun	Example
come back	a comeback (a return to success)	Thorpe's comeback in the record books took 110 years.
set back	a setback (a problem that slows you down)	Losing his titles was a huge setback.
break through	a breakthrough (a big step forward)	The breakthrough came in 2022.
turn out (come to an event)	the turnout (how many people came)	The turnout for the opening was high.
line up	a lineup (the players or events, in order)	The coach changed the starting lineup.
take off	takeoff (a plane leaving the ground)	Please stay in your seat during takeoff.
break down	a breakdown (a machine stops working)	Our bus had a breakdown on the highway.

The particle goes first

Phrasal verb	Noun	Example
come out (how things end)	the outcome (the final result)	The outcome: Thorpe is the sole champion.
bring up (raise a child)	upbringing (the way you were raised)	She had a happy upbringing on a farm.

From the lesson The comeback of Jim Thorpe (English B2.2)

Questions about word formation

What is word formation in English?

Making new words with prefixes, suffixes and compounds. A prefix goes at the front (read → reread), a suffix at the end (danger → dangerous), and a compound joins words into one (a two-day ride). Knowing the patterns, learners can work out a new word from its parts and choose the form a gap needs, such as unaffordable or depth.

What are prefixes and suffixes?

Parts added at the start or end of a word. A prefix comes first and usually changes the meaning: mis- means wrongly (misspell), re- again (rewrite), un- not (unfair). A suffix comes last and often makes a new kind of word: -ize, -ify and -en make verbs (standardize, simplify, widen), and -ful or -less make adjectives (helpful, useless).

Which negative prefix do you use: un-, in-, im-, il-, ir- or dis-?

Most often un-, but learn each opposite with its adjective. Un- is the most common (unfair, unaffordable). Im-, il- and ir- are forms of in- before m or p, l and r: impossible, illegal, irregular. The first letter doesn't decide it on its own, though: it's unpopular and unreliable, and dis- goes with words like honest and loyal.

What are adjective suffixes?

Endings that turn verbs and nouns into adjectives. Common ones are -able or -ible (affordable, accessible), -al (practical), -ful (helpful), -less (useless), -ive (creative) and -ous (famous). Watch the spelling: the final e usually drops before -ous (fame → famous) but stays before -ful (care → careful), and a y after a consonant becomes i (rely → reliable).

What are compound adjectives?

Two or three hyphenated words that act as one adjective. Before a noun, they replace a longer phrase: a plane that weighs 70 pounds is a 70-pound plane. Number compounds lose the plural -s (a three-week trip, not a three-weeks trip). With participles, the past participle is passive (a solar-powered boat) and -ing is active (a long-lasting battery).

What is nominalization?

Turning a verb or an adjective into a noun. Size adjectives have noun partners (deep → depth, wide → width, high → height), the verb weigh gives weight, and phrasal verbs give nouns such as a setback or the outcome. Before of, only the noun fits: at a depth of 1,250 feet, not at a deep of 1,250 feet.

How do I teach word formation to B2 students?

One pattern at a time, with its spelling and stress. English B2.1 on edio.ai covers verbs with prefixes and suffixes, then nouns like depth and compound adjectives; English B2.2 adds adjective suffixes with negative prefixes, and nouns from phrasal verbs. Build word families on the board (afford, affordable, unaffordable) and say new words aloud, since stress can move: the team came BACK, but what a COMEback.

What are good word formation games and activities?

Games that make students change a word to fit. Try word-family chains (use, useful, useless), a race to give opposites (possible → impossible), or a round where teams describe things in the room with compound adjectives (a three-foot table). For speaking, every lesson on this page has a chat to complete and a game: Spin the wheel, Open the box or a memory game.

Are there interactive word formation exercises?

Yes: try the word formation exercises above. Each lesson holds the full set, with gap-fills, drag-and-drop, tables to complete and quizzes on prefixes, suffixes and compounds. Students do them in their own edio.ai accounts, and each answer is checked the moment they give it. A free trial unlocks every lesson in the library.

Can I use these word formation lessons one-to-one or as homework?

Yes, with one student live or between classes. In a live session, your student opens the lesson in their own account and moves through it in sync with you, and the chat and game need only the two of you. Set as homework, the drills check themselves, and you can look through the student's answers before the next class.

More English grammar

Lessons for every grammar point, from the verb to be to reported speech. All grammar points

Word formation: ESL lesson plans and exercises

Word formation lesson plans and drills

Why do Americans write “color”?

A walk on the ocean floor

Flying on pedal power

College for farmers' kids?

The comeback of Jim Thorpe

Nominalization: from “sales fell” to “a fall in sales”