Master English: Prefixes, Suffixes, Phrasal Verbs, and More

Posted on Jan 12, 2025 in English

Prefixes

  • DIS: disloyal, dissatisfied, dishonest
  • IL: illegal, illiterate, illogical
  • IM: immature, impatient, impossible
  • IN: inconsiderate, incorrect, independent, insincere, inaccurate, inexperienced, insane
  • NON: nonviolent, nonresident, nonexistent
  • UN: unemployed, uncomfortable, unavoidable, unnecessary, unpopular, unripe, unconscious
  • MIS: misunderstood
  • IR: irregular, irrelevant, irresponsible

Suffixes

  • -LY (adjective to adverb): quickly, slowly
  • -NESS (adjective to noun): kindness, hopelessness, usefulness
  • -ISH (adjective to adjective): greenish, yellowish, tallish
  • -WARDS (noun to adverb): backwards, sidewards, northwards
  • -OUS (noun to adjective): fame (famous), danger (dangerous)
  • -Y (noun to adjective): windy, sunny
  • -FUL (noun to adjective): successful, beautiful
  • -LESS (noun to adjective): fearless, headless, ageless
  • -ABLE (noun to adjective): fashionable, comfortable
  • -ABLE (verb to adjective): affordable, manageable
  • -ION (verb to noun): confusion, instruction
  • -MENT (verb to noun): employment, agreement

Phrasal Verbs

  • ON:
    • Carry on: to continue
    • Keep on: to insist
    • Hold on: to wait
    • Move on: to continue, to advance
  • DOWN:
    • Break down: to stop working (for a machine, etc.)
    • Come down: to descend
    • Put down: to criticize
    • Slow down: to decelerate
  • OUT:
    • Work out: to exercise
    • Run out: to become depleted
    • Watch out: be careful!
    • Look out: be careful!
    • Go out: to leave, to date
    • Cut out: to remove
  • UP:
    • Grow up: to mature
    • Bring up: to raise a topic
    • Pick up: to collect someone
    • Put up with: to tolerate
  • PUT:
    • Put off: to postpone, to discourage
    • Put away: to tidy, to store
  • MIXED:
    • Look after: to take care of
    • Look for: to search for
    • Take after: to resemble
    • Tell someone off: to reprimand
    • Get on with: to have a good relationship with

Reported Speech

  • Present Simple (is, buy) becomes Past Simple (was, bought)
  • Present Continuous (is living) becomes Past Continuous (was living)
  • Past Simple becomes Past Perfect Simple (had + past participle)
  • Past Continuous becomes Past Perfect Continuous (had been + infinitive + -ing)
  • Present Perfect Continuous (have been + infinitive + -ing) becomes Past Perfect Continuous (had been + -ing)
  • Past Perfect Simple remains Past Perfect Simple
  • Past Perfect Continuous remains Past Perfect Continuous

Requests

Use “ask + for + object”: She asked for an apple.

Suggestions

Use “suggest, insist, recommend, demand, request, propose” followed by a clause introduced by “that”. “That” and “should” can often be omitted: He suggested (that) I (should) go to the doctor.

Orders or Requests

Use “warn, ask, advise” + indirect object + infinitive: The man with the gun warned us not to move.

Expressions with “Get”

  • That jumper looks ridiculous.
  • Here’s my telephone number. Keep in touch.
  • I heard she was a lovely person. I never got the chance to meet her.
  • I asked him to lend me some money, but he said he didn’t get paid until Friday.
  • Come on, it’s time to go. Get ready.
  • His parents are always telling him off. He’s always getting into trouble.
  • His girlfriend broke up with him last week. He hasn’t gotten over it yet.
  • I can’t speak French very well, but I can get by.
  • He wanted to get on in his career, so he worked very hard.

Meanings of “Get”

  • Get better: become better
  • Get the bus: catch the bus
  • Get to the station: arrive at the station
  • Get somebody to do something: ask somebody to do something
  • Get a newspaper: buy a newspaper
  • Get out: go out

Arrive in: large places. Arrive at: small, specific places.

Prepositional Phrases

  • Finally arrived: at last
  • Accidentally: by accident
  • Deliberately: on purpose
  • Not at all: by no means
  • He finally passed: in the end
  • Unemployed: out of work
  • Less than the normal price: at a discount
  • Without a special system or order: at random
  • Without being able to read music: by ear
  • Before the due date: in advance
  • Not working: out of order
  • Unable: at a loss
  • No more than: at most
  • Without looking at it: by heart
  • Owed nearly: in debt
  • Free from work: on holiday
  • With some difficulty: at a pinch
  • Immediately: at once
  • For more than he paid for it: at a profit
  • Simultaneously: at the same time
  • To look at: by sight
  • Incidentally: by the way
  • In the beginning: at first
  • Whenever it wants: at will
  • Unexpectedly: out of the blue
  • In an airplane: by air
  • From the moment you saw her: at first sight

Exercise

Complete the following text using prepositions:

Signals pass from (b) one neuron to (a) another along (c, g) a chain. Refrigerators keep food at (a) a constant temperature between (e) 3°C and 5°C. The Magnus oil rig stands on (a) three legs on (b) the seabed in (c) the North Sea, 160 meters above (h) the waves. In (e) the center of (f) each leg, and running from (d) top to (c) bottom, is a hollow tube. Above (h) the water, from (j) the deck to (k) the very top, there is a derrick on (l) which the drilling equipment hangs. Below (m) this pad, there is an accommodation block on (n) five floors. On (o) the roof of (p) this block is a helicopter landing pad. Between (q) the accommodation block and the derrick, there are pipes running along (r) the deck and around (s) the rig. Close to (t) the rig is a flare stack on (u) which waste gas is burned from (v) the rig. In (w) addition, there is a lifeboat station beside (x) the accommodation block.

Dependent Prepositions

Adjective + Preposition combinations:

aware of, based on, allergic to, familiar with, responsible for, identical to, fed up with, fond of, keen on, fluent in, dissatisfied with, capable of, due to, mad about, hooked on, sick of, upset about, short for