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Word Formation — Adjectives

FCE Part 3 · -able, -ive, -al · Negative prefixes.

FCE Use of English Part 3 · Suffixes · Prefixes
B2 Vocabulary

Forming adjectives

FCE Part 3 often requires you to form an adjective. Common suffixes and the ability to add negative prefixes are essential skills.
-able / -ible
rely → reliable · access → accessible · afford → affordable
-ive
innovate → innovative · create → creative · effect → effective
-al
environment → environmental · profession → professional
-ous
danger → dangerous · advantage → advantageous
-ful / -less
help → helpful / helpless · hope → hopeful / hopeless

Negative prefixes

At B2 level you must know when to add a negative prefix. The prefix changes depending on the root word.
un-
reliable → unreliable · affordable → unaffordable
in-
effective → ineffective · accessible → inaccessible
im-
possible → impossible · practical → impractical
ir-
responsible → irresponsible · relevant → irrelevant
il-
legal → illegal · logical → illogical

Key adjective formations

sustain → sustainable (= able to be maintained)
innovate → innovative (= introducing new ideas)
environment → environmental (= relating to environment)
technology → technological (= relating to technology)
access → accessible / inaccessible

Summary

Common suffixes
-able · -ible · -ive · -al · -ous · -ful · -less
Negative prefixes
un- · in- · im- · ir- · il-
Strategy
Read for meaning → decide form → check if negative prefix needed → check spelling
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