Basic Skills of Communication?

We often think communication is limited to what we say or hear, but that's not the case. Language is expressed in four ways: reading, speaking, writing and listening. These four language skills are also defined as the macro skills of communication for any language, including English. These macro skills are utilized by essentially all languages and all learners. Babies develop language skills by first listening and then speaking, followed by reading and writing.

When learning a new language and the skills of language, the best way to do so is by engaging in a balance of each of these areas, as they are all interconnected. As with any skill, the more you practice or exercise, the stronger you become. The same is true with improving communication skills. The English language can often be difficult for non-native speakers, so these language learning skills help within early communication processes in the learning period. ESL is also a great communication skill to learn for those wanting to learn English and for the most versatile communication skills.

Listening
Listening
There are three modes of listening: competitive, passive and active. Active listening skills are considered the most effective because the listener is not only listening with interest, but actively acknowledging listening by brief responses. Most individuals are not as skilled at listening as they think, even with it being an important skill for language acquisition. Depending on the study, listeners likely remember 25 to 50 percent of what they hear, according to Mindtools.

Giving the speaker your undivided attention and not focusing on what you are going to say in response while they are talking is a good way to ensure you hear more of what is being said, especially from someone teaching English. Language learners often do their best when listening to the language during their learning process. Short stories are often great examples of what to listen to when learning a language.

Speaking
Conversation
Speaking can be an intimidating experience, even in your native language, let alone when learning a new or foreign language for the first time. The best way to learn how to speak, though, is by practicing, so put your inhibitions aside and strike up a conversation whenever you are given an opportunity to do so. When speaking, be aware of your pace and try not to mumble, speak clearly. Consider being expressive when you talk; avoid a monotonous tone. Expression adds interest and depth to what you are saying and it will keep your listener interested. Learning English is easier when learning to speak English to others, and many non-native speakers use English as a second language to improve their public speaking skills and for effective communication.

Reading
Read
Students learn to read by first learning their ABCs and sounding out the letters to discover what sound they make. The phonetic approach to reading—using sound units to figure out the words—is arguably the best approach because theoretically, if you know the sounds, you can read any word, regardless of the difficulty level. This is also the case when learning a new language. Reading skills have many benefits, including improving memory by exercising the brain, increasing vocabulary, and exposing you to new ideas in linguistics. Flashcards can also be used to enhance language skills with new words, and they can even help with sentence structure. Small reading efforts can even eventually lead to extensive reading once mastering this productive skill.

Writing
Write
Writing is perhaps the most complex of the communication micro-skills and takes the most time to master. As with any other skill, the craft of putting words on paper is improved through practice and a willingness to improve on past attempts. The more you practice, the better you will get! Moving beyond the basics, many types of writing skills can be used, depending on audience and purpose. Writing can be a basic means of conveying information—such as in newspapers—or it can be a tool to create elaborate new worlds, much like those found in fiction novels such as The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION SOUNDS

British English pronunciation sounds

Did you know that British English has:

26 letters (A-Z)
✪ 5 vowels
✪ 21 consonants

44 pronunciation sounds
✪ 20 vowels sounds
✪ 24 consonant sounds

We're going to look at each pronunciation sounds in more detail.

What are the 44 pronunciation sounds?
Here are the symbols for the different sounds.

English pronunciation sounds
The 44 pronunciation sounds (or phonemes) can be written with phonetic symbols.

We have divided these into vowel sounds and consonant sounds in our phonemic chart.

Our phonemic chart shows the symbols for all of the vowel sounds and consonant sounds in British English.

Vowel sounds
Consonant sounds
English courses

Spelling v pronunciation

English spelling and British English pronunciation sounds are not as logical as other languages because:

most English pronunciation sounds can have more than one spelling

(e.g. me, three, beach)
SAME pronunciation sound - DIFFERENT spelling

some spellings can have more than one pronunciation sound
(e.g. egg, he, the)
SAME spelling - DIFFERENT pronunciation sound

some letters in English spellings are silent in pronunciation
(e.g. the 'k' in knee is silent)
SILENT letters are not pronounced
and some words have pronunciation sounds that are not in the spelling
(e.g. there is a 'y' sound after the 'n' in new)

EXTRA sounds are not in the spelling

Practise English pronunciation sounds.
We recommend that you join our basic communication school to learn how to read, write, speak and spell and the English pronunciation sounds.

Our practical word and spelling sessions can help you to develop your English speaking and listening skills and your spelling too.

Develop English fluency
To develop your fluency we recommend English communication practice, because it is better to practise the sounds through conversation.

We offer Basic Communication Courses in English Language in Gbagada, Lagos State.

We focus on English fluency and pronunciation with our British English pronunciation specialist.

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Verb Tenses Explained, With Examples

Verb tenses are changes or additions to verbs to show when the action took place: in the past, present, or future. The phrase verb tense is also used for grammatical aspects, which add more details about the duration or time an action takes. When you combine the four grammatical aspects with the past, present and future, you end up with twelve main verb tenses in English.

Verb tenses are essential for speaking English correctly, but with all the different forms and functions, they can get confusing. In this guide, we give a quick overview of the English tenses, including when to use them and how to make them, and give plenty of verb tense examples.

What is a verb tense?

Verb tenses show when an action took place, as well as how long it occurred. The main verb tenses are the past, present, and future.

There are also additional aspects that give extra details, such as the length of time the action occurred, which actions happened first, or whether a past action has an impact on the present. These grammatical aspects are the simple tense, perfect tense, continuous tense, and perfect continuous tense.

Verb tenses list: How many tenses are there in English?

The standard tense in English is the present tense, which is usually just the root form of the verb. The past and future tenses often require changes or additions to the root form, such as the suffix –ed for the past tense and the modal verb will for the future.

However, for each of the past, present, and future tenses, there are four different aspects that add additional details. For example, the continuous tense shows that an action is ongoing. It can be used in the present (she is sleeping), past (she was sleeping), or future (she will be sleeping).

Past, present, and future tenses
The past, present, and future are the central divisions of time in English. The present represents actions happening now, while the past represents actions that happened earlier, and the future describes actions that will happen later.

Simple tense
The simple tense is a grammatical aspect that refers to the normal forms of the past, present, and future tenses—nothing fancy! Unlike the other aspects, it doesn’t add any new information. True to its name, simple tenses are the easiest to form and have the fewest rules.

Perfect tense
The definition of the perfect tense is a little more complicated. It’s used for actions that relate to other points in time, either completed or ongoing.

For example, in the sentence I have played soccer since I was a child, the perfect tense indicates that the action occurred continuously in the past and still happens in the present. By contrast, in the sentence I played soccer when I was a child, the simple past tense indicates that the action occurred only in the past, and has no relation to the present.

The perfect tenses use a conjugation of the auxiliary verb have with the past participle of the main verb.

Continuous tense
We use the continuous tenses (also known as the progressive tenses) for ongoing actions or actions that happen a while before completion. For example, They are studying all night means the studying lasts many hours before it’s finished.

Please note that you usually do not use the continuous tense with stative verbs like want, love, have, and need.

The continuous tenses use a conjugation of the auxiliary verb be along with the main verb’s present participle, or –ing form.

Perfect continuous tense
When you combine the perfect and continuous tenses, you get the perfect continuous tense. It’s typically used just like the perfect tense, except it describes ongoing actions that happen over a period of time.

The construction of the perfect continuous tense uses a conjugation of the auxiliary verb have, the auxiliary verb been (the past participle of be), and the present participle of the main verb.

English tenses examples: verb tenses chart
Past Present Future
Simple I helped my neighbor yesterday. I help my neighbor every day. I will help my neighbor tomorrow.
Perfect I had helped my neighbor clean his attic before I fixed his car. I have helped my neighbor too much this week. I will have helped my neighbor a hundred times by the end of the month.
Continuous I was helping my neighbor when he brought me iced tea. I am helping my neighbor while he fixes up his house. I will be helping my neighbor next month when he moves.
Perfect continuous I had been helping my neighbor for a year before he finally thanked me. I have been helping my neighbor since I moved in. I will have been helping my neighbor for a year next month.

Past tenses
Simple past
We use the simple past to show actions completed in the past, with no extra emphasis.

For regular verbs, you form the simple past tense by adding the suffix –ed to the end of the verb (or just –d if the past tense verb already ends in an e).

Be careful of irregular past tense verbs, however. These don’t follow the normal rules and use their own unique forms for the past tense. For example, the past tense of the irregular verb go is went.

Regular verbs: I picked up the glass, but it dropped from my hand.

Irregular verbs: This morning I went to the store, but I forgot the milk.

Past perfect
[had] + [past participle]

What if you’re talking about two different actions in the past and want to show that one happened before the other? The past perfect, also known as the pluperfect, shows that one past action happened earlier than another one.

She had arrived at the office before she realized it was Sunday.

I ran to my car when I noticed my wife had left already.

Past continuous
[was/were] + [present participle]

Use the past continuous to show an ongoing action in the past, especially if the action was interrupted by another action. It’s also used for habitual actions that occurred in the past but not in the present. It’s usually used with adverbs like always or adverb phrases like all the time.

My dog was whimpering in his sleep when the TV woke him up.

As kids, my friends and I were always getting into trouble.

Past perfect continuous
[had] + [been] + [present participle]

The past perfect continuous tense is used just like the past perfect tense, except it describes ongoing actions that happened in the past instead of a one-time occurance. It’s often used with the words when, until, and before to connect it to another past action.

Before he got his first job as a writer, he had been working as a proofreader.

I had been living on my friend’s couch for a year until they kicked me out.

Present tenses
Simple present
The simple present is the most basic of the English tenses. It’s used for individual actions or habitual actions in the present.

Often the simple present is just the root verb with no changes or additions. The main exception to this is when the subject is third person and singular. In this case you add the suffix –s. If the verb ends in o, ch, sh, th, ss, gh, or z, you add –es. If the verb ends in a consonant and y (and the subject is third-person singular), drop the y and add –ies.

Today I feel like a million bucks!

My brother carries the groceries while my sister stays on the couch.

Present perfect
[have/has] + [past participle]

Although it’s quite common, the present perfect is one of the most difficult English verb tenses. It is used to describe a few different types of actions, including:

an ongoing action started in the past that is not yet completed
the same action completed multiple times in the past and likely to be completed again.
an action completed very recently (usually with just or now)
an uncompleted action that is expected to be finished (in the negative)
Additionally, the present perfect can be used to emphasize the significance of a completed action, especially one that happened over time.

We have tricked him every April Fool’s Day since we were kids.

My niece has grown so much this year!

Present continuous
[am/is/are] + [present participle]

Use the present continuous to show an action happening right now or in the near future.

I am reading The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy for the fifth time!

We are eating pizza tonight.

Present perfect continuous
[have/has] + [been] + [present participle]

The present perfect continuous shows an ongoing action in the present that was started in the past. It is often used to emphasize the length of time.

We have been waiting for over an hour!

The team has been practicing nonstop for the tournament.

Future tenses
Simple future
Use the simple future for actions that have not happened yet but will later. To form the simple future, just place the modal verb will before the root form of the main verb. (Note that if the action will happen in the near future, you can use the present continuous instead.)

She will be president one day.

I will not go to the wedding without a date!

Future perfect
[will] + [have] + [past participle]

The future perfect shows an action that will be completed in the future by a specified time. Because it depends on another time, the future perfect is often used with words like by, before, at, or when.

By the time you read this, I will have already left.

She will have eaten lunch before her sister even wakes up.

Future continuous
[will] + [be] + [present participle]

Use the future continuous tense for future actions happening over a period of time, especially when a specific time is mentioned. The future continuous tense also shows more certainty and likelihood than the simple future.

By this time tomorrow, I will be drinking margaritas on the beach.

We will be attending a meeting from noon until 3 p.m.

Future perfect continuous
[will] + [have] + [been] + [present participle]

The future perfect continuous depicts future ongoing actions that continue up until a certain point. Like the future perfect and future continuous, it’s used with a specified time.

In ten minutes, my parents will have been waiting in traffic for four hours.

I will have been eating healthy for a whole year by September.

Verb tense FAQs
What are verb tenses?
Verb tenses are changes or additions to verbs to show when the action took place: in the past, present, or future. The phrase verb tense is also used for grammatical aspects, which show how long an action occurs.

What are the different types of verb tenses?
The three main verb tenses are the past, present, and future, but there are also four grammatical aspects: simple, continuous, perfect, and perfect continuous. When you combine the three time periods with the four aspects, you get twelve unique verb tenses.

What are some examples of the different verb tenses?
The simple tenses show actions happening at different times, while the perfect tenses show completed actions that relate to different time periods. The continuous tenses are for ongoing actions that take a while to complete. The perfect continuous tenses combine the perfect and continuous tenses to describe ongoing actions that happen over a period of time.Your writing, at its best.

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HOW TO TEACH ADULTS HOW TO READ

Repeated reading is the most effective instructional technique for increasing reading fluency in adults. In repeated reading, a student reads a passage many times while a teacher provides feedback about rate and accuracy levels, helps with difficult words, and models fluent reading.

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HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR SPELLING AS AN ADULT?

There are many things you can do to make your spelling better as an adult. Here are some of them.

1. Dictionaries Are Your Friend!
Despite the fact that memory aids assist in memorizing difficult-to-spell words, good spellers do not rely solely on memory. They depend on a reliable and up-to-date dictionary to practice. Various types of dictionaries exist, both in print and online.

The important thing here is that you should use a dictionary that is compatible with the dialect you want to learn and use. And this brings us to our next point.

2. Choose Your Dialect
As you may know, English spelling changes significantly depending on the country you are in. American English, for example, removed many of the unspoken “u”s from words such as color (colour in British English), favor (favour), rumor (rumour), and so on.

These differences are not right or wrong. We can’t say color is wrong, and the correct spelling is colour. They are regional differences that have developed over time.

That’s why you have to be consistent in your writing. You can’t write colour in one sentence and behavior in the next. Consistency is key.

3. Keep on Reading!
One of the things that most people do is memorize spelling rules. Instead of focusing so much on rules, you should focus on practicing. Of course, if we are talking about how to improve your spelling as an adult, reading is the best answer!

Reading is one of the best ways to familiarize yourself with words and their spelling. The more you see something, the more you will be able to identify it the next time you encounter it.

Conclusion
Here are a few suggestions on how to improve your spelling: Keep a dictionary nearby, change your dialect as you grow, and best of all pursue your hobbies during your free time!

All of these practices will allow you to improve your spelling skills especially as you age.
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ENGLISH READING & WRITING MADE EASY FOR ADULTS IN NIGERIA

Repeated reading is the most effective instructional technique for increasing reading fluency in adult learners. In repeated reading, a student reads a passage many times while a teacher provides feedback about rate and accuracy levels, helps with difficult words, and models fluent reading.

Looking for where to attend adult education lesson, learn how to read, write, speak and spell in Lagos, Nigeria, Gbagada, Ikeja, Lekki, Ikoyi, Ajah, Surulere, Oshodi, Victoria Island, Ketu, Ojota, Ojodu-Berger, Mowe, Ikorodu, Islolo, Festac, Agege, Orile, Obalende, Lagos -Island, Apapa, Songo, etc.

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LEARNING TO SPELL FOR ADULTS

Spelling the English language can be a challenge. It typically, however, involves nothing more complicated than memorization. You can be a successful speller if you're willing to study and practice the art and science of spelling.

Reading, using a dictionary and playing online word games are all helpful. Sounding out words and breaking them into parts are good skills to develop.

Learning spelling rules is important, too, but the many exceptions to those rules can be rather frustrating. In the end it comes down mainly to memorization. This article will help you with the daunting task of spelling English words.

Method 1
Method 1 of 3:
Small Words

Step 1 Learn the letters and sounds of the alphabet.

Learn the letters and sounds of the alphabet. This will allow you to recognize them when you hear them within words. Use flashcards or ask a tutor to help you connect letters to their sounds. Practice making those connections in your mind. This will help you recognize the appropriate letters when you sound out words.
Ask a family member or friend to help you learn the letter sounds.
As an alternative you can watch videos online that show you how to say each letter.

Step 2 Identify the sounds as you slowly say a word you want to spell.

Identify the sounds as you slowly say a word you want to spell. It helps to say the word more than once. Stretch out the word to help you identify each sound in it. If you say the word too quickly, you may miss a letter sound.
If the word has more than one syllable, separate them mentally or in writing. Pronounce each syllable individually.
For example, the word "probably" is very easy to misspell if you pronounce it "probly." Saying it slowly -- "prob-ab-ly" -- can help you hear the sounds in each syllable.

Step 3 Split up each letter sound in the word to help you hear them.

Split up each letter sound in the word to help you hear them. It's helpful to draw an underline on your paper for each sound that you hear. Don't worry about what the word is supposed to look like. Just focus on the sounds you hear when you say the word. Then think about which letter or letters might make each sound.
It helps to count out the number of sounds in the word. For example, let's say you want to spell the word "tiger." You might hear four sounds: t-i-g-er.

Step 4 Spell out each sound.

Spell out each sound. Write out the letter sounds you hear for each sound in the word. Then put the sounds together to form the word. Check your work by sounding out the word again while you look at your spelling, letter by letter.[3]
For a harder word you may need to refer to the spelling rules instead of just sounding the word out.

Method 2
Method 2 of 3:
Big Words

Step 1 Divide a big word into smaller words, syllables or parts.

Divide a big word into smaller words, syllables or parts. Say the word slowly, looking for smaller words within it, such as "grand" and "father" in "grandfather." If you can't find smaller words, focus on the syllables or patterns within the word. This makes it easier to spell the word, because you can more easily sound it out. You may already know how to spell the smaller words. Here are some ways to break down big words:
Break larger words into smaller words. For example, “baseball” is an example of what's known as a "compound" word: it can be broken into smaller words, in this case "base" and "ball."
Break up non-compound words into syllables. For example, you would break up “hospital” into three syllables this way: hos-pi-tal.
Break the word into convenient parts. For instance, “impossible” can be broken into im/poss/ible. Here you're not breaking the word into syllables, just artificial segments. The idea is to consider a longer word in shorter sections just so the task of spelling it becomes a bit easier.

Step 2 Look for a prefix to make spelling easier.

Look for a prefix to make spelling easier. A prefix is a short series of letters that can be added to the beginning of a word to change its meaning. The spelling of a prefix never changes, so just memorize its spelling. Here are the most common prefixes:
Mis, as in “misspell”
Dis, as in “disagree”
Un, as in “unlikely”
Re, as in “rewrite”
Anti, as in “antifreeze”
De, as in “dehydrate”
Non, as in “nonsense”
Fore, as in “forecast”
In, as in “injustice”
Im, as in “impossible”
Note that most of these prefixes mean "not."

Step 3 Notice whether the word has a suffix.

Notice whether the word has a suffix. A suffix appears at the end of a word and changes its meaning. The spelling of a suffix never changes, so memorize it. Here are the most common suffixes:
Ed, as in “spelled”
Ing, as in “spelling”
Ly, as in “likely”
Ful, as in “beautiful”
Able, as in “comfortable”
Ible, as in “possible”
Er, as in “higher”
Ment, as in “enjoyment”
Ness, as in “happiness”
Est, as in “biggest”

Step 4 Spell out each part of the word, and then put them all together.

Spell out each part of the word, and then put them all together. If you know how to spell smaller words or segments within the word, such as a prefix, spell those first. Then look for common letter patterns, and sound out each segment to help you spell them. Write out the letters you hear.
Check your spelling by sounding out the word. Would the spelling you’ve used sound right?
For example, when spelling "remind," you could break it down into "re" and "mind." If you know how the prefix "re" is spelled, write that first. Then you just need to spell "mind." If you aren't sure how to spell it, you could sound out "mind" as "m" and "ind." Then select the letters as you hear them.

Method 3
Method 3 of 3:

Spelling Rules

Step 1 Recognize that some spelling rules have exceptions.

Recognize that some spelling rules have exceptions. English is a tricky language, because many of the rules have exceptions. Certain spellings simply don't follow the rules. However, knowing the rules will help you most of the time.
While it helps to know the exceptions, don’t try to learn them all at once. If you absorb them gradually, they won't seem so frustrating.
Your best bet is simply to memorize the spellings that don't conform to the rules.

Step 2 Remember the general rule that "i" precedes "e" much of the time except when they follow the letter "c."

Remember the general rule that "i" precedes "e" much of the time except when they follow the letter "c." This well-known rule pertains to words such as die, friend, yield, patient, convenience, piece and receive (where "ei" follows "c." Unfortunately, there are many words that disobey this rule, such as weight, height, sleigh and reins. When the rules fail, you're left with memorization.
If the i/e combination is followed immediately by a "gh" (as in weight or height), the "e" precedes the "i." It's another exception you simply have to memorize.
A few other words to memorize (that don't follow the "i before e" rule) include “either,” "neither," “leisure,” “protein,” “their,” and “weird.”

Step 3 Pay attention to other double vowels.

Pay attention to other double vowels. Remember the rhyme, “When two vowels go walking, the first one does the talking.” When two vowels are next to each other, often you pronounce only the first vowel. This makes it easier to place two vowels in the right order. (Of course, you have to remember that two vowels are called for in this case.)
For example, you hear the “o” sound in the word “coat,” so you know the “o” comes first. You hear the “e” sound in “mean,” so you put the “e” first.
Once again there are exceptions to this rule that you will need to memorize, such as “you,” “great,” and “phoenix.”

Step 4 Learn the “c” sound patterns.

Learn the “c” sound patterns. The letter “c” can be pronounced hard, as in “cat,” or soft, as in “cell.” Usually if the letter following the "c" is "a," "o," "u" or a consonant, the "c" is hard. Examples include cat, cot, cut, cute and clue. If the following letter is "e," "i" or "y," the "c" is usually soft. Examples include celery, citation and cycle.

Step 5 Look for consonant letter combinations where one letter is silent.

Look for consonant letter combinations where one letter is silent. English words sometimes have a letter that is silent, typically a consonant next to another consonant at the beginning of a word. Here are common letter combinations where one letter is silent:
Gn, pn, and kn: These letter combinations all have an “n” sound. The other letter is silent. Examples are "gnaw," "pneumonia" and "knock."
Rh and wr: Both of these combinations have an “r” sound. For example, rhyme and "write.
Ps and sc: These combinations both make an “s” sound, as in psychic and science.
Wh: Sometimes "wh" sounds like "h," as in "whole."
"Gh" is often silent, especially if it comes after “i.” This happens in words like "right" and weight." Sometimes “gh” makes an “f” sound, as in “cough” or "tough."

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ADULT EDUCATION TO READ & WRITE IN ENGLISH

We teach adults with little or no formal education how to read, write, speak, spell and listen. We help students to write and read very basic texts and sentences easily. To enable students to communicate in very simple English. We caoch them on elementary arithmetic of addition, substraction, multiplication and division. We guide and encourage our pupils to build confidence in themselves.

WE Teach:

- English alphabet
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- Months of the year, days of the week, date and time
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- Addition, Substraction, Multiplication & Division.

Duration: 12 months

Assignment, class work, test, debates, presentations and examination are taking periodically and at the end of the session and certificates of participation are issued to students at the end of their program.

FEES:
#50,000/Per term/3months

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LOCATION:

SYMMETRIC ADULT EDUCATION
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12 Types Of Verb Tenses And How To Use Them

What Is A Verb Tense? 12 Types Of Tenses Past Tenses Present Tenses Future Tenses Rely On Grammar Coach

If you’re familiar with basic English grammar, we bet you can describe a verb and perhaps name a tense or two. In the sentences the boy walks and the girl ran, the words walks and ran are the verbs.

Did you also recognize that walks is in the present tense, or that ran is in the past tense? Whether you did or didn’t, we’re here to review verb tenses with you and also astound you with the fact that there are 12—count them, 12—verb tenses in all!

What is a verb tense?
Generally speaking, verb tenses identify the time period when an action occurs. The verb walks communicates not only how many people completed the action (it’s singular), but also when it occurred. In this case, the tense is present. The person walks right now.

Interestingly, not all languages treat verb tenses the same way. In English, the ending on a verb communicates what tense it’s in. (Walk becomes walks and walked.) In some cases, an auxiliary verb (also known as a helping verb, like will or need) is required as well. In Chinese languages, for example, a verb doesn’t change its spelling depending on the tense. A separate word (or particle) is combined with the verb to explain when it occurred.

12 types of verb tenses
The simple tenses (past, present, and future) are the most basic forms, but there are 12 major verb tenses in English in all. We’ll review the tenses here.

Past tenses
The past tenses use verbs to say that something happened in the past, meaning any time before this moment right now. There are four variations of past tenses:

Simple past: describes events that began and ended in the past.

Past continuous: describes events that began in the past, continued for a length of time, and ended in the past.

Past perfect: describes a past event that occurred before another past event.

Past perfect continuous: describes an event that began in the past, continued for a length of time, and was in progress when another past event happened.

Simple past
The simple past tense describes events that have already happened and are completely finished. Most verbs can be made past tense by adding -ed, –d, or sometimes the variant –t at the end of a present tense verb, as in liked and watched.

However, many irregular verbs have unique past tense forms. For example, go becomes went, and think becomes thought.

Simple past is usually used to write about historical events, like so:

Galileo observed the stars.

In this example, the verb tense indicates that the astronomer Galileo completely finished the act of observing the stars at some point in the past.

Past continuous
The past continuous tense describes an ongoing activity that occurred in the past. It is formed by combining the past tense verb to be (which must be correctly conjugated to agree with the subject) and the present participle of a verb (ending in –ing):

The planet was moving along an elliptical orbit.
In this example, the verb tense says that the planet began moving sometime in the past and continued to do so for a period of time (in the past).

Establish the different times to use was vs. were so you won’t have any mistakes again.

Past perfect
The perfect tenses involve more complex time relationships. They build upon simple tenses by combining a verb with has, have, or had.

The past perfect tense, also called the pluperfect tense, describes a past event in relation to another event that occurs closer to the present. It is formed by combining had and the past participle of the verb.

The girl bought the telescope her teacher had recommended to her.
The girl bought (simple past) what the teacher had recommended (past perfect tense). One action occurred (had recommended) before the other (bought).

Past perfect continuous
The past perfect continuous tense describes an ongoing action that—like the past perfect—was performed in relation to another event that occurs closer to the present. It is formed by combining had been with the present participle of the verb.

He had been studying for his astronomy final when the doorbell rang.
The above example uses the verb tense to indicate that he was studying for a length of time before another event (the doorbell ringing) interrupted or stopped his act of studying.

Present tenses
Generally speaking, we use the present tenses to say that an event is happening right now in the present time. Like the past tenses, there are four variations of present tenses:

Simple present: Describes an event as happening in the present.
Present continuous: Describes an event as being in progress in the present and likely continuing into the future.

Present perfect: Describes an event that occurred in the past but has some connection to the present.

Present perfect continuous: Describes an event that began in the past but still continues to happen in the present.

Simple present
The simple present tense describes events happening now. It’s also useful for describing a direct action that’s not exclusive to the past or 4future.

Sentences in present tense often have the most straightforward structure because they use the root form of the verb or a conjugation of the verb to be. The root form of the verb is the form you will find if you look up a verb in our dictionary.

We often use the simple present tense to state facts:

Cats eat mice and birds.
In this sentence, the simple present tense is used to state the fact that cats regularly eat mice and birds.

When you use the verb be in the simple present tense, it must agree with the subject of the sentence. For example:

I am tall.
You are my best friend.
She is my older sister.
We are hungry.
They are late for work.

Present continuous
The present continuous tense describes an ongoing activity that is happening now, in the present. It is formed by combining the verb to be and the present participle of the verb (ending in –ing):

The baby is laughing at Shelly’s monkey puppet.
In this example, the verb tense is used to state that the baby is currently in the process of laughing at Shelly’s silly puppet and will likely continue to do so for a while yet.

Present perfect
The present perfect tense describes a past event that’s still happening in the present. It is formed by combining the word has or have (depending on the subject) with the past 5participle of the verb.

Let’s look at this sentence:

The baby has played this game before.
In this example, the verb tense states that a past event is related to the present. In this case, the sentence is saying that the baby is currently playing a game that they have also played at another time in the past.

Present perfect continuous:
The present perfect continuous tense describes an ongoing action that began in the past and is still occurring in the present.4t It is formed by combining the phrase has been or have been (depending on the subject) with the present participle of the verb.

Shelly has been babysitting for years.
In this example, the verb tense is used to say that Shelly started babysitting children in the past, continued to babysit for years, and still continues to babysit now.

Future tenses
We use the future tenses to say that an event will happen sometime in the future. Like past and present tenses, there are four variations of future tenses:

Simple future: Describes an event that will begin and end in the future.

Future continuous: Describes an event that will begin in the future and continue for a length of time.

Future perfect: Describes a future event that will happen before another future event.

Future perfect continuous: Describes a future event that will begin, continue for a length of time, and still be in progress when another future event occurs.

Simple future
The simple future tense describes events that haven’t happened yet. It’s useful for describing an intended action or a prediction. It’s typically formed by combining the word will or, less commonly, shall with a root verb.

For example:

Molly will finish her chores when she has time.
We shall travel to France next summer.
The word will is an auxiliary verb, and finish is the root verb. Together, they explain that Molly4 intends to do her chores at a later point in time.

Learn more about auxiliary verbs and the verbs they help out, here.

Future continuous tense
The future continuous tense describes an activity that will extend over a period of time and will happen in the future. It is formed by combining the phrase will be and the present participle of the verb (ending in –ing):

I will be working all afternoon, so I can’t help Olivia with her report.
In this sentence, the verb tense is used to say that I plan to work for a period of time in the future.

Future perfect tense
The future perfect tense describes an upcoming action in relation to another event farther in the future. It is formed by combining the phrase will have and the past participle of the verb:

By tomorrow afternoon, Olivia will have finished her report.
This sentence uses the future perfect tense to say that Olivia’s report is incomplete right now, but it will be finished before tomorrow afternoon.

Future perfect continuous
The future perfect continuous tense describes an action that will extend over a period of time and will be performed in relation to another future event. It is formed by combining the phrase will have been with the present participle of the verb (ending in –ing):

When this show ends, Molly will have been watching TV for three hours.

This sentence uses the future perfect continuous tense to say that, in the future, Molly will be watching TV for three hours when this show ends (which will also happen in the future). By using the future perfect continuous tense, this sentence also implies that Molly may still continue to watch TV even after the show is over.

Perfect grammar has never been easier
To avoid confusion, you should use one consistent tense whenever possible.

❌ Incorrect: The crowd claps and laughed at the comedian.
✅ Correct: The crowd clapped and laughed at the comedian.

The incorrect example contains both a present tense verb (claps) and a past tense verb (laughed). This can be confusing. If both actions are past or present, both verbs should have the same tense.

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26 TYPES OF PUNCTUATION MARKS & TYPOGRAPHICAL SYMBOLS

In addition to words, we use many different symbols and characters to organize our thoughts and make text easier to read. All of these symbols come in two major categories: punctuation marks and typographical symbols. These symbols have many different uses and include everything from the humble period (.) to the rarely used caret symbol (^). There may even be a few symbols out there that you’ve never even heard of before that leave you scratching your head when you see them on your keyboard!

WHAT IS PUNCTUATION?
Punctuation is the act or system of using specific marks or symbols in writing to separate different elements from each other or to make writing more clear. Punctuation is used in English and the other languages that use the Latin alphabet. Many other writing systems also use punctuation, too. Thanks to punctuation, we don’t have to suffer through a block of text that looks like this:

My favorite color is red do you like red red is great my sister likes green she always says green is the color of champions regardless of which color is better we both agree that no one likes salmon which is a fish and not a color seriously

PUNCTUATION EXAMPLES
The following sentences give examples of the many different punctuation marks that we use:

My dog, Bark Scruffalo, was featured in a superhero movie.

If there’s something strange in your neighborhood, who are you going to call?

A wise man once said, “Within the body of every person lies a skeleton.”

Hooray! I found everything on the map: the lake, the mountain, and the forest.

I told Ashley (if that was her real name) that I needed the copy lickety-split.

WHAT IS A TYPOGRAPHICAL SYMBOLS?
The term typographical symbol, or any other number of phrases, refers to a character or symbol that isn’t considered to be a punctuation mark but may still be used in writing for various purposes. Typographical symbols are generally avoided in formal writing under most circumstances. However, you may see typographic symbols used quite a bit in informal writing.

TYPOGRAPHICAL SYMBOL EXAMPLES
The following examples show some ways that a writer might use typographical symbols. Keep in mind that some of these sentences may not be considered appropriate in formal writing.

The frustrated actor said she was tired of her co-star’s “annoying bull****.”

For questions, email us at anascabana@bananacabanas.fake!

The band had five #1 singles on the American music charts during the 1990s.

My internet provider is AT&T.

⚡️ PUNCTUATION vs. TYPOGRAPHICAL SYMBOLS

Punctuation marks are considered part of grammar and often have well-established rules for how to use them properly. For example, the rules of proper grammar state that a letter after a period should be capitalized and that a comma must be used before a coordinating conjunction.

Typographical symbols, on the other hand, may not have widely accepted rules for how, or even when, they should be used. Generally speaking, most grammar resources will only allow the use of typographical symbols under very specific circumstances and will otherwise advise a writer to avoid using them.

TYPES OF PUNCTUATION MARKS AND SYMBOLS
There are many different types of punctuation marks and typographical symbols. We’ll briefly touch on them now, but you can learn more about these characters by checking out the links in this list and also each section below:

Period
Question mark
Exclamation point
Comma
Colon
Semicolon
Hyphen
En dash
Em dash
Parentheses
Square brackets
Curly brackets
Angle brackets
Quotation marks
Apostrophe
Slash
Ellipses
Asterisk
Ampersand
Bullet point
Pound symbol
Tilde
Backslash
At symbol
Caret symbol
Pipe symbol

PERIOD, QUESTION MARK, AND EXCLAMATION MARK
These three commonly used punctuation marks are used for the same reason: to end an independent thought.

PERIOD (.)
A period is used to end a declarative sentence. A period indicates that a sentence is finished.

E.g:
Today is Friday.

Unique to them, periods are also often used in abbreviations.

E.g:
Prof. Dumbledore once again awarded a ludicrous amount of points to Gryffindor.

QUESTION mark (?)
The question mark is used to end a question, also known as an interrogative sentence.

E.g:
Do you feel lucky?

EXCLAMATION MARK (!)
The exclamation mark is used at the end of exclamations and interjections.

e.g:
Our house is haunted!
Wow!

COMMA, COLON, AND SEMICOLON
Commas, colons, and semicolons can all be used to connect sentences together.

COMMA (,)
The comma is often the punctuation mark that gives writers the most problems. It has many different uses and often requires good knowledge of grammar to avoid making mistakes when using it. Some common uses of the comma include:

Joining clauses: Mario loves Peach, and she loves him.

Nonrestrictive elements: My favorite team, the Fighting Mongooses, won the championship this year.

Lists: The flag was red, white, and blue.

Coordinate adjectives: The cute, happy puppy licked my hand.

COLON (
The colon is typically used to introduce additional information.

E.g:
The detective had three suspects: the salesman, the gardener, and the lawyer.

Like commas, colons can also connect clauses together.

Example:
We forgot to ask the most important question: who was buying lunch?

Colons have a few other uses, too.

Examples:
The meeting starts at 8:15 p.m.
The priest started reading from Mark 3:6.

SEMICOLON (
Like the comma and the colon, the semicolon is used to connect sentences together. The semicolon typically indicates that the second sentence is closely related to the one before it.

Examples:
I can’t eat peanuts; I am highly allergic to them.

Lucy loves to eat all kinds of sweets; lollipops are her favorite.

HYPHEN AND DASHES (en dash and em dash)
All three of these punctuation marks are often referred to as “dashes.” However, they are all used for entirely different reasons.

HYPHEN (-)
The hyphen is used to form compound words.

Examples:
I went to lunch with my father-in-law.

She was playing with a jack-in-the-box.

He was accused of having pro-British sympathies.

EN DASH (–)
The en dash is used to express ranges or is sometimes used in more complex compound words.

Examples:
The homework exercises are on pages 20–27.

The songwriter had worked on many Tony Award–winning productions.

EM DASH (—)
The em dash is used to indicate a pause or interrupted speech.

Examples:
The thief was someone nobody expected—me!

“Those kids will—” was all he managed to say before he was hit by a water balloon.

Test your knowledge on the different dashes here.

PARENTHESES, BRACKETS, AND BRACES
These pairs of punctuation marks look similar, but they all have different uses. In general, the parentheses are much more commonly used than the others.

PARENTHESES ()
Typically, parentheses are used to add additional information.

Examples:
I thought (for a very long time) if I should actually give an honest answer.

Tomorrow is Christmas (my favorite holiday)!

Parentheses have a variety of other uses, too.

Pollution increased significantly. (See Chart 14B)

He was at an Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meeting.

Richard I of England (1157–1199) had the heart of a lion.

SQUARE BRACKETS []
Typically, square brackets are used to clarify or add information to quotations.

Examples:
According to an eyewitness, the chimpanzees “climbed on the roof and juggled [bananas].”

The judge said that “the defense attorney [Mr. Wright] had made it clear that the case was far from closed.”

CURLY BRACKETS {}
Curly brackets, also known as braces, are rarely used punctuation marks that are used to group a set.

Examples:
I was impressed by the many different colors {red, green, yellow, blue, purple, black, white} they selected for the flag’s design.

ANGLE BRACKETS <>
Angle brackets have no usage in formal writing and are rarely ever used even in informal writing. These characters have more uses in other fields, such as math or computing.

QUOTATION MARKS AND APOSTROPHE
You’ll find these punctuation marks hanging out at the top of a line of text.

QUOTATION MARKS (“”)
The most common use of quotation marks is to contain quotations.

Examples:
She said, “Don’t let the dog out of the house.”

Bob Ross liked to put “happy little trees” in many of his paintings.

APOSTROPHE (‘)
The apostrophe is most often used to form possessives and contractions.

Examples:
The house’s back door is open.

My cousin’s birthday is next week.

It isn’t ready yet.

We should’ve stayed outside.

SLASH AND ELLIPSES
These are two punctuation marks you may not see too often, but they are still useful.

SLASH (/)
The slash has several different uses. Here are some examples:

Relationships: The existence of boxer briefs somehow hasn’t ended the boxers/briefs debate.

Alternatives: They accept cash and/or credit.

Fractions: After an hour, 2/3 of the audience had already left.

ELLIPSES (…)
In formal writing, ellipses are used to indicate that words were removed from a quote.

Examples:
The mayor said, “The damages will be … paid for by the city … as soon as possible.”

In informal writing, ellipses are often used to indicate pauses or speech that trails off.

He nervously stammered and said, “Look, I … You see … I wasn’t … Forget it, okay.”

TYPOGRAPHICAL SYMBOLS
Typographical symbols rarely appear in formal writing. You are much more likely to see them used for a variety of reasons in informal writing.

ASTERISK (*)
In formal writing, especially academic and scientific writing, the asterisk is used to indicate a footnote.

Examples:
Chocolate is the preferred flavor of ice cream.*

*According to survey data from the Ice Cream Data Center.

The asterisk may also be used to direct a reader toward a clarification or may be used to censor inappropriate words or phrases.

AMPERSAND (&
The ampersand substitutes for the word and. Besides its use in the official names of things, the ampersand is typically avoided in formal writing.

Examples:
The band gave a speech at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

BULLET POINT (•)
Bullet points are used to create lists. For example,

For this recipe you will need:

eggs
milk
sugar
flour
baking powder

POUND SYMBOL (#)
Informally, the pound symbol is typically used to mean number or is used in social media hashtags.

Examples:
The catchy pop song reached #1 on the charts.

Ready 4 Halloween 2morrow!!! #spooky #TrickorTreat

TILDE (~)
Besides being used as an accent mark in Spanish and Portuguese words, the tilde is rarely used. Informally, a person may use it to mean “about” or “approximately.”

Examples:
We visited São Paulo during our vacation.
I think my dog weighs ~20 pounds.

BACKSLASH (\)
The backslash is primarily used in computer programming and coding. It might be used online and in texting to draw emoticons, but it has no other common uses in writing. Be careful not to mix it up with the similar forward slash (/), which is a punctuation mark.

AT SYMBOL (@)
The at symbol substitutes for the word at in informal writing. In formal writing, it is used when writing email addresses.

Examples:
His email address is duckduck@goose.abc.

CARET SYMBOL (^)
The caret symbol is used in proofreading, but may be used to indicate an exponent if a writer is unable to use superscript.

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ENGLISH GRAMMAR
WORD FORMATION

Word Formation - Learn What It Is, Types and Rules with Examples

How are words formed?

Are there any rules by which words are formed?

Let’s find out. This article will walk you through what word formation is, the various types of word formation and the rules to be adhered to when forming words. The number of examples given will make your learning process more effective and easier.

Table of Contents

What Is Word Formation?
Types of Word Formation with Examples
Rules to be Followed When Forming Words
Test Your Understanding of Word Formation
Frequently Asked Questions on Word Formation in English

WHAT IS WORD FORMATION?
The English language is known for its wonderful quality of the way in which words and sentences are formed and used. Formation of new words from an existing root word by adding a syllable or another word is the general process; however, there are multiple ways in which it can be done.

TYPES OF WORD FORMATION WITH EXAMPLES
The formation of words is classified into four types based on how the process of formation is carried out. They are:

By adding prefixes
By adding suffixes
Converting from one word class to another
Forming compound words

Let us look at each type of word formation in detail.

- ADDING PREFIXES
The term ‘prefix’ refers to one or more alphabets added to the stem of a word, mostly to make it negative. The most commonly used prefixes include ‘in-’, ‘un-’, ‘dis-’, ‘im-’, ‘ir-’, etc. Look at the examples given below for a clearer understanding of how prefixes are used to form new words.

Examples of Word Formation by the Addition of Prefixes:

Discipline – indiscipline
Just – unjust
Tidy – untidy
Respect – disrespect
Understand – misunderstand
Comfortable – uncomfortable
Comfort – discomfort
Responsible – irresponsible
Honest – dishonest
Happy – unhappy
Polite – impolite
Experience – inexperience
Practical – impractical
Important – unimportant
Legal – illegal
Ethical – unethical
Potent – impotent

ADDING SUFFIXES
A suffix is a short syllable added at the end of a base word. The addition of suffixes usually changes the word class of the particular word. The most common suffixes include ‘-ment’, ‘-ness’, ‘-ity’, ‘-ous’, ‘-tion’, ‘-sion’, ‘-al’, ‘-able’, ‘-ible’, ‘-ive’, ‘-ly’, ‘-ate’, ‘-er’, ‘-or’, etc. Check out the following examples to see how suffixes are added.

Examples of Word Formation by the Addition of Suffixes
Comprehend (verb) – comprehension (noun) – comprehensible (adjective)
Inform (verb) – information (noun) – informative (adjective)
Invest (verb) – Investment (noun) – Investor (noun)
Write (verb) – writer (noun)
Authorise (verb) – authorisation (noun)
Move (verb) – movement (noun)
Add (verb) – addition (noun)
Happy (adjective) – happiness (noun)
Conserve (verb) – conservation (noun)
Wide (Adjective) – widen (verb)
Manage (verb) – manageable (adjective) – manager (noun)
Courage (noun) – courageous (adjective)
Brave (adjective) – bravery (noun)
Profit (noun) – profitable (adjective)
Quick (adjective) – quickly (adverb)
Happy (adjective) – happily (adverb)
Sad (adjective) – sadness (noun)

- CONVERSION
The process of conversion focuses solely on changing the word class of the particular word. If you have noticed, you would have seen how some nouns are used to perform the role of a verb or an adjective acting like a noun just by the addition of another word or slightly altering the spelling of the actual word.

Examples of Word Formation by Conversion
The rich should help the poor.
Adjectives such as ‘rich’ and ‘poor’ are used as nouns by using them with the article ‘the’.

Everyone is talented.
‘Talented’ – a past participle is used as an adjective in the above sentence. The word is formed by adding the suffix ‘ed’ to the end of the noun ‘talent’.

There will definitely be a lot of ups and downs in life.
Prepositions ‘up’ and ‘down’ are used as nouns by adding ‘s’ to the end of it.

He texted me about the meeting only at the last minute.
The noun ‘text’ used to refer to a text message sent on a phone is used as a verb in the sentence by adding an ‘ed’ to the end of the word.

The financial aid had to be approved before we could make a decision.
The noun ‘finance’ is used as an adjective by adding ‘ial’ to the end of it and the verb ‘decide’ is used as a noun by removing ‘de’ and adding ‘sion’ to the word.

- FORMING COMPOUND WORDS
Compound words are formed by combining one part of speech with another to form a specific word class. There are many ways in which compound words are formed. Verbs are combined with adjectives to form compound verbs, a present participle is combined with a noun to form a compound noun, two nouns are combined to form a compound noun, an adjective and a noun are combined to form a compound noun, an adverb is combined with a noun to form a compound noun, an adjective is combined with a past participle to form a compound adjective and so on. Take a look at the following examples and go through the articles on compound nouns, compound words and compound adjectives to understand how they work.

Examples of Word Formation by Compounding
Over (adverb) + load (noun) – Overload
White (adjective) + wash (verb) – Whitewash
Black (adjective) + board (noun ) – Blackboard
Cup (noun) + board (noun) – Cupboard
Short (adjective) + hand (noun) – Shorthand
Swimming (present participle) + pool (noun) – Swimming pool
Three (adjective) + legged (past participle) – Three-legged
Break (verb) + Down (preposition) – Breakdown
Up (preposition) + town (noun) – Uptown
Copy (verb) + writer (noun) – Copywriter
Sun (noun) + rise (verb) – Sunrise
Count (verb) + down (preposition) – Countdown
Flash (verb) + mob (noun) – Flash mob
Master (noun) + piece (noun) – Masterpiece
Round (adjective) + table (noun) – Round-table

Rules to be Followed When Forming Words

Formation of words can be a very interesting exercise, but you have to be really careful when you are adding inflections or affixes. There are a few things you will need to bear in mind when you are forming words. Take a look at the following points to learn what they are.

Before making any change to the stem of the word, try to analyse what is the kind of meaning you want the word to convey and what role the word will have to play in the sentence.
In most cases, the beginning of the base word remains the same. Only when prefixes are added the word has a syllable added to the beginning of it. Notice that even in this case, the word is retained as such.
When suffixes are added, there are many instances where you will have to remove the last one or more alphabets of the word and add the suffix. However, there are words like ‘movement’ where the suffix is just added without any change in the spelling of the base word.
Here is one way to easily know which suffix has to be added to form a particular word class – most often, nouns end in ‘er’, ‘or’, ‘ist’, ‘ian’, ‘ion’, ‘ment’, ‘ness’, and ‘ity’; verbs end in ‘ise’, ‘ate’ and ‘en’; adjectives end in ‘able’, ‘ible’, ‘ive’, ‘ic’, ‘ed’, ‘ing’ and ‘al’; and adverbs normally end in ‘ly’.
When words are formed by conversion, be very careful. Make sure you know that you are converting them accurately and using them in the sentence properly.

When forming compound words, see to it that you hyphenate them if necessary, use the right combination of words and do not just mix and match any word.

Changing from one tense to another also can also be considered a type of word formation, as the word is inflected to indicate the twelve different tenses in the English language.

Forming degrees of comparison can also be put under word formation. In this case, the comparative and superlative degrees are formed by adding ‘er’ and ‘est’ to the end of the adjective. The comparative and superlative degrees of polysyllabic words are formed by using ‘more’ and ‘most’, respectively, along with the adjective.

Test Your Understanding of Word Formation
Exercise 1 – Add Prefixes and Suffixes
Add prefixes and suffixes to the following words.

1. Passion____

2. Remember____

3. ____conscious

4. Sense____

5. ____acceptable

6. Entertain____

7. ____representation

8. Neat____

9. Invent____

10. ____interpret

Answers for Exercise 1
1. Passionate

2. Remembrance

3. Unconscious/Subconscious

4. Sensible/Senseless

5. Unacceptable

6. Entertainment

7. Misrepresentation

8. Neatly/Neatness

9. Invention

10. Misinterpret

Exercise 2 – Conversion of Words
Go through the following words and convert them as directed.

1. Money (convert into adjective)

2. Brave (convert into noun)

3. Clean (convert into noun)

4. Prayer (convert into adjective)

5. Resemblance (convert into verb)

6. Slow (convert into adverb)

7. Treat (convert into noun)

8. Confession (convert into verb)

9. Vary (convert into adjective)

10. Beauty (convert into verb)

Answers for Exercise 2
1. Monetary

2. Bravery

3. Cleanliness

4. Prayerful

5. Resemble

6. Slowly

7. Treatment

8. Confess

9. Various/variable

10. Beautify

Exercise 3 – Form Compound Words
Go through the words in the box given below and use them to form ten compound words.

up, table, spend, load, green, machine, case, make, estimate, over, self

1. _______ confident

2. Washing _______

3. Time _______

4. Under _______

5. _______sufficient

6. Up_______

7. _______set

8. Suit_______

9. _______over

10. _______thrift

Answers for Exercise 3
1. Overconfident

2. Washing machine

3. Timetable

4. Underestimate

5. Self-sufficient

6. Upload

7. Upset

8. Suitcase

9. Makeover

10. Spendthrift

Frequently Asked Questions on Word Formation in English

Q1
What is word formation?
Word formation is the process by which new words are formed by adding an affix, another word or converting from one word class to another by removing and adding alphabets.

Q2
What are the four types of word formation?
The four types of word formation include:

Addition of prefix
Addition of suffix
Conversion from one word class to another
Forming compound words

Q3
Give some examples of word formation.
Here are some examples of the various types of word formation for your reference:

Practical – impractical (prefix)
Purpose – purposeful (suffix)
Silent – silence (conversion)
Dining + room – Dining room (compound word)
Small – smaller – smallest (degrees of comparison).