I.25 Fill in the gaps with the correct prefix from the box.

auto- / de- / dec- / inter- / maxi- / mega- / micro- / mini- / mono- / multi- / semi- / sub-

1. Most people prefer a colour screen to a -chrome screen. 2. -script is a character or symbol written below and to the right of a number or letter, often used in science. 3. A -byte equals approximately one million bytes. 4. Once you finish your program, you will have to test it and -bug it to remove all the mistakes. 5. The introduction of -conductor technology revolutionized the computer industry. 6. If a computer system has two or more central processors which are under common control. It is called a -processor system. 7. The -imal system is a number system with a base of 10. 8. When the user and the computer are in active communication on a graphics system, we refer to this as -active graphics. 9. A CPU on a single chip is called a –processor. 10. In a graphical environment, to enlarge a window to full size means to –mize. 11. In graphical environments, to reduce a window to an icon means to –mize. 12. –mation is the replacement of manual operations by computerized methods.

 

Text B₂ Word-Formation: Suffixes

a) Read the text & get ready to fill in the table underneath.

(1) As it is mentioned in Text B₁, pre­fixes and suffixes function differently in the processes of word-formation, pre­fixes only change the meanings of words; suffixes change or convert words from one part of speech to another. But in order to be more exact, we must say that sometimes suffixes are used only to give words different meanings without changing their functional classification, i.e. without converting words from one part of speech to another. Thus we have brother and brotherhood, both nor­mally nouns; yellow and yellowish, both normally adjectives. But more often suffixes convert words from one classification to another, as in the following examples: verbs to nouns: perform -performance, convert – conversion;

· adjectives to nouns: popular - popularity, ready – readiness;

· nouns to verbs: computer - computerize, minimum – minimize;

· adjectives to verbs: simple - simplify, glad – gladden;

· nouns to adjectives: person - personal, danger – dangerous;

· verbs to adjectives: divide - divisible, interact – interactive;

· adjectives to adverbs: usual - usually, similar – similarly.

(2) This kind of conversion is common in many languages, including Greek, Latin, and French from which a great many English words, especially terms, were borrowed. It explains many of the related words in the language. It seems more convenient to group all the suffixes into four groups as belonging to defi­nite parts of speech, i.e. as noun-forming suffixes, verb-forming suffixes, ad­jective-forming suffixes, and adverb-forming suffixes.

(3) I Noun-Forming Suffixes:

-er, -or, -ist, -ian mean “ a person who ”, “ a thing which ” as in programmer, user, conductor, typist, compiler, cursor;

-ion; -tion, -ation, -sion, -ance, -ment mean “ state ”, “ action ”, “ the act of ” as in conversion, information, compilation, profession, development, measure­ment, appearance;

-ness, -ism, -dom, -ship all mean “ condition ” or “ state ” as in hardness, darkness, magnetism, formalism, wisdom, freedom, partnership;

-ence means “ quality of ” as in independence;

-ity means “ quality ” or “ state ” as in possibility, electricity.

(4) II Adjective-Forming Suffixes:

-able, -ible both in the meaning“ capable of being ”as in computable, visible;

-al, -ar, -ic, -ical all in the meaning“ having the quality of ”as in logical, economical, circular, automatic, electrical;

-full means “ characterized by ” as in careful, thankful;

-less means "without" as in helpless, careless;

-ous means“ like, full of ” as in dangerous, fibrous (волокнистый);

-ive means “ having the quality of ” as in active, progressive.

(5) III. Verb-Forming Suffixes: -ize/ise, -ate, -ify, -en all in the meaning “ to make ” or “ to perform ” as in computerize, centralize, activate, calculate, simplify, harden, facilitate, lighten (облегчать).

(6) IV. Adverb-Forming Suffixes:

- ly means “ in the manner of ” as in automatically, logically, helplessly.

-ward(s) means “ towards the …” as in afterward(s), downward, backward;

-wise means “in direction of” as in clockwise, anticlockwise;

-fold means “ miltiplied by ”, “ …times ” as in tenfold, threefold, fourfold.

Knowing the meanings of suffixes and prefixes you may easily recognize the words having the same root in all their modifications, and you may do without dictionary.