METAPHOR - WORD FORMATION: PREFIXES AND SUFFIXES

METAPHOR - WORD FORMATION: PREFIXES AND SUFFIXES

METAPHOR

A metaphor is a combination of vocabulary items we use to express a particular feeling or encourage imagination, e.g.: her sunny smile, have a big head, purr with delight, a sun-drenched beach, pull strings.

1. Compound adjectives and nouns as metaphors some compounds are always metaphorical they have a meaning that each part of the compound doesnt have. A bloodbath is never a bath full of blood; the compound has only the meaning of a massacre. Other examples that are always metaphorical include:

mind games, nutcase, thought reader (BrE) / mind reader (AmE), hit the roof, paint the town red, walk in someones shoes, have a bone to pick with someone, narrow-minded, warm-hearted, hard-bitten, green-fingered (BrE) / have a green thumb (AmE), soul-searching, dead-end

2. Single words used metaphorically we can also use many single words in metaphorical contexts:

I hope this will have cushioned your loss.

Seeing him on stage fired my enthusiasm.

She just froze when she saw her ex-boyfriend.

I didnt think shed have the bottle to ask.

3. Idiomatic phrases some idiomatic phrases are combinations of two words connected with and or or, for example come rain or shine. The pairs have a fixed order:

She was the soul and life of the party / life and soul of the party.

Everyone has their highs and lows.

Making mistakes is part and parcel of growing up.

Ill move heaven and earth to achieve my goal.

This selling season is make or break for the car industry.

She may act strangely, but live and let live is what I always say.

PRACTICE

1. Put the corresponding letter of the right word into the blank of each sentence.

1. The bride suddenly turned on her heels and out of the church.

a. soared b. accelerated c. flew

2. Dont you think the British sometimes have a rather sense of humour?

a. creased b. warped c. chipped

3. There would be a of protest if they showed the victims on TV?

a. sea b. stream c. storm

4. Theres been a of public sympathy since her death.

a. wave b. sea c. river

5. I could have been one of the of the game of golf.

a. monsters b. mountains c. giants

6. Mums so good to us, shes an absolute

a. fairy b. angel c. nurse

7. My brother was a of strength through all the problems I had.

a. tower b. heap c. mountain

8. I wish you would be absolutely with me.

a. bent b. crooked c. straight

9. The Prime Minister is trying to put the on the economy.

a. accelerator b. brakes c. gears

10. The boy in the flat above ours is becoming a real for his parents.

a. backache b. toothache c. headache

2. Put the corresponding letter of the right word into the blank of each sentence.

1. Youll have to be on your if you want to beat her.

a. finger b. feet c. toes

2. These girl pop groups are heading for a

a. drop b. fall c. trip

3. A rise in interest rates at the time would have thrown our plans out of

a. place b. half c. gear

4. With all these scandals, shes never off the

a. front pages b. headlines c. tabloids

5. Why do you always walk at a pace?

a. snails b. tortoises c. snakes

6. I wouldnt marry him not in a years!

a. hundred b. million c. billion

7. Hed have been over the if hed been selected for that management course.

a. world b. moon c. sun

8. Aim for the and youre bound to be a success.

a. planets b. moon c. stars

9. If you set your sights too high, you may fall flat on your

a. back b. nose c. face

10. Sacked from one job, offered a better one; it looks as if hes landed on his again.

a. feet b. back c. face

WORD FORMATION: PREFIXES AND SUFFIXES

A. Prefixes change meaning a prefix of a word has a meaning of its own that changes the meaning of the word it is joined to. Knowing what the prefix means can help us to understand the word. For example, if you read unpremeditated and know that meditate means think about something you can work out the meaning of unpremeditated: un- is a prefix meaning not; pre denotes before; meditated means thought about. You can now work out that unpremeditated means something like not thought about in advance. We can use prefixes in front of:

Nouns underclothes underpayment

undersigned understudy undertaking

Adjectives underdeveloped underground

undernourished underprivileged underweight

Verbs undercut underestimate undergo

understate undervalue

B. Same prefix different meanings many prefixes can have more than one meaning:

1. before adjectives, un- means not:

unaware uncommon unconscious

undecided unimportant

2. before nouns, un- can indicate without:

untidiness unkindness unemployment

3. before verbs, un- means to do the opposite:

uncurl undo unplug

unlock unwrap unzip

4. in- and im- sometimes indicate not:

indecisive infinite infallible

impenetrable impolite

5. they can also mean in / inside:

intake indoors implant

imprison

C. Prefixes in front of non-existent words we use prefixes in front of many words where the base form doesnt exist by itself. For example, incessant means without stopping but there is no such word as cessant (although there is the verb cease). Here are some more examples:

inflect intact immune disparage repeat

impeccable impede unkempt unscathed

D. Suffixes that show the part of speech a suffix changes the meaning of the word it is joined to only by changing its part of speech; e.g., we can add -ity to the adjective national to make a noun nationality. We often need to change the spelling, for example, urgent becomes urgency. Here are some examples of suffixes:

• -ation / -ition, -ance, -cy, -ment, -ness, -ity, -ist form nouns:

inform (verb) information

dance (verb) dancer

sweet (adj) sweetness

tour (verb) tourist

• -ous, -able, -ful, -ing, -ical, -less, -y form adjectives:

danger (noun) dangerous

forget ( verb) forgetful

• -ise, -ify, -en form verbs:

intense (adj) intensify

flat (adj) flatten

E. Suffixes that have meaning a few suffixes, particularly at the end of adjectives, have meaning; e.g. -less always indicates without:

meaningless useless homeless

hopelessly remorselessly

Here are some more examples: -like, -proof, -tight, -ful, -worthy, -able as in:

childlike waterproof (AmE) watertight (BrE)

respectful trustworthy understandable

PRACTICE

1. Put the corresponding letter of the right word into the blank of each sentence.

1. Julia played a role in the planning if the millennium exhibition.

a. consultation b. consulting c. consultative d. consulted

2. Even the best medicines are not

a. infallible b. unfailing c. fail-proof d. falsified

3. In the event, we found your advice absolutely

a. unworthy b. valuable c. invaluable d. impecunious

4. I parked in a restricted area and the police my car.

a. imprisoned b. impounded c. impaled d. interned

5. He has been for gross misconduct.

a. impressed b. impounded c. impeached d. impelled

6. In the end, I just lost my and started gabbling incoherently.

a. head b. mind c. brain d. intelligence

2. The solutions to all the crossword clues are prefixes. Write them into the grid below.

Down

Social Identity

Identity is often in the eye of the beholder. [] Social identity is a characteristic pr property of humans as social beings. The word identity, however, embraces a universe of creatures, things and substances that is wider than the limited category of humanity.

Consulting the Oxford English Dictionary yields a Latin root (identitas, from idem, the same) and two basic meanings. The first is a concept of absolute sameness: this is identical to that. The second is a concept of distinctiveness that presumes consistency or continuity over time. Approaching the idea of sameness from two different angles, the notion of identity simultaneously establishes two possible relations of comparison between persons or things: similarity on the one hand, and difference on the other. [] Exploring the matter further, the verb to identify is a necessary accompaniment of identity: there is something active about the word that cannot be ignored. Identity is not just there, it must always be established. This adds two further meanings to our catalog: to classify things or persons, and to associate oneself with something or someone else (for example, a friend, a hero, a party, or a philosophy).

All human identities are in some sense and usually a stronger rather than a weaker sense social identities. It cannot be otherwise, if only because identity is about meaning, and meaning is not an essential property of words and things. Meanings are always the outcome of agreement or disagreement, always a matter of convention and innovation, always to some extent shared, always to some extent negotiable. [] Ones social identity indeed, ones social identities, for who we are is always singular and plural is never a final or settled matter.

So, how to define social identity? Minimally, the expression refers to the ways in which individuals and collectivities are distinguished in their social relations with other individuals and collectivities. [] Social identity is our understanding of who we are and of who other people are, and reciprocally, others people understanding of them selves and of others (which includes us). Social identity, is, therefore, no more essential than meaning; it too is the product of agreement and disagreement, it too is negotiable.

Without social identity, there is, in fact, no society.

Jenkins, Richard. Social Identity. London: Routledge, 1996.