Word Family Derivation
vocabularygrammaraccuracypracticepairslow prep15-20 min
A grid with columns (verb, noun, adjective, adverb) and rows (word families). Students fill the grid, producing all derivational forms. Essential for exam writing — learners who can shift decide ↔ decision ↔ decisive ↔ decisively access paraphrase power.
Procedure
- Draw a grid on the board: 4 columns (verb, noun, adjective, adverb) × 8 rows.
- Start each row with one form: decide / — / — / —.
- In pairs, students fill the other three cells.
- Pool: whole class shares completed grids. Disputes go to the dictionary.
- Use: students write 4 sentences using all 4 forms of the same root.
Sample Grid (filled)
| Verb | Noun | Adjective | Adverb |
|---|---|---|---|
| decide | decision | decisive | decisively |
| produce | production / producer | productive | productively |
| explain | explanation | explanatory | — |
| sympathise | sympathy | sympathetic | sympathetically |
| globalise | globalisation | global | globally |
| succeed | success / successor | successful | successfully |
| persuade | persuasion | persuasive | persuasively |
| create | creation / creator | creative | creatively |
Why It Works
- Paraphrase power: shifting word class is the most useful paraphrase move in exam writing.
- Affix awareness: students notice the patterns (-tion, -ive, -ly, etc.) and can extrapolate to new roots.
- Grammar + vocabulary integrated: the correct word form in a sentence is a grammar choice; the form exists as vocabulary.
- Cambridge and IELTS linkage: Use of English word-formation tasks, and IELTS writing lexical resource scoring, both benefit directly.
Common Affix Patterns to Teach
| Suffix | Word class |
|---|---|
| -tion / -sion / -ment | noun (action or result) |
| -er / -or / -ist | noun (person doing) |
| -ive / -ous / -al | adjective |
| -ly | adverb |
| -ise / -en | verb (often from adjective) |
| -ify | verb (make X) |
| -able / -ible | adjective (can be V-ed) |
Variations
- Sentence transformation: give a sentence using one form; students rewrite using the other three.
- Affix sort: list of 30 mixed affixes; students sort by word class produced.
- Exam-style word-form gap-fill: give a text with blanks; students supply the correct form from a root.
- Word-family notebook: students maintain a personal grid; add a family per week.
Tips
- Not every cell fills: some words lack an adverb (explanation has no -ly) or an adjective. Mark these clearly as gaps; don't force invention.
- Stress often shifts: PHOtograph → phoTOGraphy → photoGRAphic. Drill the stress shift along with the form.
- Great for B1+ learners. Below B1, focus on 2–3 forms per root, not 4.
Source
Bauer, L. & Nation, P. (1993) Word families. International Journal of Lexicography. Nation, I.S.P. (2001) Learning Vocabulary in Another Language. CUP.