C1 Advanced Word Formation Practice

C1 Advanced (CAE) · Reading & Use of English Part 3 · 59 free exercises

A text with eight gaps, each with a stem word in capitals that must be transformed to fit — noun to adjective, verb to noun, adding prefixes or making it negative. Word formation tests how well you know word families and affixes.

Word Formation: One root word, the right family member.

8 — gaps
1 root word — to transform
1 mark — per gap
~10 min — of your paper

Two decisions: which word class the gap needs (noun, verb, adjective, adverb), and whether the meaning needs a prefix — most often a negative one. The root gives you the meaning; you build the correct form and spell it right.

What real learners get wrong: From 11,400 real gaps, learners average 86%. Negative prefixes are the hardest family (20% wrong): COMFORT → uncomfortable was missed by 45%, most writing "comfortable".

The method

Read the whole sentence and find the word class the gap needs.
Decide singular or plural, and person or thing (HISTORY → historians, not historically).
Check the meaning for a prefix — is the idea negative or opposite? Add un-, in-, dis-, mis-.
Watch for double changes: many answers need a prefix AND a suffix (un-comfort-able).
Spell it, minding root changes (maintain → maintenance), then reread the sentence.

The traps

Inventing a word: Applying a suffix that does not exist — "perceivance" for PERCEIVE (the word is perception).
Right idea, wrong word class: An adverb where a noun was needed — "surviving" for SURVIVE where "survival" fits.
Missing the prefix: The suffix and class are right, but a negative prefix was needed — the whole mark goes with it.
Person vs thing: Some gaps need a person noun, not an abstract one — ask who or what the sentence is about.
Spelling the right word wrong: A doubled letter missed, a root that changed. No partial credit, so proofread every answer.

Worked example

Aboard the flight simulator · Advanced Expert Student’s Resource Book, Pearson Education — A real past-paper text, attempted by 45 learners. The CAPITAL word beside each gap is the root you transform — the prefix and spelling are where marks go.

accompanied (verb form) — 13% wrong, most wrote “acompanied”: The double “c” trips the spelling.
realistic (adjective) — 7% wrong, most wrote “unrealistic”: No negative prefix is needed here.
authenticity (noun) — 13% wrong, most wrote “autenticity”: A pure spelling test.
responsibility (noun) — 7% wrong, most wrote “responsiblity”: Mind the “-ibility”.
undeterred (negative prefix) — 47% wrong, most wrote “deterred”: The hardest gap — most missed the negative “un-” prefix.
fantasise (verb) — 11% wrong, most wrote “fantasized”: The verb formed from “fantasy”.
recruitment (noun) — 11% wrong, most wrote “recruiting”: The noun, not the “-ing” form.
apparently (adverb) — 13% wrong, most wrote “appearently”: Note how the spelling shifts.

C1 Advanced Word Formation Practice

Word Formation: One root word, the right family member.

The method

The traps

Worked example

All Word Formation exercises

Advanced Expert Coursebook, Pearson Education

Advanced Expert Student's Resource Book, Pearson Education

C1 Advanced Trainer 2, Cambridge University Press

Cambridge English Advanced 1, Cambridge University Press

Cambridge English Advanced 2, Cambridge University Press

Cambridge English Advanced 3, Cambridge University Press

Cambridge Exam Booster for Advanced, Cambridge University Press

Complete Advanced Workbook, Cambridge University Press

Complete Advanced, Cambridge University Press

Ready for C1 Advanced 4th Edition Workbook, Macmillan Education

Ready for C1 Advanced 4th Edition, Macmillan Education

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