The mute Final “E” and its Functions

 

1. It indicates the long or diphthongal sound value of the preceding vowel letter:

bite

note

theme

2. It fixes the sound value of the letters “c”, “g” and the diagraph “th”:

since

large

breathe

3. In some words it serves both the functions:

ice

nice

rage

bathe

4. It comes after “l” or “r” preceded by another consonant letter to indicate the syllabic character of [l] and vocalic [r]:

table

noble

centre

theatre

5. It follows the letters “v”, “u”, “i”, “o”, “s”, “z” which are seldom or never word-final:

give

league

freeze

dense

die

toe

blue

6. I serves to distinguish homophones and words which look alike but differ in meaning and pronunciation:

step – steppe [step]	please – pleas [plJz]
do – doe [dqu]	moral – morale [mq'rRl]

7. It may be a part of a diagraph or triagraph:

care

fire

cure

Rule I. The final mute letter “e” is usually dropped before a suffix beginning with a vowel letter:

fame – famous	amuse – amusing
love – lovable	guide – guidance

Note: 1. “e” is retained to show pronunciation in words ending in -ce, -ge. “e” is needed to preserve the sound of the soft “c”, “g”; but if the suffix begins with “i” the mute letter “e” is dropped:

change – changing – changeable

notice – noticing – noticeable

2. “e” is also kept after “o”:

toe – toeing	canoe – canoeing
shoe – shoeing	tiptoe – tiptoeing

 

3. Verbs ending in “-ie” change the “ie” into “y” before “ing” to avoid a double “i”:

die - dying

tie - tying

lie - lying

4. Double “e“ is retained before all suffixes except those beginning with “e” (-ed, -er, -est)

see – seeing

agree – agreeable

5. Rule I is not strictly observed in the case of monosyllabic words when they are likely to be misread:

likeable	or	saleable
likable		salable

Rule II. The final mute letter “e” is retained before a suffix beginning with a consonant (to keep the pronunciation):

safe - safety

whole - wholesome

care - careful

 

Exceptions:

due – duly whole – wholly true – truly nine – ninth argue - argument

 

Exercises

1. Write the “ing-form” of the following verbs:

leave	face	tiptoe	give	place	see
use	save	wake	shake	promise	agree
lie	raise	unite	clothe	come	strike
ride	rise	take	bite	have	place
canoe	tie	make	love	prepare	die

2. Write the initial form of the following words and give all the necessary explanations:

Abridging, amusement, arrival, bluish, changeable, continuous, creation, died, duly, dyeing, dying, freest, icy, nervous, tied, tiptoed, truly, wholly, valuable.

3. Write the derivatives for the following words adding the suffixes:

-able	-ous	-ful	-er
change	fame	hope	trade
notice	nerve	hate	dance
advise	courage	use	strike
trace	continue	taste	love
agree	fury	peace	skate
move	glory	care	believe
value	envy	grace	lecture
-ment	-ly	-less	-ance
announce	true	hope	guide
acquire	whole	use	grieve
improve	idle	care	ignore
excite	rare	noise	endure
commence	private	tire	resemble
agree	live	age	continue
achieve	large	sense

4. Write all forms and derivatives for the following words:

active	care	courage	close	hope	move	strange
agree	change	create	die	lie	notice	value

5. Insert the letter “e”where necessary:

a gentl_ breez_

a hop_less cas_

a grac_ful danc_er

a continu_ous drizzl_

a compl_t – ignor_ance

an entir_ly wrong argu_ment

the scen_ of a fam_ous battle

ly_ing without mov_ment

a tru_ly grat_ful and respons_iv_ audienc_

6. Add the suffixes given in brackets to the underlined words:

1. I may as well mention here that she made an advantage (-ous) match with a wealthy, worn-out man of fashion. 2. It wasn’t from that dinner he remembered her, it was from notice (-ing) her in the street. 3. Glanc (-ing) at his companion, he wondered if she remembered it. 4. He knows the boy is very courage (-ous) but he is also young. 5. But most people are afraid of face (-ing) this part of their nature. 6. The mechanic who is extremely knowledge (-able) about any kind of machinery, knew exactly how to get the gate open. 7. One day he was called to the manager’s room, due (-ly) reprimanded. 8. She learned many different steps, and even learned the art of tiptoe (-ing).

7. Find and correct the misspelt words:

Lying, eyeing, judgeing, agred, useful, duly, wholely, argument, changing, careful.

8. Write in English the following words:

Ценный, надежный, предпочтительный, восхитительный, изменчивый, заметный, несогласный, управляемый.

COMPOSITION EXERCISE.

 Complete the following passage. Keep to the first person and the past tense.

 I was walking along a country lane when a car passed me, travelling very fast, skidded at the next comer and overturned....

 

Affixation

(Prefixation and Suffixation)

I. Prefixation

A prefix is a word-building morpheme preceding the stem. It modifies the lexical meaning of the stem:

polite – im polite  fill - re fill

Some prefixes may form a different part of speech from the original word. When added to a verb-stem, they change an intransitive verb into a transitive verb:

wit, n. - out wit, v.;       little, adj. - be little, v.

Thus, a prefix always has lexical and sometimes grammati­cal meaning.

Negative prefixes

The group of negative prefixes is numerous. They give the derived word negative, reverse or opposite meaning.

Un-		a negative prefix may begin with a vowel or consonant.  For the biggest part of adjectives		· unable — неспособный, · unaware — неосведомленный, · uncertain — неуверенный, · unclear — неясный, · unfriendly — недружелюбный, · unhelpful — бесполезный, · uninformed -неосведомленный, · unknown — неизвестный, · unpleasant — неприятный, · unpredictable – непредсказуемый
In-		a negative prefix can begin with a vowel mainly a/ac (except i or u) or a consonant.		· Inaccessible — недостижимый, · Inaccurate — неточный, · Inadequate — неадекватный, · Incapable — неспособный, · Incomplete — незавершенный, · Incredible – невероятный.   Исключения: indefinite, inevitable, infinite, inflexible, informal, insecure, insignificant, invalid, invariable, invisible, involuntary.
Il-		a negative prefix always begin with the letter l.		· Illegal — нелегальный, · Illegible – нечеткий, неразборчивый, · Illiterate — неграмотный, · Illogical – нелогичный Исключение: disloyal
Ir-		a negative prefix always begin with the letter r.		· Irrational — нерациональный, · Irregular — неправильный, · Irrelevant — неуместный, · Irreparable — неисправимый, · Irresistible — неотразимый, · Irresponsible — безответственный, · Irreversible – необратимый.
Im-		a negative prefix always begin with the letter m or p		· Immature — незрелый, · Impatient — неспокойный, · Imperfect — неидеальный, · Impossible — невозможный, · Imprecise – неточный.
Dis-		a negative prefix may begin with a vowel or a consonant Necessary to learn by heart		· Disagreeable – неприятный, · Dishonorable – позорный, · Dishonest — бесчестный, · Disloyal – нелояльный; · Distasteful – противный, · distrustful — недоверчивый.
Non-		a negative prefix may begin with a vowel or a consonant. Necessary to learn by heart		· Nonexistent — несуществующий, · Nonmetallic – неметаллический, · Nonpartisan — беспартийный, · Nonresident – не проживающий здесь.
Un-	Rarely used with verbs, giving meaning delete		· Unscheduled – удалить из расписания · Unfriend – удалить из друзей
De-	a negative prefix with reverse meaning		· Deactivate — деактивировать, · Decode — декодировать, · Decommission — списывать, · Decompose — разбирать, · Deconstruct –разбирать, · Decontaminate — дезинфицировать, · Decrease — уменьшать, · Deform — деформировать, · Derail – сходить с рельсов.
Dis-	a negative prefix may begin with a vowel or a consonant		· Disagree – не соглашаться, · Disfigure – обезображивать, · Disinfect – дезинфицировать, · Disinherit – лишать наследства, · Disintegrate – дезинтегрировать, · displease - не нравиться, · distrust – не доверять.
Mis-	Meaning wrong		· Misdiagnose — поставить неверный диагноз, · Misinform — неправильно информировать, · Misinterpret — неверно истолковывать, · Mislead — вводить в заблуждение, · Misplace — поставить не на то место, · Misspell — делать орфографические ошибки, · Mistake – ошибаться, · Misunderstand — неправильно понять.

The prefix “in-“ (its variants -il, -im, ir) is usually added to adjectives (in accordance with the rules of assimila­tion) giving negative or opposite meaning. (The Russian prefix - “He-“).

convenience – in convenience

logical – ill ogical

moral – im moral

rational – ir rational

The prefix “de-“ gives the affixed word the following me­anings: deprive of, rid of, rid of the character of; reverse, undo (what is denoted by the verb):

code – de code   fame – de fame

throne – de throne form – de form

The prefix “ dis-“ gives the affixed word the opposite or negative meaning, the meaning of “the reverse of”:

advantage – dis advantage	arm – dis arm
content – dis content	agree – dis agree

 

Exercises