OOPT Word Formation 6

Question 1

Which sentence uses the correctly formed word to complete the gap? "The committee's decision was widely regarded as ______, since it contradicted every precedent set in the previous decade."

Accepted Answer

unprecedented

Answer

'Unprecedented' (un- + precedent + -ed) is the standard adjective meaning 'never having happened before'. The other forms are not established English words; the prefix un- combines with participial adjectives like this, not non-, dis-, or the suffix -ial in this meaning.

Question 2

In the word 'disenfranchisement', which of the following correctly identifies the sequence of affixes added to the root 'franchise'?

Accepted Answer

dis- + en- + -ment

Answer

The root is 'franchise' (the final -e is dropped when adding -ment in the written form 'franchis-'). The word is built as en- + franchise = enfranchise, then dis- + enfranchise = disenfranchise, then + -ment = disenfranchisement. The affix order in the word reads dis- + en- + -ment, and 'franchise' is the root, so the -ise ending is part of the root and is not a separate suffix here.

Question 3

Which word is formed by CONVERSION (zero derivation) rather than by affixation or compounding?

Accepted Answer

to email (verb, from the noun 'email')

Answer

Conversion changes a word's part of speech without adding any affix: the noun 'email' becomes the verb 'to email'. 'Worker' uses the suffix -er, 'unhappiness' uses un- and -ness, and 'bookshelf' is a compound of two free morphemes.

Question 4

Choose the word that correctly completes the sentence: "Her ______ to deadlines frustrated the whole team, as she consistently failed to submit work on time."

Accepted Answer

unreliability

Answer

The noun from 'unreliable' is 'unreliability', formed by replacing -able with -ability. 'Unreliableness' is rare and awkward, 'unrelyability' mis-spells the stem (rely → reli-), and 'irreliability' wrongly uses the prefix ir- (the root takes un-).

Question 5

Which of the following is a BLEND (portmanteau) rather than a compound or a clipped form?

Accepted Answer

brunch

Answer

'Brunch' merges parts of 'breakfast' and 'lunch', losing material from both words, which is the definition of a blend. 'Sunlight' and 'blackboard' are compounds of whole words, and 'phone' is a clipping, a shortened form of a single word.

(OOPT) Oxford Online Placement Test Practice Test

(OOPT) Oxford Online Placement Test Practice Test

OOPT Word Formation 6