Word Families

Here is something I noticed when I started teaching. My students knew plenty of words, but often only one member of each family. They knew decision, so every sentence became "I took a decision to...". They never said I decided, because decide wasn't in their pocket.

Learning families fixes that. One family gives you several ways to say the same thing, and your English starts to sound much more natural:

One family, three sentences

සිංහලෙන්

• That class was really boring.adjective
• I was really bored in that class.adjective
• That class was a real bore.noun

How to use this list

Don't try to read it from A to Z. Nobody learns 600 families in a sitting, and that includes me. Instead:

1. Pick five rows a day. Start with the words you already half know.
2. For each row, make one sentence with two of the family members, about your own life: I decided to study law. It was a hard decision.
3. Say the sentences aloud. Next day, read yesterday's five again before you start the new five.

The words in bold are the most common ones, so learn those first. The rest of the row is the same family, usually made with a prefix (un-, dis-, in-) or a suffix (-ment, -ness, -ly). An empty box means that family has no common word of that kind.

Not sure what each kind of word does? The lessons on nouns, adjectives and adverbs, including forming adverbs from adjectives, explain them.

A family can sometimes surprise you. Act and actual look related, but their meanings are far apart. When you are not sure, check a dictionary.

The list

The list is long, so I have split it into four parts. Each part has a section for every letter, so the "On this page" menu takes you straight to a letter.

• A to D
• E to L
• M to R
• S to Z

Want the whole thing on one page? Here is the full list, A to Z.

The list comes from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary (third edition).

Quick check

Tap an answer. Nothing is saved.

1. The film was so long that I was by the end.

   boredboring

2. Choosing a university is a big .

   decidedecisiondecisive

3. My uncle runs a business in Galle.

   successsucceedsuccessful

4. Please drive on the Kandy road. It is very wet.

   carefulcarefullycare

5. Find angry in A to D. What are the other members of its family?

   Show answer