Word formation refers to the way new words are formed on the basis of other words. It is called the creation or invention of a new name. Every language always needs new words. This is mainly due to advances in technology. New products are coming to the market and they all need names to be called. Because of new structures and changes, a language needs to borrow, acquire or combine new words just because new things require words.
It is at times referred to all cycles associated with changing the type of the word by, for example, appendage, which involves morphology. In its more extensive sense word arrangement means the cycles of the making of new lexical units. Despite the fact that it appears to be that the contrast between the morphological difference in a word and the formation of another term is very simple to see, there is now and then a question with respect to whether mixing is as yet a morphological change or making another word. There are, obviously, various word development measures that don’t excite any contentions and are fundamentally the same as in most dialects.
The two parts of a compound word are typically separated by a hyphen. In any case, on account of numerous normal compound words, the segment parts have become so firmly associated that they are currently composed as a single words with no hyphen between them.
Word formation is sometimes compared to a semantic change, which is a change in the meaning of a single word.
There are four main kinds of word formation: prefixes, suffixes, conversion and compounds.
1. Prefixes
Prefixes are letters which we add to the beginning of a word to make a new word with a different meaning. They can also make a word negative or express relations of time, place or manner. Here are some examples:
| Possible | Impossible |
| True | Untrue |
| Payment | Non payment |
| Cook | Overcook |
2. Suffixes
A suffix is a letter or group of letters added at the end of a word which makes a new word.
| Use | Useful |
| Forget | Forgetful |
| Beauty | Beautiful |
| Read | Reader |
3. Conversion
Conversion involves the change of a word from one word class to another.
A very productive process, a noun becomes a verb – butter, vacation, bottle
Verbs become nouns – guess, spy
Phrasal verbs become nouns – to print out, to take over
Verbs become adjectives – see through, stand up
4. Compounding
A compound word is two or more words linked together to produce a word with a new meaning:
Tooth + brush – toothbrush
Car + park – carpark
Animal + lover – animal lover