Opposites 1:

Unit
prefixes
0000
Exercise 1.
English often uses prefixes to create opposites. There are several different prefixes that are
used. Choose the right prefix for each of the adjectives below and write them into the
table. The first one has been done for you:

active adequate coherent compatible complete

conscious controllable dependent digested direct fertile fit healthy
hygienic legal movable operable palpable pure qualified reducible
regular sanitary soluble stable well

il- im- in- ir- un-

1. 1. 1. inactive 1. 1.
2. 2. 2. 2.
3. 3. 3.
4. 4.
5. 5.
6. 6.
7. 7.
8. 8.
9. 9.
10.
11.

Exercise 2.
Use ten of the adjectives in the table to complete these sentences. The first one has been
done for you as an example.
1. He was found unconscious in the street.

2. He felt ________________ and had to go home.

3. The serum makes the poison ________________.

4. The children have a very _______________ diet.

5. The nurse noted that the patient had developed an ________________ pulse.

6. She used to play a lot of tennis, but she became ________________ in the winter.

7. The surgeon decided that the cancer was ________________.

8. Cholera spread rapidly because of the ________________ conditions in the town.

9. The patient was showing signs of an ________________ mental condition.

10. She has an ________________ desire to drink alcohol.

Extension. Work with a partner and test each other. One partner closes the book, while
the other asks questions such as "What's the opposite of conscious?".
7
For reference see A & C Black Dictionary of Medical Terms (0 7136 7603 5).
 Unit 0000
Word formation: verbs
Exercise 1.
The words listed in the table below are nouns. What are the verb forms of these nouns?
The first question has been done for you as an example.
1. abuse abuse 16. perspiration
2. admission 17. preparation
3. bandage 18. provision
4. blood 19. reabsorption
5. breath 20. regeneration
6. coagulation 21. registration
7. consultation 22. regurgitation
8. convalescence 23. rehabilitation
9. fertilisation 24. reproduction
10. identification 25. resuscitation
11. immunisation 26. sedation
12. implant 27. stammer
13. maceration 28. stitch
14. management 29. suppression
15. occurrence 30. sweat

Exercise 2.
Choose ten verbs from Exercise 1 and write a sentence below for each one. Write the
correct form of each verb in the column on the right and leave gaps for the verbs in the
sentences. Cover up the right-hand column and give the sentences to another student as
a test. For example:
She ……………. with her local GP. registered

1. ………………………………………………………………………
2. ………………………………………………………………………
3. ………………………………………………………………………
4. ………………………………………………………………………
5. ………………………………………………………………………
6. ………………………………………………………………………
7. ………………………………………………………………………

8. ………………………………………………………………………
9. ………………………………………………………………………
10. ………………………………………………………………………

8
For reference see A & C Black Dictionary of Medical Terms (0 7136 7603 5).
 Unit 0000 2
Adjectives
Complete the sentences using the adjectives in the box. Use each adjective once only. The
first one has been done for you as an example.

acute bedridden critical deaf depressed excessive harmful infirm

inflamed latent lethal mobile obsessive painful persistent premature
severed subjective tender viable

1. These fumes are lethal if inhaled.

2. The report was _______________ of the state of aftercare provision.

3. She had a _______________ cough.

4. The psychiatrist gave a _______________ opinion on the patient's problem.

5. My grandfather is quite _______________ now.

6. The skin has become _______________ around the sore.

7. It is important for elderly patients to remain _______________.

8. His foot is so _______________ he can hardly walk.

9. A fetus is _______________ by about the 28th week of the pregnancy.

10. You have to speak slowly and clearly when you speak to Mr Jones because he's quite ________ .

11. The baby was born five weeks _______________ .

12. The patient was passing _______________ quantities of urine.

13. He felt _______________ chest pains.

14. He is _______________ and has to be looked after by a nurse.

15. The children were tested for _______________ viral infection.

16. He has an _______________ desire to steal small objects.

17. Her shoulders are still _______________ where she got sunburnt.

18. Surgeons tried to sew the _______________ finger back onto the patient's hand.

19. She was _______________ for weeks after the death of her husband.

20. Bright light can be _______________ to your eyes.

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For reference see A & C Black Dictionary of Medical Terms (0 7136 7603 5).
 Unit
Verbs
0000
1
The sentences in Column A contain examples of useful verbs in medicine. In Column B
there are definitions of the verbs. Read the examples and match the verbs (in italics) with
the definitions. Then write the infinitive forms into the spaces in the definitions in Column
B. The first one has been done for you as an example.

Column A: Examples Column B: Definitions

1. After the accident the passengers a) diagnose means to identify a

were treated in hospital for cuts. condition or illness, by examining the
person and noting symptoms

2. Nurses dressed the wounds of the b) _________ means to to use medical

accident victims. methods to cure a disease or help a
sick or injured person to recover

3. He specialises in children with c) _________ means to make someone

breathing problems. healthy

d) _________ means to put someone or

4. She suffers from headaches. something at risk

e) _________ means to give instructions

5. She was vaccinated against smallpox for a person to get a specific dosage
as a child. of a drug or a specific form of
therapeutic treatment

6. Some forms of cancer cannot be f) _________ means to study or treat

cured. one particular disease or one
particular type of patient

7. The calamine lotion will soothe the g) _________ means to have an illness
rash. for a long period of time

h) _________ means to treat a person

8. The doctor diagnosed appendicitis. for a condition by cutting open the
body and removing a part which is
diseased or repairing a part which is
9. The doctor prescribed a course of not functioning correctly
antibiotics.
i) _________ means to introduce
vaccine into a person's body in order
10. The drug suppresses the body's to make the body create its own
natural instinct to reject the antibodies, so making the person
transplanted tissue. immune to the disease

j) _________ means to relieve pain

11. The operation may endanger the life
of the patient. k) _________ means to clean a wound
and put a covering over it

12. The surgeons decided to operate as l) _________ means to reduce the

the only way of saving the baby's action of something completely, e.g.
life. to remove a symptom or to stop the
release of a hormone

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For reference see A & C Black Dictionary of Medical Terms (0 7136 7603 5).