Prefixes and Suffixes – Advanced English - BC Open Textbooks

A prefix is a word part added to the beginning of a word to create a new meaning. Study the common prefixes in the following table. Skiptocontent Grammar 82PrefixesandSuffixes TheEnglishlanguagecontainsanenormousandever-growingnumberofwords.Enhancingyourvocabularybylearningnewwordscanseemoverwhelming,butifyouknowthecommonprefixesandsuffixesofEnglish,youwillunderstandmanymorewords. Masteringcommonprefixesandsuffixesislikelearningacode.Onceyoucrackthecode,youcannotonlyspellwordsmorecorrectlybutalsorecognizeandperhapsevendefineunfamiliarwords. Prefixes Aprefixisawordpartaddedtothebeginningofawordtocreateanewmeaning.Studythecommonprefixesinthefollowingtable. Tip:Themainruletorememberwhenaddingaprefixtoawordisnottoaddlettersorleaveoutanyletters. CommonPrefixes Prefix Meaning Example dis not,oppositeof dis+satisfied=dissatisfied mis wrongly mis+spell=misspell un not un+acceptable=unacceptable re again re+election=reelection inter between inter+related=interrelated pre before pre+pay=prepay non not non+sense=nonsense super above super+script=superscript sub under sub+merge=submerge anti against,opposing anti+bacterial=antibacterial Identifythefivewordswithprefixesinthefollowingparagraph,andwritetheirmeaningsonaseparatesheetofpaper.Oncecomplete,pleasesharewithaclassmateandcompareyouranswers. Atfirst,Ithoughtoneofmyfuzzy,orangesocksdisappearedinthedryer,butIcouldnotfinditinthere.Becauseitwasmyfavoritepair,nothingwasgoingtopreventmefromfindingthatsock.Ilookedallaroundmybedroom,underthebed,ontopofthebed,andinmycloset,butIstillcouldnotfindit.IdidnotknowthatIwoulddiscovertheanswerjustasIgaveupmysearch.AsIsatdownonthecouchinthefamilyroom,myDadwasrecliningonhischair.IlaughedwhenIsawthatoneofhisfeetwasorangeandtheotherblue!Iforgotthathewascolour-blind.NexttimehedoeslaundryIwillhavetosupervisehimwhilehefoldsthesockssothathedoesnotaccidentallytakeoneofmine! Addthecorrectprefixtothewordtocompleteeachsentence.Writethewordonyourownsheetofpaper. Iwantedtoeasemystomach________comfort,soIdranksomegingerroottea. Lennylookedfunnyinhis________matchedshirtandpants. Penelopefelt________glamorousatthepartybecauseshewastheonlyonenotwearingadress. Mymothersaidthose________agingcreamsdonotwork,soIshouldnotwastemymoneyonthem. Thechild’s________standardperformanceonthetestalarmedhisparents. Whenmysisterfirstsawthemeteor,shethoughtitwasa________naturalphenomenon. Eventhoughshegotanexcellentjoboffer,Cheriedidnotwantto________locatetoadifferentcountry. Withasmallclasssize,thestudentsgetto________actwiththeteachermorefrequently. IslippedontheicebecauseIdidnotheedthe________cautionsaboutwatchingmystep. A________combatantisanotherwordforcivilian. Suffixes Asuffixisawordpartaddedtotheendofawordtocreateanewmeaning.Studythesuffixrulesinthefollowingboxes. Rule1:-nessand-ly Whenaddingthesuffixes–nessand–lytoaword,thespellingoftheworddoesnotchange. Examples: dark+ness=darkness scholar+ly=scholarly ExceptionstoRule1 Whenthewordendsiny,changetheytoibeforeadding–nessand–ly. Examples: ready+ly=readily happy+ness=happiness Rule2:SuffixBeginswithaVowel Whenthesuffixbeginswithavowel,dropthesilenteintherootword. Examples: care+ing=caring use+able=usable ExceptionstoRule2 Whenthewordendsinceorge,keepthesilenteifthesuffixbeginswithaoro. Examples: replace+able=replaceable courage+ous=courageous Rule3:SuffixBeginswithaConsonant Whenthesuffixbeginswithaconsonant,keepthesilenteintheoriginalword. Examples: care+ful=careful care+less=careless ExceptionstoRule3 Examples: true+ly=truly argue+ment=argument Rule4:WordEndsinaConsonant+y Whenthewordendsinaconsonantplusy,changetheytoibeforeanysuffixnotbeginningwithi. Examples: sunny+er=sunnier hurry+ing=hurrying Rule5:SuffixBeginswithaVowel Whenthesuffixbeginswithavowel,doublethefinalconsonantonlyif(1)thewordhasonlyonesyllableorisaccentedonthelastsyllableand(2)thewordendsinasinglevowelfollowedbyasingleconsonant. Examples: tan+ing=tanning(onesyllableword) regret+ing=regretting(Theaccentisonthelastsyllable;thewordendsinasinglevowelfollowedbyasingleconsonant.) cancel+ed=canceled(Theaccentisnotonthelastsyllable.) prefer+ed=preferred Onyourownsheetofpaper,writecorrectlytheformsofthewordswiththeirsuffixes. refer+ed refer+ence mope+ing approve+al green+ness benefit+ed resubmit+ing use+age greedy+ly excite+ment Writeaparagraphdescribingoneofyourlifegoals.Includefivewordswithprefixesandfivewordswithsuffixes.Exchangepaperswithaclassmateandcircletheprefixesandsuffixesinyourclassmate’spaper.Correcteachprefixorsuffixthatisspelledincorrectly. TextAttributions Thischapterwasadaptedfrom“PrefixesandSuffixes”inEnglishforBusinessSuccessbyapublisherwhohasrequestedthattheyandtheoriginalauthornotreceiveattributionisunderaCCBY-NC-SA4.0Licence.AdaptedbyAllisonKilgannon. Previous:SynonymsandAntonyms Next:ResourcesforWorkingwithMLA Backtotop License AdvancedEnglishbyAllisonKilgannonislicensedunderaCreativeCommonsAttribution-NonCommercial4.0InternationalLicense,exceptwhereotherwisenoted. ShareThisBook ShareonTwitter