Affixes and Roots of Words TUGAS [PDF]

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Affixes and Roots of Words1 Many English words are formed by taking basic words and adding combinations of prefixes and suffixes to them. A basic word to which affixes (prefixes and suffixes) are added is called a root word because it forms the basis of a new word. The root word is also a word in its own right. For example, the word lovely consists of the word love and the suffix -ly. In contrast, a root is the basis of a new word, but it does not typically form a stand-alone word on its own. For example, the word reject is made up of the prefix re- and the Latin root ject, which is not a stand-alone word. Building your vocabulary is important to speak English. Adding affixes to root words is an easy and interesting way to develop your vocabulary quickly. Many new words are formed by adding an affix to the beginning or end of a root word. Let us see the meaning of root words, prefix and suffix. A root word is a word in its simplest form. A root word has nothing added to it. Root words are also called base words. For eg: do/ heat/ write/ happy/ pack, etc. If you add an affix to a root or base word, you change the meaning of the word. For Example: Cook is a base word. Affixes are word that are added before or after the root word and change the meaning of a root or base word. Prefixes and Suffixes are both Affixes. Prefixes are word parts that come at the beginning of the root wood. Suffixes are word parts that come at the end of the root or base words. Un+ Cook+ ed = UnCookEd Un —- Prefix / Cook —– Root or Base Word / Ed —– Suffix Let us look at few more examples to understand root words, prefixes and suffixes. Let us take the letter “A”. By adding a as prefix to a word, its meaning changes. The meaning derived by adding a as prefix is “Not or without”. Examples are Amoral/ Apolitical/ Asocial. What we observe here is by just adding ‘a’ before these words we mean that they don’t have moral standards, they are not interested in political affairs and they are not social. Let us take another example where we add “Ab” as prefix we mean “Away from”. Examples are “Abduction, Abstain, Abnormal. By just adding “a” before these 1



McEwan, E.K. (2008). The Reading Puzzle: Word Analysis. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press http://exclusive.multibriefs.com/content/using-affixes-roots-and-base-words-to-improveenglish-learners-language-ski/education https://thepaperbagteachers.blogspot.com/2013/06/word-wednesday-affixes-and-rootsbingo.html



words they become negative. They mean to kidnap, to stop from doing something and someone who does not behave normally. In a similar way when we add certain words at the end of a root word as a suffix, we change the meaning of the word. Let us learn through some examples. When we add “cide” as a suffix to the root word it means “kill (ing). Examples are Suicide, Pesticide, and Infanticide. By just adding a “cide” at the end of a base word we give a new meaning to the words. They mean to take your own life, to kill the pests in the fields and to kill an infant. The second example we learn is to add “ed” at the end to the root words. By adding ‘”ed” the words it means past tense verbs are formed. Examples are walked, jumped and bathed. By adding ‘ed’ at the end of the words we can convert them into past tense. Let us learn through one more examples. Let us add “ing” at the end of the root word as a suffix. Examples are sleeping, walking, jumping and bathing. By just adding ‘ing’ at the end of the words we can convert them into present participles called as continuous form. We can also learn some examples where we have prefix and suffix attached to a root word: Uncomfortable == Un – prefix, Comfort – root word, able – suffix. Irregularly — Ir == prefix, Regular – root word and arly is the suffix Disorganised – dis – prefix , organize – root word and ed is the suffix. They are all opposite of the words comfortable, regularly and organized. In the same way latin words and greek root words are formed by adding affixes to it. An example of a latin word would be ‘cent’ means one hundred. We can form two words by adding cent as a prefix – century meaning 100 years and suffix — percent meaning out of hunderd. A greek root would be ‘graph’ means writing. We can form two words by adding graph as a prefix — graphology meaning the study of handwriting and as a suffix – autograph meaning a signature of someone you admire.



Common Latin Roots Latin Root



Definition



Examples



ambi



both



ambiguous, ambidextrous



aqua



water



aquarium, aquamarine



dict



to say



dictation, dictator



duc/duct



to lead



conduct, induce



fac



to do; to make



factory, manufacture



form



shape



conform, reform



fort



strength



fortitude, fortress



fract



to break



fracture, fraction



ject



throw



projection, rejection



jud



judge



judicial, prejudice



mal



bad



malevolent, malefactor



Common Greek Roots Greek Root



Definition



Examples



anthropo



man; human; humanity



anthropologist, philanthropy



auto



self



autobiography, automobile



bio



life



biology, biography



chron



time



chronological, chronic



dyna



power



dynamic, dynamite



dys



bad; hard; unlucky



dysfunctional, dyslexic



gram



thing written



epigram, telegram



graph



writing



graphic, phonograph



hetero



different



heteronym, heterogeneous



homo



same



homonym, homogenous



Affixes One method of understanding the meanings of new words is to analyze the different parts of the word and the meanings of those parts. Many new words are formed by adding an affix to the beginning or end of a Latin or Greek root or root word. When affixes are added to the beginning of roots or root words, they are called prefixes For example, the most common prefix is un-, which meant not oropposite of. If you add un- to the word happy, the new word becomes unhappy, which means not happy. When affixes are added to the end of roots or root words, they are called suffixes. The most common suffixes are s and -es, which mean more than one (or the plural) of the word. Adding es to wish, changes the meaning o the word to more than one wish.



Common Prefixes Prefix



Definition



Examples



anti-



against



anticlimax



de-



opposite



devalue



dis-



not; opposite of



discover



en-, em-



cause to



enact, empower



fore-



before; front of



foreshadow, forearm



in-, im-



in



income, impulse



in-, im-, il-, ir-



not



indirect, immoral, illiterate, irreverent



inter-



between; among



interrupt



mid-



middle



midfield



mis-



wrongly



misspell



non-



not



nonviolent



over-



over; too much



overeat



pre-



before



preview



Common Suffixes Suffix



Definition



Examples



-able, -ible



is; can be



affordable, sensible



-al, -ial



having characteristics of



universal, facial



-ed



past tense verbs; adjectives



the dog walked, the walked dog



-en



made of



golden



-er, -or



one who; person connected with



teacher, professor



-er



more



taller



-est



the most



tallest



-ful



full of



helpful



-ic



having characteristics of



poetic



-ing



verb forms; present participles



sleeping



-ion, -tion, -ation, -tion



act; process



submission, motion, relation, edition



-ity, -ty



state of



activity, society



2



2



https://www.englishhints.com/prefixes-and-suffixes.html https://www.speakwell.co.in/root-words-prefixes-suffixes/ https://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples-of-root-words.html https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5niBOyRS8I