recognizing the structure of words; prefix,roots, suffix.

Recognizing the structure of words

Word past consist of prefix, root, and suffix. These word parts have specific meanings that can help the readers determine the meaning of the word. Occasionally, two words may be put together to form a new word that is not familiar to you. If you look at each word unit, though, you can sometimes recognize the new word. Then you can try to understand the meaning. For examples, look at this words :

            Upstage                     (up  + stage)

            Gentleman               (gentle  + man)

            Mainstream             (main  +  stream)

            Badmouth                (bad  +  mouth)

            Paperwok                 (paper  +  work)

Words new to you may contain certain groups of letters that have meaningsyou can learn. If you don’t know what the word itself means, these groups of letters may help you reach a definition.

1.   

  Prefix.

When a group of letters with a special meaning appears in front of the word, it is called a prefix.            Prefix appear at the beginnings of many English words. They alter the meaning of the root to which they are connected.

The following Prefixes all mean, in some way, “no” or “not” :

Prefix                        Meaning                   Example

A                     not, without            amoral

In                    not                              insensitive

Im                   not                              immobile

Non                not                              nonreturnable

Mis                 wrongly                    misdirected

Mal                 badly                          malformed

Anti                against                       antisocial

Ir                     not                              irresponsible

Un                   not                              unattractive

Il                      not                              illegal

These prefixes all deal with time :

Prefix                        meaning                   example

Pre                  before                       prerequisite

Post                after                           postoperative

Ante               before                       antedated

These prefixes deal with numbers, one or more than one:

Prefix             meaning                    example

Uni                  one                             unicycle

Mono             one                             monologue

Auto               self                              autograph

Bi                     two                             bifocal

Tri                   three                          tripod

Poly                many                         polygon

Multi              many                         multicolored

These prefixes all deal with placement:

Prefix                        meaning                   example

Ab                   away from               abnormal

Circum           around                      circumscribe

Com               with, together         committee

De                   down from               deceit

Dis                  away                          discharge

Ex                    out of                         expel

Inter               among                       intertwine

Per                  through                     perceive

Re                   again                          revoke

Sub                 under                         submarine

Super             above                                    superior

Trans              across                                    transition     

2.     Root

The root (or stem) is the basic part of word. We add pre-fixes or suffixes to some roots and create new words. Hundreds of root words are used to build words in the English language. Knowledge of the meanings of these roots will enable you to unlock the meanings of many words.

Root               meaning                   example

Cred               believe                       credible

Equ                 equal                          equate

Fac, fact        do, make                  factory

Graph                        written                      monograph

Mis, mit         send                           missile

Mor, mort    die                              mortify

Nomen          name                         nominal

Port                carry                          portable

Pos                 place                          position

Spic, spec      look                            spectator

Tang               touch                         tangible

Vert                turn                            subvert

Vid, vis           see                              vision

Voc                 call                              evoke

3.     Suffix

When a group of letters with a special meaning appears at the end of a word, it is called a suffix.

Suffix             meaning                   example

Able                able to be                    manageable

Ible                                                     defensible

Al                                                        regal

Ance                                                   resistance

Ence                    relating to                 independence

Ic                                                         heroic

Ion                                                      union

Ism                 state of,                        patriotism

Hood              quality of.                     brotherhood

Ity                                                       legality

Ment                                                   puzzlement

Er                                                       writer

Or                   one who                       instructor

Ite                                                       Mennonite

Y                      full of                          soapy

Ful                                                                    wishful