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Affixes

An affix is a grammatical element added to the beginning or end of a word to change its meaning or inflection. There are two types of affixes: prefixes, which are added at the beginning, and suffixes, which are added at the end. Prefixes can provide clues about a word's meaning, while suffixes can change a word's part of speech or create new words. Examples are given of different categories of prefixes like negative prefixes and number prefixes, as well as suffixes that form nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs.

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196 views2 pages

Affixes

An affix is a grammatical element added to the beginning or end of a word to change its meaning or inflection. There are two types of affixes: prefixes, which are added at the beginning, and suffixes, which are added at the end. Prefixes can provide clues about a word's meaning, while suffixes can change a word's part of speech or create new words. Examples are given of different categories of prefixes like negative prefixes and number prefixes, as well as suffixes that form nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs.

Uploaded by

Shashidhar Belagavi
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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What is an Affix?

An affix is a grammatical element that is added to the beginning or end of a word to


change its inflection or meaning. Affix is a general term for prefixes and suffixes.

Types of Affixes
There are two different types of affixes in English, the prefix and the suffix.

Prefixes
Prefixes appear at the beginning of a root word. Prefixes are word bits that signify
partial meaning on their own and can give readers a clue about what the word means.
For example, the prefix un- means no or not, so with the word ungrateful, one can
understand the word to mean not grateful. Prefixes are an easy way to communicate
the idea of a phrase. To express the quality of not being grateful, one can simply say
ungrateful. Using a prefix in this context makes the language more succinct.
Positive prefixes: Prefixes such as em, en, pro which tend to qualify the root words
may be referred to as positive prefixes.
Examples: empower, enable, endear. proactive
(b) Negative prefixes: When prefixes like un, in, im and be affect the meaning of
the root words, they may be referred to as negative prefixes.
Examples: unable, invalid, impolite, berate
(c) Prefixes of number: Prefixes like mono, bi, uni, tri that indicate the number of
the root words may be referred to as prefixes of number.
Examples: unidirectional, bilingual, tricolours
(d) Reversative Prefixes: When prefixes such as un, dis indicate reversal of action
in the root words, they may be referred to as reversative prefixes.
Examples: Undo, disappear
(e) Derogatory prefixes: Prefixes like mal, mis that diminish the meaning of the
root words may be referred to as derogatory prefixes.
Examples: misleading, malfunction
(f) Prefixes of time and order: Prefixes such as pre, post that indicate the time or
period are referred to as prefixes of time and order.
Examples: pre-university, forenoon, afternoon, post-graduation
(g) Prefixes of place: Prefixes such as sub, inter that indicate place or position are
prefixes of place.
Examples: Subway, international
Suffixes
Suffixes appear at the end of root words. Suffixes have more uses than prefixes in
English. Suffixes can provide information about a word, change a word's
grammatical function, or create new words with new parts of speech.
(a) Noun Suffixes: tion, ity, ness, ship, age, ery, ism are some of the suffixes fixed
to the nouns.
Examples: Operation, nationality, happiness, friendship, shortage, imagery, idealism
(b) Verb Suffixes: ize, ify, en
Examples: Commercialize, codify, and strengthen
(c) Adjective Suffixes: ful, less, ish, able, al
Examples: Beautiful, harmless, foolish, dependable, ethical
(d) Adverb Suffixes: ily, ly,
Examples: Steadily, Slowly

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