0% found this document useful (0 votes)
5 views2 pages

Affixes

Download as pdf or txt
Download as pdf or txt
Download as pdf or txt
You are on page 1/ 2

Ramirez Name:

Affixes Homework 1

Word Study Stems and Affixes


Using context clues is one way to guess the meaning of an unfamiliar word. Another way is
word analysis - that is, looking at the meanings of parts of words. Many English words have been
formed by combining parts of older English, Greek, and Latin words. If you know the meanings of
some of these word parts, you can often guess the meaning of an unfamiliar English word,
particularly in context.
For example, the word report is formed from re, which means back, and port, which means
carry. Scientist comes from sci, which means know, and ist, which means one who. Port and sci
are called “stems” or “roots.” A stem is the basic part on which groups of related words are built.
Re and ist are called affixes, that is, word parts that are attached to stems. Affixes like re, which
are attached to the beginning of stems, are called prefixes. Affixes attached to the end, like ist, are
called suffixes. Generally, prefixes change the meaning of a word and suffixes change its part of
speech. Here is an example:
Stem: pay (verb) honest (adjective)
Prefix: repay (verb) dishonest (adjective)
Suffix: repayment (noun) dishonestly (adverb)
Word analysis is not always enough to give you the precise definition of a word you encounter in a
reading passage, but with context, it will help you to understand the general meaning of the word
so that you can continue reading without stopping to use a dictionary. That’s your goal!
Below is a list of some commonly occurring stems and affixes. Make a list of new words based
ONLY on these affixes.
Prefixes
com-, con-, co- together, with cooperate, connect
in- on, into inter, input
pre- before prepare, prehistoric
tele- distance telephone
Stems
-audi-, -audit- hear auditorium, auditor
-dic-, -dict- say, speak dictator, dictation
-phon- sound telephone
-scrib-, -script- write describe, script
-spect- look at inspect, spectator
-vid-, -vis- see video, vision
Suffixes
-er, -or one who worker, spectator
-ist one who typist, biologist
-tion, -ation condition, the act of action, celebration
Your Example Words:
One word per line is enough.
My advice: A dictionary might not help for some of these. Brainstorm with classmates.
Be sure you know the MEANING of your example word.

com-, con-, co- -scrib-, -script-

pre-
-spect-

tele-
-vid-, -vis-

audi-, -audit-
-er, -or

-dic-, -dict-
-ist

-phon-
-tion, -ation

Inflections

Inflections are like affixes, but are really grammatical suffixes. They change the basic grammar
of words they are attached to. For example, the inflection “-s” can make a singular noun plural:
“car -> cars.” Inflections may not attach to all words; for example, the plural of “child” is
“children,” and other words may change spelling when an inflection is added (“dish” becomes
“dishes”). Here is a list of the 8 inflectional suffixes of English.

Inflectional Suffix: Example: Grammatical function:

-ed exploded past tense or past participle


-en hidden past participle
-ing planning gerund: progressive form or present
participle
-s continues third person singular verb
-s explosions plural
-‘s prosecutor’s possessive marker
-er larger comparative
-est largest superlative

You might also like