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PREFIXE e Sufixes

PREFIXE e sufixes

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Barbara Ferrari
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42 views3 pages

PREFIXE e Sufixes

PREFIXE e sufixes

Uploaded by

Barbara Ferrari
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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PREFIXES

A prefix is a letter or a group of letters that we add to the beginning of a


word. Prefixes change the meanings of words. For example, the prefix un-
(or u-n) can mean "not," "remove," or "opposite." Adding un- to the word
"happy" gives you the word "unhappy," which means not happy.

U-n and r-e (or re-) are the two most common prefixes in the English
language. Re- means "again" or "back," such as in the words "rethink"

"redo" and "repay."

Here are a few things to remember when learning prefixes:

1. Different prefixes in English can have similar meanings, such as un-,


in- and non- all of which mean "not" or "opposite of." Also, the
prefixes mis- and ir- mean "wrong," "wrongly," or "incorrectly."
2. Notice that double letters are possible. For example, when you add the
prefix im- to words that begin with the letter "m," you get two "m"s as in
"immeasurable." That's also true when you add un- to words that begin with
the letter "n," as in "unnoticeable." The same is true for many other prefixes.
3. When adding a prefix to a word, the spelling of the base word never changes.
For example, the prefix un- did not change the spelling of the word "happy."
And, the prefix re- would not change the spelling of the word "live" in "relive."
4. Watch out for "lookalikes" – words that look like they contain prefixes but, in
fact, do not. For example, the un- in the word "uncle" is not a prefix, nor is
the re- in the words "reach" or "real."
Suffixes

Now, let's turn to suffixes.

A suffix is a letter or group of letters added to the end of a word. Suffixes are
commonly used to show the part of speech of a word. For example, adding
"ion" to the verb "act" gives us "action," the noun form of the word. Suffixes
also tell us the verb tense of words or whether the words are plural or
singular.

Some common suffixes are -er, -s, -es, -ed, -ing and -ly.

Here are a few things to remember when learning suffixes:

1. Some suffixes have more than one meaning. For example, the suffix -er may
suggest a person who performs an action, like a teacher. But "er" is also
commonly added to the ends of adjectives and adverbs. They compare two
things and show that one is "more" than the other, such as in "faster" and
"stronger." (comparative, vem acompanhado do THAN, he is stronger THAN
me, etc..)

2. The spelling of a base word can change when a suffix is added. This is true of
most base words ending in the letter "y." For instance, when we add the
suffix -ness to the word "crazy"(LOUCA) to make "craziness,"(LOUCURA) we
replace the "y" with an "i." This rule is also true of many base words ending in
a silent "e" when the suffix begins with a vowel. For example, in the words
"write," "make" and "manage," we drop the "e" in the words when we add -
ing to make: "writing," "making" and "managing." We also often drop the silent
"e" before the suffix -able such as in "usable." Be careful, though, because with
some words, we keep the "e," such as in "changeable" and "loveable.”
There are additional suffix rules, but they deal with spelling and can be
learned with time and practice.

A thing to keep in mind about both prefixes and suffixes is that some are only
used with some words. For example, we add the suffix -ful to some nouns to
mean "full of," such as in the words "beautiful" or "helpful." But, we cannot
add -ful to just any noun. You could not, for example, say "loveful" to mean full
of love.

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