Words in English (and other languages too) can often be broken down into different parts, including prefixes and suffixes. Knowing the meaning of common prefixes and suffixes in English is very helpful when trying to figure out the meaning of a new and unfamiliar word. If you know the meaning of a prefix or suffix you can separate it from the base word in order to give you some understanding of the new word. This week I will be presenting common prefixes and suffixes found in English, starting today with prefixes. Do keep in mind that not all English words can be broken into smaller parts in which all the parts have meaning unto themselves. For example: The word prefix has the prefix “pre” in it. So you can break the word into pre-fix with pre=before, but fix doesn’t have meaning unto itself that will help you figure out the whole meaning of this word. On the other hand, the word copilot has the prefix “co” in it. So you can break this word into co-pilot; co=with, pilot=the person in charge of flying a plane. So, you can see that when broken down each part of this word gives you information about what the whole word means. A copilot is someone who flies with the person flying the plane. Below is a table of very common prefixes found in English that I suggest you become familiar with. prefix meaning example word word meaning a- without amoral without moral (moral = rules of right and wrong) anti- against antibiotics medicine that fights against bacteria auto- self automobile a car, a vehicle that moves itself co- with coexist to live together or with another person contra- against contraindicated against recommendations or indications de- off, away from debug to remove (or take away) errors from a computer dis- not disabled not able to do something, handicapped ex- former ex-president former president, a person who is no longer president extra- more than extraordinary more than the ordinary, more than normal il- not, without illegal not legal, not allowed by law macro- large macrostructure the whole structure, a large structure micro- small microscope a scientific instrument used to look at small things post- after postdoctoral after completing a doctorate degree pre- before preschool a type of school for children younger than the normal school age sub- under subordinate a person below or under another person in a place of authority trans- across transcend to go beyond or across the normal limits tri- three tricycle a three wheeled vehicle, like a bicycle un- not unknown not known, without knowledge about something uni- one unicorn a horse-like mythical animal with one horn
Posted on: Tue, 27 Aug 2013 21:14:24 +0000
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