Linguistics: The Study of Language and Its Components

Morphology: The Study of the Internal Structure of Words

Syntax: The Study of the Combination of Words

Semantics: The Study of the Meaning of Linguistic Expressions

Prefixes

• Negation: a-theist / dis-obey / in-complete / non-smoker / un-wise
• Reversal: de-frost / dis-connect / un-mask
• Disparaging: mal-function / mis-lead / pseudo-event
• Size or degree: arch-enemy / co-pilot / hyper-market / mega-loan / mini-skirt / sub-conscious / super-market / sur-charge / ultra-modern / vice-president
• Orientation: anticlockwise / auto-suggestion / contra-indicate / counterclockwise
• Location and distance: extra-terrestrial / inter-play / intra-venous / pan-African / super-structure / tele-scope / trans-plant
• Time and order: ex-husband / fore-shadow / neo-Gothic / paleo-lithic / post-modern / pre-marital / proto-type / re-cycle
• Number: bi-lingual / demi-God / di-oxide / mono-rail / multi-racial / poly-technic / semi-circle / tri-pod / uni-sex
• Grammatical conversion: a-stride / a-board; be-friend / be-witch / in-flame / en-danger (from noun to verb)

Suffixes

Inflectional Suffixes

• -s (noun plural)
• -’s (genitive case)
• -s (third person singular)
• -ed (past tense)
• -n’t (contracted negative)
• -ing (form or present participle)
• -ed (form or past participle)
• -er (comparison)
• -est (comparison)

Derivational Suffixes

Abstract Noun-makers

• mile-age
• star-dom
• slav-ery
• spoon-ful
• brother-hood
• far-ing
• ideal-ism
• arist-ocracy
• member-ship

Concrete Noun-makers

• engin-eer
• teenag-er
• lion-ess
• kitchen-ette
• book-let
• gang-ster

Adverb-makers

• quick-ly
• north-ward(s)
• clock-wise

Verb-makers

• orchestr-ate
• rip-en
• beaut-ify
• modern-ize (-ise)
• advert-ize (-ise)

Adjective-/Noun-makers

• Chin-ese
• republ-ican
• Paris-ian
• social-ist
• social-ite

Nouns from Verbs

• break-age
• reviv-al
• inform-ant
• explor-ation
• driv-er
• build-ing
• amaze-ment
• act-or

Nouns from Adjectives

• fals-ity
• happi-ness
• kind-ness
• absent-ee

Adjectives from Nouns

• point-ed
• Kafka-esque
• use-ful
• editor-ial
• accident-al
• Celt-ic
• fool-ish
• care-less
• coward-ly
• ambiti-ous
• hair-y

Adjectives from Verbs

• drink-able
• wash-able
• attract-ive
• explos-ive