Understanding Prefixes, Suffixes, and Root Words

Understanding Prefixes and Suffixes

A prefix is a letter or a group of letters that appears at the beginning of a word and changes the word’s original meaning.

A suffix is a letter or a group of letters that is usually added onto the end of words to change the way a word fits into a sentence grammatically.

Nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs all tend to use different suffixes, which makes them easier to remember. Collectively, prefixes and suffixes are known as affixes.

What Are Affixes?

An affix is added to the root of a word to change its meaning.

• An affix added to the front of a word is known as a prefix.
• One added to the back is known as a suffix.

Sometimes, prefixes are hyphenated. Read more about hyphens in prefixes.

Examples of Affixes

Here are some examples of affixes:

• Incapable (The affix is the prefix in-.)
• Ex-President (The affix is the prefix ex-.)
• Laughing (The affix is the suffix -ing.)

Most Common Prefixes and Suffixes

The four most common prefixes are dis-, in-, re-, and un-. These account for over 95% of prefixed words.

The four most common suffixes are -ed, -ing, -ly, and -es. These account for over 95% of suffixed words.

Many of the words we use come from a root word. Once you pull off any prefixes or suffixes, the root will normally be found within the remaining word. A little digging will uncover just what the root word really means. For example, in a word such as scissors, the root word is sciss, which means cut.

Determining a Root Word

Some examples of root words can be found in everyday language:

• The root word for bicycle is cycle.
• The root word for transactions is action.

Words can even have two root words, such as schoolhouse.

Root Words and Their Meanings

There are many root words that are frequently used as parts of common words in the English language. For example, the following root words are provided with their meaning and, in italics, with an example of the root word as part of a word: