Word formation basics

What do the following words (nouns) have in common?

affix

infix

prefix

suffix

work across
Well, they do have a number of things in common. Let's settle for the most obvious, the 'fix' at the end. So if we split them, this is what we get

af + fix

in + fix

pre + fix

suf + fix

What does 'fix' mean?
Fix means attach to, fasten, stick, glue,

What about 'af' , 'in' , 'pre' , 'suf' ?

'in' and 'pre' are understandable, aren't they?
'in' a room, 'in' a sentence, 'in' a word
'pre' means before like in pre-war, pre-school, premature

So what do infix and prefix actually mean? infix - to attach something inside (a word)
prefix - to attach something at the beginning of (a word)

What about 'af' and 'suf'? That's a bit more difficult to explain. 'af' is actually from the beginning the Latin word 'ad', and the meaning is the same as the English word add. Add 4 and 5 and you get 9.
'suf' is the Latin word 'sub', like in submarine, subway, suburb. The meaning is under, after (outside).

Why have the d in 'ad' and the b in 'sub' changed into f? The reason is really quite simple. 'adfix' and 'subfix' are difficult to pronounce. There is economy in everything! You simply leave out the d and the b, but in order to mark their existence the words are spelt with an extra f .

So what do affix and suffix actually mean? affix - to attach something to (a word)
suffix -to attach something at the end of (a word)

We have now fixed the fixes, haven't we? affix - something you add (stick) to a word
There are three kinds of affixes:

added inside the word - infix
added at the beginning of the word - prefix
added at the end of the word - suffix

What's this good for then? Well, there are thousands of words with prefixes and suffixes. The infixes are fewer and less useful to you.
The English vocabulary basically consists of words of Latin and Germanic origin. There are prefixes in both groups.

If you know the basic meaning of a prefix or a suffix you can often 'guess' the meaning of an English word. There are a limited number of Latin prefixes and suffixes. If you learn the meaning of them, and learn to recognize them in English words, you will increase your vocabulary much faster.

Enough said?

Ready for an exercise on prefixes? OK, let's take a look at some words of Latin origin, and see if we can detect a few important prefixes.

accumulate ingredient advertisement

afforest subconscious disconnect

predict intercontinental contemporary

accumulate <ad cumulate> ad
It has to do with addition, remember? The Latin base <cumul> means something like heap. So 'add to the heap'. You store more and more. "His money was accumulating in the bank."
What is an accumulator?

afforest <ad forest> ad
This is an unusual word, but you probably know what a forest is. In context you will realize that afforest is a verb. To afforest means to make an area into a forest by planting trees.

predict <pre dict> pre
You probably know the word dictation, and realize it has something to do with 'say'.
To predict means that you say that something will (may) happen before it actually happens.

ingredient <in gredient> in
If you like cooking you know that a recipe usually has several ingredients. The ingredients are what go into the stew.

subconscious <sub conscious> sub
You know the word conscious. It means that you are awake and observing. You are aware of things and people around you. But you also register stimuli outside or below your consciousness, you do it subconsciously.

intercontinental <intercontinental> inter
It is not simply in, but a prefix of its own. It means between.Think of the meaning of words like interplanetary, inter-city, interaction, etc.

advertisement <ad vertisement> ad
What do you do when you advertise? Well, you 'turn to' people to make them buy your articles. 'vert' has the basic meaning of turn, like in avert, aversion (you turn away).

disconnect <dis connect> dis
the basic meaning is away or to spread. Often it simply means the (negative) opposite of something. Discontinue (stop), discourage (warn), dissimilar (not similar)

contemporary <con temporary>

copyright © ForumEducation - all rights reserved
con
The meaning is with or together. Contemporary means 'in the same time period (together)'. Congregation means a group of people who come ('gred' - go) together.


What do the following words (nouns) have in common? affix infix prefix suffix work across		Well, they do have a number of things in common. Let's settle for the most obvious, the 'fix' at the end. So if we split them, this is what we get af + fix in + fix pre + fix suf + fix
What does 'fix' mean?		Fix means attach to, fasten, stick, glue,
What about 'af' , 'in' , 'pre' , 'suf' ?		'in' and 'pre' are understandable, aren't they? 'in' a room, 'in' a sentence, 'in' a word 'pre' means before like in pre-war, pre-school, premature
So what do infix and prefix actually mean?		infix - to attach something inside (a word) prefix - to attach something at the beginning of (a word)
What about 'af' and 'suf'?		That's a bit more difficult to explain. 'af' is actually from the beginning the Latin word 'ad', and the meaning is the same as the English word add. Add 4 and 5 and you get 9. 'suf' is the Latin word 'sub', like in submarine, subway, suburb. The meaning is under, after (outside).
Why have the d in 'ad' and the b in 'sub' changed into f?		The reason is really quite simple. 'adfix' and 'subfix' are difficult to pronounce. There is economy in everything! You simply leave out the d and the b, but in order to mark their existence the words are spelt with an extra f .
So what do affix and suffix actually mean?		affix - to attach something to (a word) suffix -to attach something at the end of (a word)
We have now fixed the fixes, haven't we?		affix - something you add (stick) to a word There are three kinds of affixes: added inside the word - infix added at the beginning of the word - prefix added at the end of the word - suffix
What's this good for then?		Well, there are thousands of words with prefixes and suffixes. The infixes are fewer and less useful to you. The English vocabulary basically consists of words of Latin and Germanic origin. There are prefixes in both groups. If you know the basic meaning of a prefix or a suffix you can often 'guess' the meaning of an English word. There are a limited number of Latin prefixes and suffixes. If you learn the meaning of them, and learn to recognize them in English words, you will increase your vocabulary much faster. Enough said?