Learn Prefixes, Suffixes to Expand Your Vocabulary

2017 · VOA Learning English

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Transcript

1. On a recent program, we explained that knowing just a few root words in English can help you understand the meaning of hundreds more words.

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2. To refresh your memory, a root word is the simplest form of a word.

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3. For example, two forms of the root for the word “see” are vis- and vid- such as in the words "television" and "video."

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4. Today, we will tell you about prefixes and suffixes groups of letters that appear at the beginnings and endings of words.

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5. Learning the meanings of common prefixes and suffixes can help you understand unknown English words you come across.

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6. It can also help you become better at spelling words.

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7. Prefixes Let's start with prefixes. A prefix is a letter or a group of letters that we add to the beginning of a word.

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8. Prefixes change the meanings of words. For example, the prefix un- or u-n) can mean "not," "remove," or "opposite."

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9. Adding un- to the word "happy" gives you the word "unhappy," which means not happy.

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10. Re- means "again" or "back," such as in the words "rethink" "redo" and "repay."

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11. prefixes: Suffixes

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12. Now, let's turn to suffixes. A suffix is a letter or group of letters added to the end of a word.

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13. Suffixes are commonly used to show the part of speech of a word.

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14. For example, adding "ion" to the verb "act" gives us "action," the noun form of the word.

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15. Suffixes also tell us the verb tense of words or whether the words are plural or singular.

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16. suffixes: There are

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17. additional suffix rules, but they deal with spelling and can be learned with time and practice

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18. A thing to keep in mind about both prefixes and suffixes is that some are only used with some words.

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19. For example, we add the suffix -ful to some nouns to mean "full of," such as in the words "beautiful" or "helpful."

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20. 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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21. So, what are some ways that you can practice common prefixes and suffixes? One way is to use online flashcards from websites like Quizlet

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22. You can choose sets of cards that are already made or create and use your own sets. Or, you can make your own flashcards with pieces of paper.

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23. Once you've spent time practicing, take a news story or page in a book and look for words that have the prefixes and suffixes you learned.

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24. Then, use what you know about the meaning of the root words to guess the meanings of those words.

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25. Learning prefixes and suffixes will not only build your vocabulary but can make unfamiliar English words a lot less frightening. I'm Phil Dierking.

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