In This Lesson, You Will Study Two Groups of Prefixes

PREFIXES, SUFFIXES AND ROOTS

LESSON 1

In this lesson, you will study two groups of prefixes:

1) time/order and 2) degree/size.

Look at the following chart.

EXERCISE:

In the sentences below complete each word with a prefix chosen from thefollowing list.You may use your dictionary.

re- post- over-

pre- super-

1. We hope the bus won’t be overcrowded.

2. Do you think the Mayor will be elected for a second time?

3. After he got a Ph.D. in Chemistry, he did doctoral work at Oxford University.

4. He took cautions against burglary by installing an alarm.

5. The tourist guide promised the tourists that they wouldget a fund if they did not like the trip.

6. He added a script at the end of the letter.

7. The sonic plane flies from New York to Paris intwo hours and forty minutes.

LESSON 2

Here are five more suffixes: -tion(-ation, -ition), -ment, -ance(-ence), -al and -age.

Look at the examples in the chart below. They are all nouns. Theyhave all been formed from verbs.

EXERCISE 1:

Look at the above examples again. Give the verbs from which these nouns have beenformed. You may use the dictionary.

VERB NOUN

1.create creation

2. fixation

3. demolition

4. arrangement

5. assistance

6. difference

7. refusal

8. coverage

EXERCISE 2:

Complete the meanings of these sentences by using the correct form (noun or verb) of thewords in parentheses.

(arrive) 1. Have they told you of their arrival date?

(move) 2. Kasem says he believes in progress, and it is for this reason that he recentlyjoined the progressive ______.

(negotiation) 3. The police have ______with the hijackers for hours.

(package) 4. Have you ______the dried foodstuff yet?

(destine) 5. The ______of the hi-jacked plane is still uncertain.

(conference) 6. The participants will ______with the minister.

LESSON 3

Here are examples of prefixes, suffixes and roots.

EXERCISE:

Using all you know about prefixes, suffixes, and roots, guess the meaning of each of theunderlined words from their context. Underline the letter of the best answer.

1. Credulous people will accept all thepromises of the politicians.

a. with low education

b. well-planned

c. stupid and selfish

d. ready to believe things

2. What they did was incredible.

a. unbelievable

b. very interesting

c. quite understandable

d. much impressed

3. We inscribe a tomb with a name.

a. write words on

b. carefully paint

c. build up

d. usually remember

4. Take this prescription to the drugstore.

a. announcement

b. diagram

c. written order

d. result

5. Pilots must have perfect visionbefore they may obtain a license.

a. training

b. health

c. sight

d. ability

6. The manager appointed one person tosupervise his workers.

a. invite

b. pay

c. improve

d. observe

LESSON 4

In this lesson, you will study three more roots: -dict-, -gress- and -ject-.Look at the chart below.

EXERCISE:

Make words by combining the prefixes listed in Column A with the roots inColumn B, and use these words in completing the following sentences. The meaning given inparentheses will help you get the right word.

Column A Column B

1. The teacher marked the pupil’s progress (advance) on a chart.

2. The architect was very disappointed that his new city plan had been ed. (turned down)

3. Please (cause a picture to appear on the screen) the picture on the screen so that

everyone can see it.

4. The fortune teller ed (told in advance) that there would be an earthquake.

LESSON 5

Now you will learn five more prefixes: un-, de-, dis-, mis- and mal-.

Look at the following chart.

EXERCISE:

Write theoppositemeaningsof the underlined words.Study thechart before doing this exercise. Be sure to use your dictionary if you need help.

1. The proposal for the new bridge is acceptable. unacceptable

2. The discussion ended up with most people in agreement.

3. You have spelled too many words.

4. The phone company will connect your telephone soon.

5. Due to the deaths of several patients, a lawyer was sent to

investigate the doctor’s practice.

6. The author was angry because he was quoted in the newspaper.

7. The province was populated after the war.

LESSON 6

This lesson focuses on the suffixes that change adjectives and nouns to abstract nouns.

Look at the chart below.

EXERCISE:

Fill in each blank with the correct form of one of the words taken from the list below. Be

careful. There are more words than blanks.

childsimilarresponsible

happymemberpossible

kindfriend

a) Those two boys look alike and act alike. Thesimilarness is amazing.

b) If you need to have something done, call on Edie. She never refuses to take on thejob. She has a great sense of ______.

c) Due to the teacher’s the students took an outing instead of anexamination.

d) They have been friends for a long time. Their began during their ______.

e) I’m not sure how many people belong to this club. I think the ______feemust be about three hundred.

LESSON 7

In this lesson, you will study four more common roots: -form-, -port-, spect-, and -mit-

(-miss-). These roots will help you guess the meaning of new words.

EXERCISE:

Select the most suitable answer.

suspectsemitsinformedconformtransportation

submittedformativeinspectedimporteddismissed

1. In order to promote the sale of Thai cigarettes, the government has banned those

______from other countries.

2. The servant was ______for being dishonest.

3. Have you ______them of your intended departure?

4. He ______the notes and found that they were forgeries.

5. A volcano ______smoke and ashes.

6. My car is being repaired so I am without ______.

7. You should ______to the rules.

8. All the ______were taken to jail for questioning about the murder.

9. All papers must be ______no later than Friday.

10. Psychologists today say that the ______years of a child are from birth to age 5.

LESSON 8

This lesson will present three more roots: -flect-,-tract- and -tend-. Study the chart and notice the meaning of each root.

EXERCISE:

To complete the blanks correctly, you will need some but not all of these words. Use one wordonly for each answer. Do not use any word more than once. You are allowed to use yourdictionary.

distracttractableretractedextend

tensenessextensiveinflexiblereflection

1. Julie cleaned the oak table so wellthat she could see her own______in it.

2. I will have to ______my leaveof absence.

3 Do not take his mind off his work.Do not ______him.

4. The tortoise ______its head bywithdrawing it into its shell.

5. Professor Jones is like anencyclopedia; his knowledge is very______.

6. The schedule for the trip is______because the hotelreservation cannot be cancelled or

changed.

LESSON 9

In this lesson, you will study two prefixes: be-, en-(em-) and three suffixes:-ify, -ize and -en.

EXERCISE 1:

Write either be- or en- to complete the meaning of the sentences.

1. The man wanted to enlarge his only daughter’s picture.

2. People who come into contact with her are deviled.

3. He felt couraged by the progress he made.

4. She decks herself with jewels.

5. I have listed him in this enterprise.

EXERCISE 2:

Complete the following sentences by changing the adjectives or nouns in italics into verbs

by using -ify, -ize or -en.

1. Your explanation is too difficult for me to understand. Can yousimplify it a little? simple

2. The runway is too short to take the planes. They are makingplans to ______it.

length

3. Most people seem to think it would be a good idea to ______units of weights and measurements throughout the world. standard

4. That water is not pure enough to drink. It will have to be______before it can be used.

pure

5. The government says it is spending too much money, and thatways must be found to ______. economy

LESSON 10

This lesson focuses on number prefixes: uni-, mono-, bi-, di-, tri-,multi- and poly-. Look at the chart below.

EXERCISE:

Complete the following sentences with the correct number prefixes: uni-, mono-,

bi-, tri-, multi- and poly-.

1. “Juxtaposition” and “metamorphosis” are examples of polysyllabic words.

2. In Thailand we need -storied car parks to accommodate all the cars.

3. A “ corn”, a horse-like animal with one long horn, is the symbol of Wales.

4. Because of the energy crisis, cycles are becoming increasingly popular.

5. Nowadays cycles are still popular with small children.

6. One of the fastest means of transportation in Japan is the rail.

EXTRA EXERCISES 1

Using prefixes

A prefix at the front of a word changes its meaning:

Prefix / Meaning
un- / means not or the opposite of the rest of the word: eg uneaten means not eaten
dis- / also means not:eg disagreedmeans not agreed
re- / means again: eg redone means done again
pre- / means before: eg predate means to come before

Which prefix would you use in each of these sentences?

1. I’m sorry, I’m (un, dis) unable to come to your party next week.
   
2. I have to stay in to (pre, re) ___vise for my exam.
   
3. This is a secret, please don’t (un, re) ___peat it to anyone.
   
4. She (un, dis) ___agrees with everything I say.
   
5. You need to (re, pre) ___cook the pastry before baking the pie.

What do these sentences mean? Is a) or b) the nearest meaning?

1. We need to reappoint for that job as soon as possible.

a)We need to appoint again for that job as soon as possible. / b)We do not need to appoint for that job as soon as possible.

1. A good CV is a precondition of employment.

a)A good CV is a condition of being employed again. / b)A good CV is needed before anyone can be employed.

1. I’m worried that he will disappear before he has paid.

a)I’m worried that he will appear again before he has paid. / b)I’m worried that he will not appear again before he has paid.

Using suffixes

A suffix on the end of a word changes its meaning.

Suffix / Meaning
-s, -es / means more than one ( plural): eg one book but two books; one tax but too many taxes
-ing or -ed / shows when something happened - in the present (-ing) or past (-ed) tense: eg I am working there now or I worked there last week.
-er, -est / means more or most of something: eg that drink was colder (more cold ) or that was the coldest drink (the most cold)
-ful or -less / shows there is a lot of something (hopeful - a lot of hope) or none of something (hopeless - no hope)

Which suffix would you use in these sentences?

1. I am look___ (ing, ed) for information on Paris, but there are too many book___(s, es) to choose from in the library.
2. The woman next to me was young___ (er, est) than me, but Sarah was by far the young___ (er, est) person in the room.
3. It was really thought___ (ful, less) of you to bring that cake, especially as my son had been so care___(ful, less) in burning the one he made.
4. Are you look___ (ing, ed) for yesterday’s paper? After I look___(ing, ed) at it, I put it in the recycl___ (ing, ed).

EXTRA EXERCISES 2

A. Directions:

1. Match the prefix to its meaning.

2. Underline the correct answer.

Example: bi–a. same b. twice (two times)c. wrong

1. dis–a. not b. after c. again

2. im– a. not b. before c. wrong

3. mis–a. correctly b. wronglyc. after

4. pre–a. before b. not c. wrongly

5. re–a. correctly b. again c. after

Change the following nouns and verbs to adjectives using the suffix –y.

Words that end with –e, take off the –e before adding –y.

grease

laze

haze

bone

smoke

Words that end with a short vowel and a consonant, double the final consonant before adding –y. (except words which end with -x)

fun

run

fat

sun

nut

Most other words, just add –y.

wind

crisp

mess

dirt

thirst

Now try these!

slime

flop

snow

cheese

flab

rain

fuss

water

stone

dust

sleep

craze

sag

bead

scare

greed

skin

star

snap

sparkle

shine

trick

noise

wax

chat