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Word roots prefixes suffixes

English & Language Arts > Vocabulary Building

Root Words, Prefixes & Suffixes

Understand how morphemes (roots, prefixes, suffixes) contribute to word meaning. Expand vocabulary by recognizing word parts.

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Study Notes

Understanding Root Words, Prefixes & Suffixes
Components of Root Words, Prefixes & Suffixes
Lists of Root Words, Prefixes & Suffixes with Examples
Examples of Root Words, Prefixes & Suffixes in Use
Worksheet Exercises

Understanding Root Words, Prefixes & Suffixes

Root words, prefixes, and suffixes are the building blocks of language, known as morphemes, that shape word meanings and expand your vocabulary by revealing how words are formed. A root like "spect" (to look) forms "inspect" with the prefix "in-" (into) and "spectator" with the suffix "-or" (one who). Recognizing these parts helps you decode unfamiliar words, making vocabulary growth easier and more intuitive through pattern recognition.

Components of Root Words, Prefixes & Suffixes

These morphemes work together to create and modify word meanings. Here’s the breakdown:

Root Words: The core meaning of a word, like "graph" meaning to write.
Prefixes: Added to the beginning of a root to alter its meaning, like "un-" reversing a word.
Suffixes: Added to the end of a root to change its form or meaning, like "-ful" meaning full of.
Word Formation: Combining morphemes to build new words, such as "disagreeable" from "dis-" + "agree" + "-able."

Lists of Root Words, Prefixes & Suffixes with Examples

Root Words Examples

Aud (hear): audience, audible
Dict (speak): predict, dictionary
Port (carry): transport, portable
Scrib (write): describe, script

Prefixes Examples

Un- (not): unhappy, undo
Re- (again): rewrite, return
Mis- (wrong): mistake, misunderstand
Pre- (before): preview, preheat

Suffixes Examples

-Ness (state of): kindness, happiness
-Ly (manner): quickly, softly
-Able (capable of): readable, enjoyable
-Ment (result): movement, agreement

Word Formation Examples

Disagreeable: dis- (not) + agree + -able (capable of) = not capable of agreeing
Transportation: trans- (across) + port (carry) + -ation (action) = act of carrying across
Unhappiness: un- (not) + happy + -ness (state) = state of not being happy
Predictable: pre- (before) + dict (speak) + -able (capable of) = capable of being spoken before

Examples of Root Words, Prefixes & Suffixes in Use

These moments show how morphemes help in everyday vocabulary:

Core Meaning: Recognizing "aud" in "audible" means it relates to hearing.
Reversal Clue: Inferring "undo" means to reverse an action with "un-."
Descriptive Addition: Understanding "joyful" as full of joy due to "-ful."
Combined Parts: Decoding "misunderstanding" as a wrong understanding from "mis-" + "understand" + "-ing."
New Word: Building "reporter" from "re-" + "port" + "-er" to mean one who carries back news.

Worksheet Exercises

Ready to practice root words, prefixes, and suffixes? These prompts are crafted for our worksheet tools, with varied formats to keep learning engaging:

Generate a quiz with multiple-choice questions to identify root meanings, like 'What does “dict” mean in “predict”? (Speak/Write).'

Generate a fill-in-the-blank worksheet with sentences needing morpheme analysis, e.g., 'Unhappy means ___ because of the prefix un-.'

Create a word match exercise pairing words like 'rewrite' and 'kindness' with their morpheme breakdowns, such as 're- + write' and 'kind + -ness.'

Generate a second fill-in-the-blank worksheet with words needing completion, e.g., 'Add a suffix to “enjoy” to mean capable of being enjoyed: enjoy___.'

Create a word sort activity categorizing words like 'predictable,' 'unhappy,' and 'movement' by their morpheme type: root, prefix, or suffix focus.

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