Roots and Affixes

Front

What is a root word?

Back

A root word is the base part of a word that carries its main meaning. It can stand alone or be combined with prefixes and suffixes.

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What is a prefix?

Back

A prefix is a group of letters added to the beginning of a word to change its meaning.

Front

What is a suffix?

Back

A suffix is a group of letters added to the end of a word to change its meaning.

Front

What does the prefix 'un-' mean?

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The prefix 'un-' means 'not' or 'the opposite of.' For example, 'happy' becomes 'unhappy,' meaning 'not happy.'

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What does the prefix 'pre-' mean?

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The prefix 'pre-' means 'before.' For example, 'historic' becomes 'prehistoric,' meaning 'before recorded history.'

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What does the suffix '-est' indicate?

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The suffix '-est' indicates the superlative form of an adjective, meaning 'the most.' For example, 'tall' becomes 'tallest,' meaning 'the most tall.'

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What is an example of a word with a prefix?

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An example is 'redo,' where 're-' is the prefix meaning 'again.'

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What is an example of a word with a suffix?

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An example is 'happiness,' where '-ness' is the suffix that turns the adjective 'happy' into a noun.

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How do you identify the root word in 'disagree'?

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The root word is 'agree,' and 'dis-' is the prefix meaning 'not' or 'the opposite of.'

Front

What is the difference between a root word and a base word?

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A root word is the core part of a word that gives it meaning, while a base word is a complete word that can stand alone.