Improving Comprehension in English

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bio

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Means "life" (Example: biology)

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cycl

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Means "circle, ring" (Example: bicycle)

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Root

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A root cannot stand alone, but knowing its meaning helps you figure out the meaning of the whole word.

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Prefixes

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Word parts added to the beginning of roots to change meaning.

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Suffixes

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Word parts added to the end of roots to change meaning or part of speech. They can turn roots into nouns, adjectives, adverbs, and verbs.

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Example of a Latin adjective forming a noun: Magn-(i) tudo

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The adjective "Magn-" forms the noun "Magnitude."

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Example of a Latin adjective forming a noun: Obesus > obes(i)tas

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The adjective "Obesus" forms the noun "Obesity."

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In English, words derived from these Latin nouns keep the same meaning with a slight change of form.

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(i)tudo becomes tude, and (i)tas becomes ty.

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Latin suffixes like -ilis, -alis, and -arius

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These suffixes are added to the base of many Latin nouns to form adjectives, meaning "pertaining to" the noun.

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Example of forming an adjective from a Latin noun

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Vox, vocis becomes voc (base)-alis, meaning "pertaining to the voice."