Word Building
What is Word Building?
A word part added to the beginning of a word to change its meaning or function.
Key points
- Understand the role of prefixes, suffixes, and roots.
- Learn to identify and form new words.
- Improve vocabulary and comprehension skills.
- Infer the meaning of unfamiliar words based on their structure.
Common exam trap
Confusing prefixes and suffixes.
Definitions
- Term
Prefix
- Meaning
A word part added to the beginning of a word to change its meaning or function.
- Term
Suffix
- Meaning
A word part added to the end of a word to change its meaning or function, often changing the word's part of speech.
- Term
Root
- Meaning
The basic part of a word that carries the primary meaning, often derived from Latin or Greek.
- Term
Affix
- Meaning
A general term for a prefix or suffix.
- Term
Word Building
- Meaning
The process of forming new words by combining roots, prefixes, and suffixes.
Learning objectives
Understand the role of prefixes, suffixes, and roots.
Learn to identify and form new words.
Improve vocabulary and comprehension skills.
Infer the meaning of unfamiliar words based on their structure.
Prerequisites
Basic understanding of English grammar.
Familiarity with common English words.
Knowledge of basic sentence structure.
Common mistakes
Confusing prefixes and suffixes.
Misinterpreting the meaning of roots.
Assuming a word's meaning solely from its parts without context.
Incorrectly applying prefixes or suffixes.
Keywords
word formation
affixes
prefixes
suffixes
roots
etymology
vocabulary
morphology
language structure
derivation
Practice preview
Which of the following is a valid word that can be formed using the letters of the word 'COMPUTER'?…
easy
If the letters of the word 'EDUCATION' are rearranged to form meaningful English words, which of the following cannot be formed?…
medium
Using the letters of the word 'PARLIAMENT', which of the following words can be formed?…
medium