Prefixes and Suffixes ; word formation

Prefixes & Suffixes 

Prefix and Suffix are common in English and their correct use can help enhance language skills and deal with unknown vocabulary easily. Let us understand what prefixes and suffixes mean.

What is Prefix?

A Prefix is a word that is added at the beginning of the root word to form a new word. A prefix word does not have any meaning of its own but when added to a root word it modifies the meaning of the word. Prefix makes a word negative, indicates opinion, or shows repetition.

Prefix examples:

• Un (Prefix) + Happy (Root Word) = Unhappy (new word)
• Dis (Prefix) + Organised (Root word) = Disorganised (new word)

What is a Suffix?

Like Prefixes, Suffixes are also words that are added to the root word to form a new word but suffixes are added at the end of the root word. Suffix does change the meaning of the word it is added to but does not make the word opposite or negative as prefixes do, it simply changes the class of the root word like a verb is changed into an adjective by adding a suffix. 

Suffix examples:

• Forget (root word) + Ful (Suffix) = Forgetful (New word)
• Happy (root word) + Ness (Suffix) = Happiness (New word)

Some Rules to be Remembered: 

• Use a hyphen (-) when adding a prefix to a common noun. For example Pro-American, Anti-religion, etc. 
• Hyphen is must to be used after prefixes Self and Ex, example, Self-dependant, self-esteem, Ex-husband, Ex-employee, etc.
• When adding a Prefix, do not change the spelling of the original word or root word; Examples: Undo, disappear, irrelevant, cooperation, irrational, etc.
• Repetition of letters is possible when adding a prefix. Basically, point number 3 (do not change spelling) is to be followed even if the spelling results in double consonants after adding the prefix.
• There are certain words that start with prefixes but do not have any prefix added to them like the word Uncle.
• Many Prefixes can have the same meaning such as ‘in’ ‘im’ ‘un’ all these prefixes mean ‘opposite of’ or ‘not’.
• Similarly, many Suffixes also have the same meaning. Like the suffix, ‘er’ when added to any word will denote the action performed by the person. Example – Teacher, Gardener, Performer, etc. 
• The suffix ‘er’ is also added toward the end of adjectives or adverbs to help compare two things. Example- Slow becomes slower, soon becomes sooner, fast becomes faster, etc.
• When a suffix is added, the spelling of the base word can change. This is mostly the case when the base words end with y or e. For example – happy becomes happier, costly become costlier with the suffix ‘er’, manage becomes managing, and make becomes making with the suffix ‘ing’.
• The Prefix that ends in a vowel, ‘a’ then the base word starting with a consonant will use it as it is, like atypical, amoral, etc. 

List of Prefixes: 

Prefix Word	Meanings	Prefix Examples
a	without	amoral, apolitical, atypical
ante	before	antecedent, antedate
anti	against, opposing	anti-war, anti-bacterial
arch	more, extreme	arch-capitalist, arch-rebel
auto	self	auto-dial, auto-rotate
bi	two, twice	bilingual, bisect, bi-monthly
circum	round	circumnavigate, circumvent
co	with	co-author, co-edit
col, com, con	with	collaborate, combine, connect
contra, counter	against, opposing	contraception, counterclaim, counteract
de	opposite action	declassify, destroy
dia	across	diagonal, diameter
dis	not, opposite of	disagree, disprove, distrust, disbelief
dys	abnormal	dyslexia, dysfunctional
e	electronic	e-book, e-mail, e-governance
eco	related to environment	eco-tourism, eco-disaster
en(m)	cause to	encode, embrace
equi	equal	equidistant, equilateral
ex	previously, former	ex-president, ex-student
extra	very	extra-bright, extra-strong
extra	outside	extra-curricular, extrasensory, extraordinary
fore	before	Forecast, forelimb,
hyper	too much	hyperactive, hypersensitive
il, im, in, ir	not, opposite of	illogical, impossible, indistinct, irrational
in(m)	movement to, in	input, inset, intake, implant, import
inter	between, connected	interrelated, interact
intra	within	intra-generational, intramuscular
kilo	thousand	kilogram, kilometer, kilowatt
macro	large	macroeconomics, macro-scale
mal	bad, badly	malfunction, malpractice
micro	small	micro-economics, micro-scale
mid	middle	midway, midsummer
mis	wrongly, incorrect	mistake, mistranslate, misunderstanding
mono	one	mono-centric, monoculture
multi	many	multicultural, multi-level
neo	something old in new form	Neoclassical,
non	not	non-believer, non-competitive, nonsense
out	more, to a great extent	outnumber, outlive, outburst, outrage
over	over, above, too much	overlook, overcook, overhead, overheat
post	after	post-examination, post-modern, post-independence
pre	before	pre-industrial, preview, pre-war, pre-independence
pro	in favour of	pro-feminist, pro-liberal, proactive
pseudo	false,	pseudo-intellectual, pseudo-science
quasi	almost, not quite	quasi-academic, quasi-legal
re	again	rediscover, redefine, rename, return, rejuvenate
retro	backwards	retrogressive, retrospective
semi	partly, half	semicircle, semi-organic, semi-precious, semifinals
sub	part of something, under, beneath,	subway, submarine, subsection
super	above or bigger	superpower, supersonic, superstar
trans	across	transcontinental, transcribe, transport, transit
ultra	extreme	ultra-sensitive, ultrasound, ultramodern
un	not	unusual, uncertain, unusual, unscrew, unplug, unfriendly
under	under, beneath, insufficient	underpower, underemployed, undersea
well	useful, successful	well-designed, well-written. well-established

List of Suffixes: 

Suffix Word	Meaning	Suffix Examples
-able, ible	can be done	doable, identifiable, predictable, possible
-al, ial	has property of	personal, partial, legal,
-ant	having an effect	disinfectant, coolant, accelerant
–based	performing a major part of	computer-based, oil-based, genetic-based
–cy	state or quality	accuracy, literacy, urgency,
-ed	past tense of verb	turned, ruined, cooked, cleaned
–ee	person affected by something	employee, interviewee, trainee, addressee
-en	made of, being made	golden, broaden, lighten
-er	comparative	higher, lighter, sooner, later
-er	one who perform or do something	doer, painter, singer, performer
-est	superlative	slightest, lightest, best, biggest
–free	without	hasslefree, carefree, debt-free, pain-free
–ful	full of	grateful, forgetful, fearful, careful, joyful
–hood	condition, period, state	childhood, brotherhood, adulthood, motherhood
–ic	having property of	linguistic, photographic, electric, democratic, heroic
–ics	study of	genetics, electronics, aeronautics
–ify	giving quality to something	defy, clarify, purify, solidify, classify
–ing	present participle	cooking, dancing, running
–ism	behaviour or belief	liberalism, modernism, heroism
-ist	one who follows certain behaviours or belief	Philanthropist, anarchist, optimist, activist
–(t)ion	act or process	reaction, action, projection
–(i)ty	state of	extremity, infinity, sanity
–(t)ive	adjective	active, motive, positive
–ize, -ise	bring about a condition or state	modernize/modernise, colonize/colonise
–less	without	fearless, careless, meaningless
–like	resemble another	alike, bird-like, child-like
–ly, -y	having	\quickly, quietly, wordy, handy
–ment	action, process	fulfilment, enjoyment, development
–ness	state of, quality	Happiness, newness, kindness, effectiveness, openness
–ocracy	type of ruling body	democracy, autocracy, meritocracy, bureaucracy
–ocrat	person ruling	autocrat, technocrat, democrat
–ology, -ological	study of	archaeology, geology, biology, physiological, biological,
–ous	having	callous, joyous, religious
–proof	safe, protected against	stain-proof, waterproof, dustproof, soundproof
–ship	state or experience of a specific position	partnership, entrepreneurship, professorship, leadership

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