English is an exciting language with lots and lots of words to explore. Understanding the use of prefixes and suffixes can help you learn many new words in English, thereby expanding your vocabulary1.

In this lesson, we will use the knowledge of prefixes and suffixes to read and understand unfamiliar words.

A simple way to understand new words is by looking at their parts. Words have a central part known as the "base” or the “root.” The base/root words can stand independently, each having its meaning already. However, when we add a prefix or a suffix, the meaning of the base word changes2,3.

For instance:

A group of letters added to the beginning of a base word to change its meaning is referred to as a prefix1.

• Some prefixes show opposites: im-, un-, non-, il-, dis-

Examples: 

• possible- impossible

• healthy-unhealthy

• sense- nonsense

• logical- illogical

• advantage- disadvantage

• Some prefixes give a number clue: bi-, tri-

Examples: biannual, trilingual 

A group of letters added to the end of a base word to change its meaning is referred to as a suffix1.

For instance:

Watch the given video to learn about Prefixes and Suffixes.

Vid 4.1: Base words, Prefixes and Suffixes

Now that you have understood what prefixes and suffixes are, you can use them to decode unfamiliar words. 

By breaking down a word into its base form and identifying any prefixes or suffixes, we can infer its meaning.

You can use this list of prefixes and suffixes as a reference tool, to help you decode the meaning of various words. 

Let us re-read the text ‘Fun Food Discoveries’ in order to identify the words with prefixes or suffixes to decode what they actually  mean.