Channel: English Made Easy
⚜️ Prefixes are one- to three-syllable affixes added to the beginning of a base word to slightly change its meaning.
For example,
✅adding the prefix im- to the base word possible creates a new word, impossible, which means “not possible.”
âś…Prefixes are a regular part of English, and understanding them can greatly improve your vocabulary and reading comprehension.
✅In this quick guide, we explain everything you need to know about prefixes and give plenty of examples of prefixes in English. But first, let’s talk a little about what prefix means.
For example,
✅adding the prefix im- to the base word possible creates a new word, impossible, which means “not possible.”
âś…Prefixes are a regular part of English, and understanding them can greatly improve your vocabulary and reading comprehension.
✅In this quick guide, we explain everything you need to know about prefixes and give plenty of examples of prefixes in English. But first, let’s talk a little about what prefix means.
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âś…Prefixes and suffixes are types of affixes, which are morphemes added to a base word to modify its meaning. Prefixes are added to the beginning of a word, while suffixes are added to the end.
âś…In English, the most common prefixes and suffixes are usually one or two syllables long, although some, like hetero- and megalo-, are three.
✅Prefixes always have the same meaning no matter what base word they’re attached to. For example, the prefix re- always means “to do something again”: when used in reread, it means “to read again”; when it’s used in rebuild, it means “to build again.”
âś…Prefixes and suffixes are types of affixes, which are morphemes added to a base word to modify its meaning. Prefixes are added to the beginning of a word, while suffixes are added to the end.
âś…In English, the most common prefixes and suffixes are usually one or two syllables long, although some, like hetero- and megalo-, are three.
✅Prefixes always have the same meaning no matter what base word they’re attached to. For example, the prefix re- always means “to do something again”: when used in reread, it means “to read again”; when it’s used in rebuild, it means “to build again.”
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✅Prefixes are used mainly to shorten phrases into a single word. For example, instead of saying that someone is “achieving more than expected,” you can say simply that they’re “overachieving,” thanks to the prefix over-. In writing, prefixes are one of the best ways to streamline text and make it more potent.
✅Prefixes are also important in academic disciplines, specifically to classify subjects. For example, biology is the study of living organisms, based on the prefix bio-, meaning “life,” but geology is the study of rocks and other earth minerals, based on the prefix geo-, meaning “relating to the earth.”
✅Just be careful using prefixed words with a negative that you don’t create a double negative. Some prefixes, like a-, in-, or un-, are already negative. That means if you say “not unnecessary,” the two negatives cancel each other out, and the meaning is simply “necessary.”
✅Prefixes are used mainly to shorten phrases into a single word. For example, instead of saying that someone is “achieving more than expected,” you can say simply that they’re “overachieving,” thanks to the prefix over-. In writing, prefixes are one of the best ways to streamline text and make it more potent.
✅Prefixes are also important in academic disciplines, specifically to classify subjects. For example, biology is the study of living organisms, based on the prefix bio-, meaning “life,” but geology is the study of rocks and other earth minerals, based on the prefix geo-, meaning “relating to the earth.”
✅Just be careful using prefixed words with a negative that you don’t create a double negative. Some prefixes, like a-, in-, or un-, are already negative. That means if you say “not unnecessary,” the two negatives cancel each other out, and the meaning is simply “necessary.”
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