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Root and Affixes
Affixation is the most common word formation process in English. Words are formed by adding affixes to roots.
Roots can be free or bound morphemes. They cannot be further analyzed into smaller parts. They form the base forms of the words.
- Free roots are free morphemes. They can stand alone to function as words.
Examples:
re
collect
, bi
lingual
, un
easy
, mis
lead
,
hard
ly,
attract
ive
- Bound roots are bound morphemes. They cannot stand alone to function as words because they are no longer used in Modern English.
Examples:
Affixes are bound morphemes. They can be classified into prefixes and suffixes in English.
- A prefix is an affix added to the beginning of other morphemes to form a word.
Examples:
dislike,
de
activate,
in
adequate,
im
mobile,
mis
leading,
un
accountable
endurable,
under
achieve,
over
developed,
pre
requisite,
post
graduate,
re
cycle
- A suffix is an affix added to the end of other morphemes to form a word.
Examples:
admirable, fruitful, ambitious, enjoyment, eagerness, standardize, cowardly,
younger, processing, McDonald‘s, assignments, decides, decided
Can you tell the different functions of the red suffixes and the blue suffixes?
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Complex
words such as annotation,
builder, professor,
and others have internal structure. It is necessary not only to
identify each component of the morphemes but also to classify them
according to their contribution to the meaning and function of
complex words. Typically, complex words consist of a root
and one or more affixes.
The root constitutes the core of the word and carries the major
component of its meaning. Roots belong to a lexical category such as
noun (N), verb (V), adjective (Adj), adverb (Adv), and preposition
(P). Unlike roots, affixes are bound morphemes, and they do not
belong to a lexical category. Affixes are subdivided into prefixes
and suffixes. For example, when the suffix –er
combines with the root
build,
the noun builder is
coined to denote ‘one who builds.’ The internal structure of
this word can be shown in a diagram, which O’Grady,
Archibald, Aronoff, and Rees-Miller call “a tree structure” (p.
135). When an affix is attached to the root, the form is called a
base
or a stem
(The terms base
and stem
may be used interchangeably). Sometimes a base
corresponds to the
word’s root;
for example, in cat,
the root is cat,
and it is also a base.
4.2.3 Stems
A stem
is the actual form to which an affix (a suffix or a prefix) is added.
In blacken,
for example, the affix -en
is added to the root black.
Sometimes, an affix can be added to the form, which is larger than a
root, e.g., authorization
(n).
4.2.4 Types of affixes
We can distinguish three types of
affixes in terms of their position relative to the stem. An affix,
which is attached to the front of the stem, is called a prefix, and
an affix,
which is attached to the end of the stem, is called a suffix.
Some English prefixes and
suffixes
|
Prefixes |
Suffixes |
|
de+base de+cease dis+prove im+part im+bibe in+tone inter+fere in+trepid pre+fix pre+judge pre+side |
employ+ment enjoy+ment frang+ible frenz+y fulmin+ate gorge+ous grate+ful hunt+er nation+al+ize profess+or prob+ation |
A
less common type of affix is an infix,
which occurs within another morpheme. Although it is common in some
languages, in English it appears with expletives, which provide extra
emphasis to the word. One might point to certain usages on the
American frontier such as guaran-damn-tee
, abso-bloody-lutely,
and others.
4.2.5 Derivational and Functional Affixes
Functional affixes serve to
convey grammatical meaning. They build different forms of one and
the same word. Instead of creating a new word, functional affixes
modify the form of the word in order to mark the grammatical subclass
to which it belongs. A word form is defined as one of the different
aspects a word may take as a result of inflection. Complete sets of
all the various forms of a word when considered as inflectional
patterns, such as plurality, declension and conjugation, are termed
paradigms. A paradigm is defined as the system of grammatical forms
characteristic of a word, e.g., work, work+s, work+ing, and work+ed.
Plurality inflection
|
Singular |
Plural |
|
computer judge country dress fox buzz fly |
computer+s judge+s countr+ies dresses foxes buzzes flies |
Tense Inflection
|
Present |
Past |
|
play rule cry fix kiss dress |
played ruled cried fixed kissed dressed |
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Words in English public website
LING 216
Rice University
Prof. S. Kemmer
Morphemes
(minimal units of meaning) are of two basic kinds:
roots and affixes. While there is not an absolutely sharp
dividing line between them, due to the natural, gradual historical
progression from root to affix, there are various properties that
typically cluster together, thus allowing us to distinguish the two
types. For most morphemes, it is clear which class they belong in.
Properties of roots:
compound words have two); where roots are bound, as in Latin or Greek,
more can occur in a word, but the number of roots in a particular word is generally small;
roots, particularly classical, occur
(cf. photograph vs. telephoto)
Properties of affixes:
generally to some degree dissociated from the bound version)
Affixes are subclassified by where they attach to roots. Prefixes occur before roots, suffixes are placed after a root, and infixes occur inside a root. Some languages even have circumfixes, which surround a root.
There is another type of affix called a linker or linking morpheme or filler. These don’t have any function other than linking one morpheme to another within a word. The most common linker in English is -o- which occurs between roots in Latinate compund words like in petr-o-glyph.
Affixes are bound elements and roots are free. But there is another important type of free morpheme besides roots in English and these are called function words. Function words typically occur in languages like English which don’t have much inflectional morphology (bound morphemes that signal grammatical categories).
Function words, like inflectional morphology,
primarily serve gramnatical functions.
Function words are small units that have some independence, occuring with more freedom of
position than affixes (thus they are somewhat root-like), but which
have grammar-like meaning rather than concrete lexical content (which
makes them more affix-like).
Some function words in English are the, a, he, she, it, if,
although, etc.
Function words can be thought of as right in between roots and
affixes. Prepositions (like English over, in, through) are
sometimes classed as function words and sometimes as roots—because
they are, again, intermediate. In form, they are free morphemes.
In terms of function, they have (especially in their spatial
meanings) more concrete lexical content than most grammatical
elements, but their meaning is still rather abstract and relational.
(Note that in Greek and Latin, the elements corresponding to the
English prepositions are bound morphemes rather than free function
words. These are the spatial prefixes such as circum-, meta-,
sub-, etc.)
ROOT > PREPOSITION > FUNCTION WORD > AFFIX
The elements to the left are more lexical, those to the right are more
grammatical.
Fortunately, we don’t have to worry about the in-between cases!
Probably 99% of all morphemes in English (and Latin and Greek for that
matter) are easily identified by the criteria given above as either
roots or affixes. Be sure you can tell the difference when looking at
the morphemes in ordinary, garden-variety words.
© Suzanne Kemmer
Last modified Sept 2019
When it comes to learning the English language, there are various subsections that you need to take into consideration. For example, many words are formed by taking another basic, stand-alone word and adding suffixes or prefixes. In other words, you will need to understand how the various words are constructed to develop your vocabulary.
In this article, we will be discussing exactly what is meant by the terms ‘root word’, ‘root,’ and ‘affix.’ More so, we will mention a few ways in which these items are used to create other, more complex words.
Root Words
In short, a root word is a basic word that has affixes (suffixes or prefixes) added to it. To be more specific, these items are used to create more complex words with a different (but somehow related) meaning.
For example, the word ‘love’ is a root word. It cannot be broken down into anything more straightforward, as no prefixes or suffixes have been added. However, if you take the word ‘lovely,’ you will notice that it contains the root word ‘love.’ In this case, ‘lovely’ has a different meaning to the word ‘love,’ but it is still related to the emotion of really liking something.
Roots
On the other hand, a root is described as the basis of a new word. However, unlike root words, these items cannot stand alone.
For example, if you take the word ‘reject,’ you will notice that it contains the prefix ‘re-.’ With that being said, ‘ject’ does not have a meaning in the English dictionary, meaning that it is not a root word. For this reason, we describe ‘ject’ as a root, as it is derived from the Latin language.
Affixes
Affixes are very important when it comes to learning the English language. Many words are constructed using these items, making them a crucial part of speaking.
This category is broken up into two separate groups: prefixes and suffixes. The former is a short, dependent item added to the beginning of a root or root word. On the other hand, a suffix is a dependent item added to the end of a root or root word.
For example, if we look at the word ‘friendly,’ we will notice the root word ‘friend.’ The ‘ly’ on the end is described as a suffix, as it changes the meaning of the word. The ‘re’ in ‘repurpose’ is described as a prefix as it can be found at the beginning of another word.
Concluding Thoughts
You must understand precisely what root words, roots, and affixes are to develop your vocabulary. These items make up the building blocks of English words. Root words can be described as stand-alone words, whereas roots are not. Affixes are added to roots and root words to change the meaning.
By Laura Payne
Even though children may not realize what they are doing or know the technical term for it, they actually begin using affixes at a very young age when they pluralize regular nouns by adding a suffix. They add an s sound to cat when they are talking about more than one cat, a z sound to dog when they are talking about more than one dog, and an iz sound to wish when they are talking about more than one wish.
Children continue to add basic suffixes and even prefixes to their verbal vocabulary before learning to read and write, for example, “I walked the dog” and “I untied my shoes.” It is when they learn to read and write that the process of attaching affixes to root words becomes visibly perceptible to children.
What is a Root Word and What Are Affixes?
Root word: the basic form of a word with no attached affixes.
Prefix: A meaningful unit of language added to the beginning of root word to create a new meaning.
Suffix: A meaningful unit of language added to the end of root word to create a new meaning.
How Root Word and Affix Knowledge Improve Language Skills
When children enter grade school, they learn more and more affixes and their meanings. Knowing what affixes are and how they are added to root words allows children to expand their vocabulary by building new words. It also helps them figure out the definitions of unfamiliar words when they are able to identify the root word in a word with affixes, for example, knowing that add is the root word in addition and additional makes it much easier to figure out the word meanings.
Playing With the Building Blocks
You can help your children improve their language skills by playing with root words and affixes.
Using a package of index cards, make 8 prefix cards, 8 suffix cards and 10 root word cards. Write one prefix on the front of a card and the meaning of the prefix on the back. Do the same for suffixes.
Here are eight common prefixes and eight common suffixes with their meanings (some suffixes have spelling variations):
| Prefixes | Suffixes | ||
| un- | not, opposite of | -er, -or | person connected with, comparative degree |
| over- | too much, above | -est | superlative degree |
| re- | again, back | -ful | full of |
| dis- | not, opposite of | -less | without |
| pre- | before | -ly | characteristic of |
| non- | not | -ness | condition, state of |
| mis- | bad or badly, wrong or wrongly | -able -ible | can be done |
| de- | reduce down away from | -ation, — ion, ition, -tion | act of, state of, result of |
Here are ten basic root words:
Write hope tall work joy friend bright act like stop
Once the cards are completed, place the prefixes face-up on the left side of a table and the suffixes face-up on the right side of a table. Have each player take a turn selecting a root word card and then use the prefix and suffix cards to build the biggest word they can.
Here are a couple of examples: rewritable unfriendliness
Adding Cards
As your children encounter new affixes in their daily life, have them write them down and make new cards to add to the game. Have them do this for new root words too. The more cards you add to the game, the more creative everyone can be, and the more fun it is.
Defining Unfamiliar Words
If your children keep track of longer words that they come across and can’t define, the next time you play the game, they can use the prefix and suffix cards to try to determine the meaning of these words too.
About Laura Payne
A self-confessed language nerd, Laura Payne is the mother of two boys, and she is a part-time English teacher. She has also done freelance writing about several topics including the structure and grammar of English.
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Although English vocabulary study can seem overwhelming at times, it can be made more systematic by
considering
prefixes,
suffixes and
word roots, which are a useful way to build vocabulary. This page explains
what these terms mean and gives
reasons to study them. Some common
prefixes,
suffixes and
roots are given in later sections.
What are prefixes, suffixes and word roots?
A prefix is a word component which is added to the beginning of
a word to create a new word. Prefixes usually change the meaning of the word, but not the word form.
For example, the prefix dis- can be added to the
word similar to form the word dissimilar, meaning not similar.
- dis- (prefix) + similar (adj) → dissimilar (adj)
In contrast, a
suffix is added to the end of a word to create a new word.
Suffixes usually change the form of the word, rather than the meaning. For example, adding -ity to the word
similar creates the word similarity and changes the word from an adjective to a noun.
- similar (adj) + -ity (suffix) → similarity (n)
Prefixes and suffixes are collectively referred to as affixes. A
root or base is the word to which affixes are attached. In the
examples above, the root is simil (also spelt simul), meaning like or resembling, to which the adjectival suffix -ar has been
added. The word simulate and simultaneous also come from this root.
Why study prefixes, suffixes and roots?
Academic vocabulary contains a significant number of common
prefixes,
suffixes and
roots, mostly of Latin or Greek origin.
One reason to study them is that doing so may improve vocabulary comprehension and use. Additionally, knowledge of these can be helpful in
guessing the meaning of unknown words.
A final reason for studying these aspects of vocabulary is that many new technical or scientific words are made from common
roots and affixes of Latin or Greek origin.
As noted above, most common prefixes, suffixes and roots are of Latin or Greek origin. Studying these
will be easier — and lead to more improvement — for speakers of Romance languages such as French, Italian and Spanish, or speakers
of Greek. Speakers of other languages, such as Asian languages, will find them more difficult to study, and may be advised to focus on only the most
common ones. The following pages list only the most common examples of
prefixes,
suffixes and
roots in English.
References
Hinkel, E. (2004) Teaching Academic ESL Writing: Practical Techniques in Vocabulary and Grammar. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc.
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Checklist
The following checklist summarises the information on this page. Use it to check your understanding.
| Area | OK | Comments |
| I know what prefixes, suffixes and roots are. | ||
| I understand reasons to study prefixes, suffixes and roots. |