A word family is a group of words with a common base to which different prefixes and suffixes are added. For example, members of the word family based on the headword, base, stem, or root word work include rework, worker, working, workshop, and workmanship, among others. Similar words are called paronyms.
Polyptoton is the use of more than one of these words together, such as in this quote from the movie «Fight Club»: «The things you own end up owning you.» The repetition can serve as a dramatic effect or for emphasis in writings ranging from plays and poetry to advertising and political speeches.
Roots, Prefixes, and Suffixes
Don’t plan to memorize all the word families, though. An analysis of a 1963 dictionary by scholars in 1990 found 54,000 word families. With English users creating new words all the time, it’s better to know how to work with the language and its roots, prefixes, and suffixes than to attempt to memorize it all.
According to Birgit Umbreit, «[L]anguage users are able to analyze complex words and to establish synchronic relations between words both formally and semantically because they have an implicit or even explicit knowledge of word-family organization.» (Birgit Umbreit, «Does Love Come From to Love or to Love From Love? Why Lexical Motivation Has to Be Regarded as Bidirectional,» from «Cognitive Perspectives on Word Formation,» edited by Alexander Onysko and Sascha Michel)
Said in a simpler way, language learners can decode many new or unfamiliar words through understanding what different prefixes and suffixes do to a root word. The technique can also help people figure out spellings of words they hear or determine the etymology of a word. Frank E. Daulton wrote, «[M]ost linguists agree that word families should be transparent, in that learning a new item related to one already known should involve a minimum of learning burden…For instance, if a learner knows govern and is familiar with the prefix mis-, then misgovern requires little if any additional learning (Goulden et al., 1990). Derivations that don’t meet the transparency criteria are not included in a word family but given separate listings; for instance, business (busy)…» (Frank E. Daulton, «Japan’s Built-in Lexicon of English-Based Loanwords»)
Breaking Words Into Parts
The roots or stems don’t have to be words on their own to make other words. For example, the root struct forms the base of more than 30 English words; it comes from a Latin word for to build and creates words such as: construction, structure, and constructive. Knowing that con- as a prefix means «with» or «together,» you can see how the words construction and constructive involve the creation of something. Knowing that the prefix de— means the opposite—to reduce or remove—and that the suffix —ion indicates that a word is a noun, you can understand how the word destruction is created—or even the verb to deconstruct.
Following the same pattern, look at contract and detract; a contract is something that joins parties in agreement, while to detract means to draw away from.
Source
- Norbert Schmitt, Vocabulary in Language Teaching. Cambridge University Press.
Word Family
The word family is a set of words that derive from it primitive word. They all share the same root and their meaning is related. For example: love, loving, heartbreak, love, love.
The primitive word is the one that gives rise to the rest of the family and does not derive from another word. Meanwhile, the derived word It is formed from the primitive (it has the same root) and a related meaning.
See also:
Examples of word families
- Water: water, downpour, watery, drain, watery, watery.
- Tree: grove, arborist, to raise, to dismantle.
- Love: love affair, love affair, heartbreak, love, fall in love, fall out of love.
- Art: artisan, artisan, artistic, artificial.
- Boat: boat, embark, ferryman, basket.
- Mouth: snack, sandwich, dove.
- Horse: knight, cavalcade, cavalry, ride, chivalrous.
- Head: head, head, head, head, head.
- Hot: hot, calorie, hot, hot.
- Road: walk, hike, hiker.
- Letter: postman, discard, insert.
- Science: scientific, unscientific.
- Cloister: cloistered, cloistered, claustrophobia, cloistered.
- Sure: clarify, clarify, clarify, clear.
- Colour: coloring, coloring, coloring.
- Sport: sports, sportsman, sportsmanship, sports center.
- Sponge: fluffy, fluffy, spongiform.
- Flower: floral, flowery, flourish, bloom.
- Fruit: fruit, fruit shop, enjoy, fruit bowl.
- Skilled: ability, enable.
- Leaf: leaf, puff pastry, leaf litter, leaf.
- Invention: invent, inventor, invention, inventiveness.
- Yard: gardener, gardener, gardening.
- Firewood: log, lumberjack, lumberjack, lumberjack.
- Book: bookstore, bookcase, notebook, booklet.
- Law: legal, legislate, legislator, illegal, legislative.
- Light: luminous, firefly, illumination, illuminate.
- Moon: lunar, moon landing, lunatic, moon landing.
- Wrong: malice, bad, evil, evil.
- Sea: marine, maritime, overseas.
- Medicine: medicine, medical, medicate, self-medicate.
- Market: merchandise, flea market, merchant.
- Table: table, counter, waiter.
- Black: blacken, blackness, blackish.
- Boy: babysitter, babysitter, childhood, childish, girl.
- Official: unofficial, official, official, official, non-commissioned officer.
- Bread: baker, bakery, bread basket, breading.
- Paper: trash, stationery, paperwork.
- Pie: pastry shop, pastry chef, cupcake.
- Pasture: shepherd, shepherd, pasture, shepherdess.
- Hair: hair, wig, hairdresser, fur, lint.
- To fish: fish, fisherman, fishmonger, fisherman.
- Painting: paint, painter, painters.
- Registry: register, registered, registrable.
- Salt: saline, salt, salt shaker, saltpeter.
- Chair: armchair, saddle.
- Sun: sunny, solar, sunny, solstice.
- Throne: enthrone, dethrone, enthrone.
- Wind: windy, blizzard, fuss.
- Shoe: slipper, shoemaker, shoemaker, shoe store.
Sentences with word families
- The Shoemaker fixed my shoes brown and they were like new.
- The Sun It is very strong, do not forget to be protective solar before leaving.
- I will put Salt to the salt shaker because it’s empty.
- The baby sister will stay with the kids tonight, so let’s party.
- The Bookseller he recommended me a book of stories called the Aleph, by Jorge Luis Borges.
- I brought pencils colors so they can color the book that Santa Claus brought you.
- The gardener is pruning the roses in the yard.
- I put a lot of Water to the sauce and I was watery.
- I went to the Stationery to buy papers to make origami.
- The woodcutter brought more firewood for the home stove.
A word family is a set of words that share some semantic feature common to the same word, on which the whole family of words that receives the name ” primitive word ” is based. In this article we will elaborate some examples of word family.
The primitive word is the original word that does not come from any other word and that serves as a starting point, since all the other words that make up the lexical family share at least one of their significant features with the primitive word, which is the one that contains the greatest number of significant features, common to the rest. As a general rule, primitive words are usually, at a morphological level, nouns or verbs. The primitive word of the word family that concerns us in this article, “sun”, is therefore a noun.
On the other hand, all the other words that make up the word family are called derived words , since they all originate from the primitive word. These words are generally nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc. that sometimes become compound words.
Another important aspect when studying word families are the two elements that make up a word. A word, is formed from two parts: the first is the lexeme (also known as a root), which is the fixed part of the word (except for some allomorphy in the root), since it does not change in its form and Normally, it is common to most of the words that make up the word family since through this element the semantic feature common to all of them is preserved.
The second part that makes up a word is the grammatical morpheme ; that is, the part of it that does vary according to the meaning of the word. The morpheme can be inflectional (that is, gender, masculine or feminine, and number, singular or plural) or derivative (through word creation processes such as suffixation or prefixation, among others) and, finally, it can is also a verbal ending. Each and every one of the morphemes that exist, as such, have minimal significance since this is an essential quality to consider something as a morpheme.
1-Root of a word
What do the words have in common? The common part of words is called the root, also known as the lexeme.
The root of a word is the part of the word that does not change. From a root we can form words that are related by their meaning.
For example: salt , salt ero, salt ado, salt ar
2-Primitive word
The primitive word is the one that gives rise to other words, thus being able to form the family of words related by their meaning. The primitive word is a word that does not come from another.
3-Derived Word
It is a word formed from a primitive. They have the same root as the primitive word and their meaning is related to it.
Primitive Word: bread
Derived Words: bread basket, baker, bread roll etc.
4-Word Families
Word families are related by their meaning. The word family is also known as a lexical family.
Examples of word families:
Primitive word: mouth
- sandwich – bite – mouthful – boquera
Primitive word: heat
- hot – hot – fever
Primitive word: path
- hiker – hike – hiker – walk
Primitive word: house
- home – farmhouse – little house
Primitive word: color
- coloring – colorful – tricolor – coloring
Primitive word: flower
- flowery – florist – floral – flourish – flora – floriculture – bloom – flower shop
Primitive word: fruit
- fruit bowl – fruit tree – fruit shop – fruit growing
Primitive word: garden
- gardener – gardener – gardening – landscaping
Primitive word: firewood
- lumberjack – log – woody – woodshed
Primitive word: sea
- marine – sailor – seafood – tide – tidal wave
Primitive word: bread
- baker – bakery – bread roll – breaded – bread basket
Primitive word: grass
- pasture – pasture – shepherdess – shepherd
Primitive word: fish
- fish – fisherman – fisherman – fishmonger
Primitive word: salt
- salt shaker – saline – salar – salty – saltpeter
We hope that you have understood the examples of word family.
There are so many ways a word can be related to another. Understanding these relations between words will help you build your vocabulary. Word families are one such way to explore how words relate to one another. So what is the word family? A group of words that have a common root word with different prefixes and suffixes is known as a word family.
Word families refer to groups of words that follow a certain set of letter patterns with the root word fixed for all words within the same group. This implies that the words belonging to the same group have common characteristics. Word families are also known as chunks, times, or groups.
- Most Common Word Families for Beginners
- Why Focus on Word Families?
- How to Study Word Families?
- Is it important to know about word families?
- How are word families formed?
- What is the order in which word families should be studied?
- How many word families are there in English?
Have a look at the following words:
- Helper
- Helped
- Unhelpful
- Helping
- Helpful
All these words come under a single word family. So what do you think they have in common? These words have the common root word ‘help’. This in turn means that all these words are members of the ‘help’ word family. Suffixes or prefixes are added to the root word to form derivatives of a root word.
Word families most often occur in rhymes and poems. For example:
- Hickory, dickory, dock.
The mouse ran up the clock.
The clock struck one,
The mouse ran down,
Hickory, dickory, dock.
The following word families are used in the above rhyme:
- ock- dock, clock
- ive- five, hive;
- ine- nine, fine.
You can even try out our other articles on How to Improve Your Vocabulary as well to expand your knowledge base.
There are thirty seven common word families according to the National Council of Teachers of English. Given below is a list of the various word families with examples for each family. So get ready to explore!
- ack: back, crack, hack, sack
- ain: gain, grain, main, complain
- ake: sake, make, cake, fake
- ale: pale, male, sale, scale
- all: all, ball, mall, call
- ame: game, came, lame, same
- an: an, ban, can, pan
- ank: prank, rank, sank, thank
- ap: cap, map, slap, trap
- ash: ash, dash, rash, stash
- at: gnat,cat, fat,pat
- ate: hate, gate, late, mate
- aw: slaw, raw, paw, saw
- ay: lay, gay, may, pay
- eat: peat, neat, heat, seat
- ell: hell, shell, tell, smell
- est: best, chest, vest, quest
- ice: thrice, price, nice, rice
- ick: nick, stick, pick, trick
- ide: bride,glide, side, guide
- ight: tight, fight, tonight, night
- ill: chill, drill, still
- in: inn,tin,kin
- ine: vine, mine, nine, pine
- ing: spring,string,sting
- ink: pink, ink,drink
- ip: lip, ship, skip,dip
- it: sit, hit,quit
- ock: clock, stock, rock,shock
- op: cop, hop, mop, top
- ore: bore, more, sore, tore
- ot: got, hot, not, rot
- uck: buck, duck luck, tuck
- ug: bug, hug, mug, rug
- ump: bump, dump, jump, pump
- unk: chunk, punk, sunk
Few other word families that occur regularly:
- ad- sad, mad, bad
- ar-bar, car, star
- en-men, pen,ten
- ent- tent, went, sent
- oil- oil, coil, soil
- oom-doom, groom, loom
Why Focus on Word Families?
Getting yourself familiar with word families has its advantages. An understanding of different word families will help you learn to read. Building your vocabulary will also be simple with the help of word families. Being able to identify common features and patterns among words is a foundation for developing your speaking skills.
Scholars also suggest that children generally connect what they have already discovered to what they are currently learning. This happens through the process of observing word similarities. Hence knowing the concept of root words and their derivatives will help you infer the meaning of other words in the word family. Familiarity with word families will also increase your pace of reading. You will learn to analyze language and infer common grammar rules.
Let’s take the example of the word family ‘all’. This word family will help you to learn simple spelling words like, ‘call’, ‘hall’, ‘mall’ etc. Later this understanding can be built upon, when you realize how many more words can be framed from the root word ‘all’. From simple words like ‘call’, you move into tougher words like ‘install’, ‘enthrall’ etc.
Read More:
- English Idioms
- Literary Devices
How to Study Word Families?
You can make use of the following key points to learn about word families:
- Begin with one-syllable words.
- Develop a word family chart at home.
- Make it a point to learn one-word family each week.
- Create new words by adding suffixes and prefixes to the root word.
- Engage in reading activities to memorize root words.
- Familiarise yourself with rhymes and poems that make use of word families.
- Engage in games and activities that deal with word families.
FAQs on Word Families
1. Is it important to know about word families?
Knowledge of word families will help you build vocabulary. Instead of simply memorizing words, you will learn to spot patterns and root words. This will in turn increase your reading fluency.
2. How are word families formed?
A word family consists of a group of words that have a single root word with different prefixes and suffixes. The addition of suffixes or prefixes results in the creation of new words(derivatives) that belong to the same word family.
3. What is the order in which word families should be studied?
There is no particular order in which word families should be covered. However the easiest starting point would be the short ‘a’ word family that includes: at, am, an, ab, ag, ap, etc.
4. How many word families are there in English?
There are thirty seven word families in English, according to the National Council of Teachers of English. These word families are ack, ain, ake, ale, all, ame, an, ank, ap, ash, at, ate, aw, ay, eat, ell, est, ice, ick, ide, ight, ill, in, ine, ing, ink, ip, it, ock, oke, op, ore, ot, uck ,ug, ump, unk.
Conclusion
Word families are certainly a productive way to attain a stronger vocabulary. Exposing yourself to various word families, will in turn increase your understanding of language patterns. Reinforcing the information with rhyming games and activities will accelerate your vocabulary acquisition by increasing the number of words you have at your command.
Using the thirty seven common word families, you will be able to learn about five hundred words. If other word families are included, the number of new words you learn can grow dramatically. So make sure that you have a stronghold on the different word families. You can also check out our article on Word Classes to get a grip on the concept.
Author:
Laura McKinney
Date Of Creation:
4 August 2021
Update Date:
6 April 2023
Content
- Examples of word families
- Sentences with word families
The word family it is a set of words that derive from the same primitive word. They all share the same root and their meaning is related. For example: love, loving, heartbreak, love, love.
The primitive word is the one that gives rise to the rest of the family and does not derive from another word. Meanwhile, the derived word is formed from the primitive (it has the same root) and a related meaning.
See also:
- Lexical families
- Primitive and derived words
Examples of word families
- Water: water, downpour, watery, drain, watery, watery.
- Tree: grove, arborist, to raise, to dismantle.
- Love: love affair, love affair, heartbreak, love, fall in love, fall out of love.
- Art: artisan, artisan, artistic, artificial.
- Ship: boat, embark, ferryman, basket.
- Mouth: snack, sandwich, dove.
- Horse: knight, cavalcade, cavalry, ride, chivalrous.
- Head: head, head, head, head, head.
- Hot: hot, calorie, hot, hot.
- Path: walk, hike, hiker.
- Letter: postman, discard, insert.
- Science: scientific, unscientific.
- Cloister: cloistered, cloistered, claustrophobia, cloistered.
- Clear: clarify, clarify, clarify, clear.
- Colour: coloring, coloring, coloring.
- Sport: sports, sportsman, sportsmanship, sports center.
- Sponge: fluffy, fluffy, spongiform.
- Flower: floral, flowery, flourish, bloom.
- fruit: fruit, fruit shop, enjoy, fruit bowl.
- Skilled: ability, enable.
- Leaf: leaf through, puff pastry, leaf litter, leaf.
- Invention: invent, inventor, invention, inventiveness.
- Yard: gardener, gardener, gardening.
- Firewood: log, lumberjack, lumberjack, lumberjack.
- Book: bookstore, bookcase, notebook, booklet.
- Law: legal, legislate, legislator, illegal, legislative.
- Light: luminous, firefly, illumination, illuminate.
- Moon: lunar, moon landing, lunatic, moon landing.
- Evil: malice, bad, evil, evil.
- Sea: marine, maritime, overseas.
- Medicine: medicine, medical, medicate, self-medicate.
- Market: merchandise, flea market, merchant.
- Table: table, counter, waiter.
- Black: blacken, blackness, blackish.
- Boy: babysitter, toddler, childhood, childish, girl.
- Official: unofficial, official, official, official, non-commissioned officer.
- Bread: baker, bakery, bread basket, breading.
- Paper: trash, stationery, paperwork.
- Pie: pastry shop, pastry chef, cupcake.
- Grass: shepherd, shepherd, pasture, shepherdess.
- Hair: hair, wig, hairdresser, fur, lint.
- Fishing: fish, fisherman, fishmonger, fishing.
- Painting: paint, painter, painters.
- Registry: register, registered, registrable.
- Salt: saline, salt, salt shaker, saltpeter.
- Chair: armchair, saddle.
- Sun: sunny, solar, sunny, solstice.
- Throne: enthrone, dethrone, enthrone.
- Wind: windy, blizzard, fuss.
- Shoe: slipper, shoemaker, shoemaker, shoe store.
Sentences with word families
- The Shoemaker fixed my shoes brown and they were like new.
- The Sun It is very strong, do not forget to be protective solar before leaving.
- I will put Salt to the salt shaker because it’s empty.
- The baby sister will stay with children tonight, so let’s party.
- The bookcase he recommended me a book of stories called the Aleph, by Jorge Luis Borges.
- I brought pencils colors so they can color the book that Santa Claus brought you.
- The gardener is pruning the roses in the yard.
- I put a lot of Water to the sauce and I was left watery.
- I went to the Stationery to buy papers to make origami.
- The woodcutter brought more firewood for the home stove.
- See also: Flower word family