Prefixes in english word formations

What is word formation in grammar? and what are the methods of word formation? What are prefixes and suffixes?

Word formation definition: 

Merriam Webster dictionary defines word formation as the formation of words in a language by the processes of derivation and composition.

We usually add a prefix or suffix to make new words. How are prefixes and suffixes alike? Both are a type of affix and both can change a word’s meaning. 

Word formation prefixes and suffixes in English: Word formation examples lists

Word formation suffixes and prefixes (important word formation lists)

List of prefixes and suffixes

Generally, we use prefixes and suffixes to make new words. This post deals with words with prefixes and suffixes.

Word formation prefixes

Prefix meaning

A prefix is defined as a letter or group of letters that we add to the beginning of a word to form new words. Prefixes can be used to guess the meaning of words.

Below is a high-quality poster that can be printed out. The poster contains prefixes list, their meanings, and examples. Also, there is a link to an outstanding video on prefixes

Prefix examples

Look at the words tie, retie and untie.  What do they have in common? ( prefix of tie)

They all include the word tie. So the word tie is the root word or base word. Adding a prefix changes the meaning of the root.

Adding a prefix changes the meaning of the root.

Here are lists of common prefixes and suffixes, along with their meanings and examples, that we use in word formation.

The word formation examples list below shows prefixes (word building prefixes)

What prefix means new? What is the prefix for new and recent?

The prefix meaning new and recent is neo-

The prefix of tie is un- (untie)

The prefix of look is over- (overlook which means fail to notice = misheed)

The prefix with present or potent is omni- (omnipresent, omnipotent)

The prefix of appeared is dis-. It means the opposite of. (disappeared is the opposite of appeared).

The prefix of able is un- or dis- (Examples: unable, disable)

The prefix of see is un- or for- (Examples: unsee, forsee)

The prefix of paid is under- (underpaid)

The prefix for potent is im- (impotent)

The prefix for tied is un- (untied)

The prefix of populated is un- (unpopulated which means uninhabited)

The prefix for the word trust is dis- , un- or mis- ( we can say distrust, untrust or mistrust. All of them mean lack of trust or confidence)

The prefix for accurate is in- (inaccurate which means not accurate or incorrect or wrong)

The prefix of use is mis- (misuse which means use in the wrong way or badly) (The prefix mis means wrongly or badly)

The prefix of necessary is un- (unnecessary)

The prefix that means recent is neo- (Words with prefix neo-)

The prefix for tie (tie prefix) is un- (untie)

The poster below shows over 10 examples of prefixes

The prefixes in-, im-, il-, ir-, un-, dis- have the same meaning. They mean ‘opposite of’ or ‘not’. When we add these prefixes to a word, they give its opposite.

Prefixes examples and prefixes rules and tips

• im– is used before a word beginning with ‘m’ or ‘p’ {e.g. Immature, impatient…}

  Adjectives beginning with c usually take the prefix in– {e.g.  incorrect…}

• il– is used before a word beginning with ‘l’ {e.g. illiterate, illegal…}

• ir–  is used before a word beginning with ‘r’ {e.g. irregular, irrelevant…} What does the prefix ir mean? The prefix ir means ‘opposite of’ or ‘not’
  

• There are no rules for in– , un– and dis–

• We can also use the prefixes un– and dis– with verbs to form their opposites. (e.g. untie, unfasten, unpack, undo, unlock, undress, disagree, disappear, dislike, disqualify, disobey, disconnect etc.)
• dis meaning (with adjectives, adverbs and nouns): The prefix dis- in adjectives, adverbs and nouns mean ‘not’ or ‘opposite of’ (dishonest, disagreeably, disadvantage)
• in prefix meaning (meaning of the prefix in-)  (in prefix): The prefix in means ‘not’ or ‘opposite of’ (in prefix words: incorrect (= not correct), infinite, inaccurate, inactive, inadequate, incapable, incoherent, incomplete, indirect…) (words with the prefix in)
• The prefix of able can be dis-, un– or en-. Here are some examples: disable (verb), unable (adjective), enable (verb).

Prefix video

• Word formation suffixes

What is a suffix in English? /What does suffix mean? / Suffix meaning formation?

A suffix is the letters or syllables that we add to the end of a word to create new words. Using suffixes to form new words is a good way to enrich your vocabulary.

As we said before, we add prefix or suffix to make new words. Knowing the different suffixes can enable you to guess the meaning of new words and recognize whether the word is a verb, a noun, an adjective, an adverb, etc.

The suffix can change the spelling of the original word. For example, the -e ending of the verb ‘create’ and the adjective ‘wise’ is omitted when the suffix is added.

• Create → creation
• wise→ wisdom

Adding the suffixes change the spelling of the original word.

In the English language, not only do suffixes change the spelling of the original word but they also change the word’s part of speech. For example, the suffix ly changes adjectives to adverbs. (brave (adjective) → bravely (adverb), correct → correctly )

Here is a list of common suffixes (suffixes list/suffix examples) 

Suffixes tips:

• The suffix less meaning (less definition): The suffix less means ‘without’.
• al suffix meaning: The suffix al in adjectives means ‘having the quality of’ or ‘connected with’. The suffix al in nouns means ‘the state or process of’
• able suffix meaning: The suffix able means ‘that can or must be’ or ‘having the quality of’

The table below displays more suffixes with meaning and examples (suffix words)

Very Important Related Posts:

How Are Prefixes and Suffixes Alike?

Important Prefixes and Suffixes Exercises with Answers pdf

Prefixes and Suffixes Exercises / Prefixes and suffixes worksheet (Word formation exercises)

In the exercises below, you should add prefixes and suffixes to the words in the sentences so that they are meaningful sentences.

A. Fill in the blanks with the correct prefix. Make any necessary changes

1. He has never been to school. He is …………literate. He can’t write and read.
2. Male students …………..number female students in rural areas.
3. He is so ……..……honest that nobody trusts him.
4. My father is ……..…..partial. He does not discriminate between his children.
5. I’m sorry to …….…….pronounce your name.
6. Children in some African countries are ………..fed. They suffer from hunger.
7. China is an………..…populated country. It has over a billion people.
8. It is ……….…responsible of some students not to prepare for their exams and resort to cheating.
9. Big cities are usually ………………..crowded.
10. It’s ………………moral to smoke in class and expose students to danger.
11. Most workers are complaining that they are ………………paid.

B. Complete with the right suffixes. Make any necessary changes.

1. Georgia is cap……………….of helping you with your problems. Why don’t you ask her to?
2. Be care………………! A car is coming.
3. The best treat………..……..for obesity is doing sport every day.
4. Our factory has installed two video cameras for secure ………………reasons.
5. An anonym………………person called me twice last night.
6. The belief that things will improve is called optim……….., whereas the belief that things will get worse is called pessim……..
7. The legs of these trousers are too long. Could you short…………..them for me, please?
8. Don’t be pessimist……..…….. Everything will be all right.
9. Could you simple ………..………..your instructions, please?
10. Nobody can understand this sentence. It is meaning…………
11. Criticize…………………is useful on condition that it is constructive.
12. He does exercise every day so as to strength……………his muscles.
13. The news of his best friend’s death sad……..….….him.
14. I don’t see any similar…………….between the two presidents.
15. She works very hard. She has the able…….………to succeed.
16. For further inform………..….., contact me on this mobile number.

People who search for word formation, also search for prefixes and suffixes worksheets, prefixes and suffixes pdf, prefixes and suffixes examples, and prefixes and suffixes exercises.

Download prefixes and suffixes worksheet pdf here

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What are the 10 examples of prefix?

Words with Both Prefixes and Suffixes List

Here is a list of words with a prefix and suffix and a root.

• Unhelpful
• undoubtedly
• Unacceptable
• Uninteresting
• Unconsciousness
• Unsuccessful
• Unsuccessfully
• Impossibly
• Antidisestablishmentarianism
• Disrespectful
• Disrespectfully
• Distasteful
• Disconnected
• Disloyalty
• Ilogically
• Nonconformist
• Replacement
• Reappearance
• Immeasureable

 Learn English online with Englishdotcom

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

English prefixes are affixes (i.e., bound morphemes that provide lexical meaning) that are added before either simple roots or complex bases (or operands) consisting of (a) a root and other affixes, (b) multiple roots, or (c) multiple roots and other affixes. Examples of these follow:

• undo (consisting of prefix un- and root do)
• untouchable (consisting of prefix un-, root touch, and suffix -able)
• non-childproof (consisting of prefix non-, root child, and suffix -proof)
• non-childproofable (consisting of prefix non-, root child, root proof, and suffix -able)

English words may consist of multiple prefixes: anti-pseudo-classicism (containing both an anti- prefix and a pseudo- prefix).

In English, all prefixes are derivational. This contrasts with English suffixes, which may be either derivational or inflectional.

Selectional restrictions[edit]

As is often the case with derivational morphology, many English prefixes can only be added to bases of particular lexical categories (or «parts of speech»). For example, the prefix re- meaning «again, back» is only added to verb bases as in rebuild, reclaim, reuse, resell, re-evaluate, resettle. It cannot be added to bases of other lexical categories. Thus, examples of re- plus a noun base (such as the ungrammatical *rehusband, *remonopoly) or re- plus an adjective base (*renatural, *rewise) are virtually unattested.^[1]

These selectional restrictions on what base a prefix can be attached to can be used to distinguish between otherwise identical-sounding prefixes. For instance, there are two different un- prefixes in English: one meaning «not, opposite of», the other meaning «reverse action, deprive of, release from». The first prefix un- «not» is attached to adjective and participle bases while the second prefix un- «reverse action» is attached to either verb or noun bases. Thus, English can have two words that are pronounced and spelled the same and have the same lexical category but have different meanings, different prefixes, a different internal morphological structure, and different internal bases that the prefixes are attached to:

• unlockable «not able to be locked»
• unlockable «able to be unlocked»

In the first unlockable «not able to be locked», the prefix un- «not» is attached to an adjective base lockable (which, in turn, is composed of lock + -able). This word has the following internal structure:

[ un [ [ lock ]_verb able ]_adj ]_adj

In the second unlockable «able to be unlocked», the prefix un- «reverse action» is attached to a verb base lock, resulting in the derived verb unlock. Subsequently, the -able suffix is added after the newly created unlock adjective base deriving the adjective unlockable. This word has the following internal structure:

[ [ un [ lock ]_verb ]_verb able ]_adj

Only certain verbs or nouns can be used to form a new verb having the opposite meaning. In particular, using verbs describing an irreversible action produces words often considered nonsense, e.g. unkill, unspend, unlose, unring. These words may nevertheless be in occasional use for humorous or other effect.

Changes in lexical category[edit]

Unlike derivational suffixes, English derivational prefixes typically do not change the lexical category of the base (and are so called class-maintaining prefixes). Thus, the word do, consisting of a single morpheme, is a verb as is the word redo, which consists of the prefix re- and the base root do.

However, there are a few prefixes in English that are class-changing in that the word resulting after prefixation belongs to a lexical category that is different from the lexical category of the base. Examples of this type include a-, be-, and en-. a- typically creates adjectives from noun and verb bases: blaze (noun/verb) > ablaze (adj). The relatively unproductive be- creates transitive verbs from noun bases: witch (noun) > bewitch (verb). en- creates transitive verbs from noun bases: slave (noun) > enslave (verb).

Native vs. non-native (neo-classical) prefixing[edit]

Several English words are analyzed as a combination of a dependent affix and an independent base, such as those found in words like boy-hood or un-just. Following Marchand (1969), these types of words are formed by native word-formation processes.

Other words in English (and also in French and German) are formed via foreign word-formation processes, particularly processes seen in Greek and Latin word-formation. These word types are often known as neo-classical (or neo-Latin) words and are often found in academic learned vocabulary domains (such as in science fields), as well as in inkhorn terms coined in the 17th and 18th centuries. Words of this nature are borrowed from either Greek or Latin or have been newly coined based upon Greek and Latin word-formation processes. It is possible to detect varying degrees of foreignness.^[2]

In some analytic frameworks, such neo-classical prefixes are excluded from analyses of English derivation on the grounds that they are not analyzable according to a mostly synchronic (that is, relatively productive or easily recognizable and relating to present-day idioms) English (that is, «native») basis.^[3] Conceptualized thus, anglicized neo-classical English words such as deceive are not analyzed by Marchand as being composed of a prefix de- and a bound base -ceive but are rather analyzed as being composed of a single morpheme (although the Latin sources of these English words are analyzed as such, as «native» Latin components in the Latin language).^[4] Similarly, pairs such as defend/defense and double (or duple)/duplicity are not considered morphologically related in Marchand’s treatment of English word formation and are thus excluded too, though they are regarded as derivatives of the shared roots in Jespersen’s and Koizul’s, while in others, they may be seen as allomorphs or variants (like deep/depth, a pair formed of Germanic components). However, not all foreign words are unanalyzable according to such an English basis: some foreign elements have been nativized and have become a part of productive English word-formation processes. An example of such a now native English prefix is co- as in co-worker, which is ultimately derived from the Latin prefix com- (with its allomorphs co-, col-, con-, and cor-); and ex- as in ex-soldier, which derives from the Latin ex-.

Initial combining forms vs prefixes[edit]

• Combining form

List of English prefixes[edit]

Native^[5][edit]

Neo-classical^[5][edit]

Archaic[edit]

See also[edit]

• Number prefix
• English grammar
• English compound
• Affix
• List of Greek and Latin roots in English

Notes[edit]

Bibliography[edit]

• Adams, Valerie. (1973). An introduction to modern English word-formation. London: Longman.
• Ayers, Donald M. (1986). English words from Latin and Greek elements (2nd & rev. ed.). Tucson: The University of Arizona Press.
• Bauer, Laurie. (1983). English word-formation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Bauer, Laurie; Lieber, Rochelle; Plag, Ingo (2013). The Oxford Reference Guide to English Morphology. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
• Brown, Roland W. (1927). Materials for word-study: A manual of roots, prefixes, suffixes and derivatives in the English language. New Haven, CT: Van Dyck & Co.
• Cannon, Garland Hampton. (1987). Historical change and English word-formation: Recent vocabulary. New York: P. Lang.
• Jespersen, Otto. (1942). A modern English grammar on historical principles: Morphology (Part 6). London: George Allen & Unwin and Ejnar Munksgaard.
• Marchand, Hans. (1969). The categories and types of present-day English word-formation (2nd ed.). München: C. H. Beck.
• Quirk, Randolph; Greenbaum, Sidney; Leech, Geoffrey; & Svartvik, Jan. (1985). Appendix I: Word-formation. In A comprehensive grammar of the English language (pp. 1517–1585). Harlow: Longman.
• Simpson, John (Ed.). (1989). Oxford English dictionary (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

External links[edit]

• Chart of English Language Roots