What are word families in grammar

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.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A word family is the base form of a word plus its inflected forms and derived forms made with suffixes and prefixes[1] plus its cognates, i.e. all words that have a common etymological origin, some of which even native speakers don’t recognize as being related (e.g. «wrought (iron)» and «work(ed)»).[2] In the English language, inflectional affixes include third person —s, verbal -ed and -ing, plural —s, possessive —s, comparative —er and superlative —est. Derivational affixes include —able, -er, -ish, -less, -ly, -ness, -th, -y, non-, un-, -al, -ation, -ess, -ful, -ism, -ist, -ity, -ize/-ise, -ment, in-.[1] The idea is that a base word and its inflected forms support the same core meaning, and can be considered learned words if a learner knows both the base word and the affix.
Bauer and Nation proposed seven levels of affixes based on their frequency in English.[3] It has been shown that word families can assist with deriving related words via affixes, along with decreasing the time needed to derive and recognize such words.[4]

Effects on learning[edit]

There are several studies that suggest that knowledge of root words and their derivatives can assist with learning or even deducing the meaning of other members of a word family. A study from Carlisle and Katz (2006) comparing separate English word families varying in size, frequency, and affirmation and negation suggests that “accuracy of reading derived words by 4th and 6th graders is related to measures of familiarity, … base word frequencies, family size, average family frequency, and word length”.[5] It was found that families that were either larger or more frequent (i.e. word families that had more words or were more common) were more quickly read.[5] Nagy et al. (1989) found that morphologically related families had an increase of reaction time of up to 7 ms compared to those without a morphological relation.[4] Nagy et al. (1993) summarizes how knowledge of the meanings of common English suffixes underwent significant development between fourth grade and high school.[6]

Studies on non-native speakers[edit]

There have also been studies on non-native English speakers and learners on their knowledge and understanding of word families. A study of nonnative-English-speaking college students showed that non-native English speakers knew at least some of the four word forms studied (nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs).[7] Out of these four, word families derived from nouns and verbs were found to be the most well-known.[7] Results showed that in regards to these word forms, ESL students knew the least, MA-ELT (English Language Teaching) students knew more, and native speakers knew the most.[7] In addition, a study of Japanese students learning English showed poor knowledge of the affixes studied, showing a division between their knowledge of a word’s meaning and a derivative form of a separate word (e.g. stimulate versus similar, disclose and far).[8] To conclude their study, Schmitt and Zimmerman have provided the following for those teaching word families as a guideline:[7]

  • Introduce derivatives along with their roots.
  • Teach more affixes.
  • Emphasize adverbs, adjectives, and their derivatives.
  • Suggest reading that includes these word families.

See also[edit]

  • Headword (lemma)
  • Lexeme

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Hirsh, D.; Nation, I.S.P. (1992). «What vocabulary size is needed to read unsimplified texts for pleasure?» (PDF). Reading in a Foreign Language. 8 (2): 689–696.
  2. ^ «Word family Definition & Meaning — Merriam-Webster».
  3. ^ Bauer, L.; Nation, I.S.P. (1993). «Word families». International Journal of Lexicography. 6 (4): 253–279. doi:10.1093/ijl/6.4.253.
  4. ^ a b Nagy, William; Anderson, Richard C.; Schommer, Marlene; Scott, Judith Ann; Stallman, Anne C. (1989). «Morphological Families in the Internal Lexicon». Reading Research Quarterly. 24 (3): 262–282. doi:10.2307/747770. hdl:2142/17726. ISSN 0034-0553. JSTOR 747770.
  5. ^ a b Carlisle, Joanne F.; Katz, Lauren A. (October 2006). «Effects of word and morpheme familiarity on reading of derived words». Reading and Writing. 19 (7): 669–693. doi:10.1007/s11145-005-5766-2. ISSN 0922-4777. S2CID 145561186.
  6. ^ Nagy, William E.; Diakidoy, Irene-Anna N.; Anderson, Richard C. (June 1993). «The Acquisition of Morphology: Learning the Contribution of Suffixes to the Meanings of Derivatives». Journal of Reading Behavior. 25 (2): 155–170. doi:10.1080/10862969309547808. ISSN 0022-4111.
  7. ^ a b c d Schmitt, Norbert; Zimmerman, Cheryl Boyd (2002). «Derivative Word Forms: What Do Learners Know?». TESOL Quarterly. 36 (2): 145. doi:10.2307/3588328. JSTOR 3588328.
  8. ^ Schmitt, Norbert; Meara, Paul (March 1997). «Researching Vocabulary Through a Word Knowledge Framework». Studies in Second Language Acquisition. 19 (1): 17–36. doi:10.1017/S0272263197001022. ISSN 0272-2631.

Table of Contents

  1. Is the word family an adjective?
  2. What type of noun is families?
  3. Is word family a list?
  4. Is word a family?
  5. What word families should I teach first?
  6. What is the root word of family?
  7. What is a word family happy?
  8. What is word families in English?
  9. Which means happy?
  10. What’s the opposite of happiness?
  11. What 3 things make you happy?
  12. What makes study happy?
  13. What’s the secret to happiness?
  14. What are 10 things that make you happy?
  15. How can I get more joy in my life?
  16. How do I know what brings me joy?
  17. What does the Bible say about joy?
  18. How can I have joy in the Lord?

A word family is the base form of a word plus its inflected forms and derived forms made with suffixes and prefixes plus its cognates, i.e. all words that have a common etymological origin, some of which even native speakers don’t recognize as being related (e.g. “wrought (iron)” and “work(ed)”).

Is the word family an adjective?

family (adjective) family doctor (noun) blended family (noun) extended family (noun)

What type of noun is families?

common noun

According to researchers Wylie and Durrel, there are 37 common word families: 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. Source: Richard E. Wylie and Donald D. Durrell, 1970.

Is word a family?

Word families are groups of words that have a common pattern or groups of letters with the same sound. For example, the “ain” word family includes brain, chain, gain, pain, rain, and so on.

What word families should I teach first?

Which word family do you teach first? Many educators would agree that the -at family is the first word family to introduce.

What is the root word of family?

The word family came into English in the fifteenth century. Its root lies in the Latin word famulus, “servant”. The first meaning in English was close to our modern word “household” — a group of individuals living under one roof that included blood relations and servants.

What is a word family happy?

For example, the root word happy might have a prefix added (unhappy) or might have a suffix added (happiness). The words happy, unhappy and happiness all belong to the same word family.

What is word families in English?

Word families are groups of words that have a common feature or pattern – they have some of the same combinations of letters in them and a similar sound. For example, at, cat, hat, and fat are a family of words with the “at” sound and letter combination in common.

Which means happy?

1 : feeling or showing pleasure : glad I’m happy you came. 2 : enjoying a condition or situation : content They were happy together. 3 : joyful She talked in a happy way. 4 : fortunate sense 1, lucky Meeting him was a happy occurrence. 5 : being suitable for something a happy choice.

What’s the opposite of happiness?

What is the opposite of happiness?

sadness sorrow
discontentment displeasure
dissatisfaction ill-being
wretchedness annoyance
depression despondency

What 3 things make you happy?

You can increase your own happiness quotient too by doing these 14 things that make you happy:

  • Start with a Good Dose of Gratitude.
  • Make Sure You’re Giving Back.
  • Laugh Every Day (It’s Better than Money)
  • Foster Good Relationships with Family and Friends.
  • Take Some Alone Time.
  • Do What You Love.
  • Volunteer Your Time.

What makes study happy?

Close relationships, more than money or fame, are what keep people happy throughout their lives, the study revealed. Those ties protect people from life’s discontents, help to delay mental and physical decline, and are better predictors of long and happy lives than social class, IQ, or even genes.

What’s the secret to happiness?

Making positive choices like returning a wallet found stuffed with cash to its rightful owner or remaining faithful to one’s spouse are part of the secret to happiness, say some researchers. Others put more emphasis on relationships. People who have close relationships with others tend to be happier.

What are 10 things that make you happy?

Here is a list of 10 things that will make you happy right now!

  • You are alive so take some breathes and feel the air in your lungs.
  • Spend time with family & friends.
  • Go outside.
  • Get some good sleep.
  • Help someone else.
  • Smile and give or get a hug.
  • Be thankful for the small things in your life.
  • Listen to Music.

How can I get more joy in my life?

These ideas may help you start creating more joy in your life:

  1. Tell a new story. What’s your current story, and how does it make you feel?
  2. Feel the thoughts that make you feel good.
  3. Spring clean your belief system.
  4. Get happy now!
  5. Get into gratitude.
  6. Create a bliss board.
  7. Take a leap of faith.

How do I know what brings me joy?

How to Find the Thing That Gives You Joy

  1. Act. Don’t take time off to think about your life path, or stay put until lightning strikes. Get out there.
  2. Serve. All of the science is with me on this: Humans are happiest when they serve others.
  3. Have fun. See Julia Child’s quote above.

What does the Bible say about joy?

Bible Joy Truth #1: Authentic joy and true happiness is found is God’s presence. I love that joy is the very essence of God’s character! 1 Chronicles 16:27 says that “strength and joy fill his dwelling.” Psalm 16:11 reminds us that joy and “eternal pleasures” are found in God’s presence.

How can I have joy in the Lord?

By spending time with God in prayer and daily Bible reading, we can experience a joy that fills our hearts. We were made to share the Father’s eternal pleasure in His Son. The Father has always delighted in His Son, eternally finding pleasure in Him. To love Jesus is to be made more like God himself.

What is a word family example?

Word families are groups of words that have a common pattern or groups of letters with the same sound. For example, the “ain” word family includes brain, chain, gain, pain, rain, and so on.

What is the word family in grammar?

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.

How do you describe a word family?

Word families, also called phonograms or “chunks,” provide us with groups of words that have a predictable pattern or “chunk.” These words have the same ending, and they all rhyme. This makes learning a set of words (a word family) easier on our beginning readers.

How many word families are there?

According to the National Council of Teachers of English, there are 37 common word families. Below, we’ll show you each word family, as well as example words that belong to each word family.

Which word family should I teach first?

the -at family

How do you introduce a word family?

Introduce students to other simple word families. Say something like, “I’ve introduced you to the ‘-at’ word family. Now let me introduce you to a few more.” X Research source Then write on the whiteboard: The “-an” family: ran, fan, tan, man. The “-ad” family: mad, sad, bad, had, pad, lad.

Are family words?

Word families are groups of words that have a common feature or pattern – they have some of the same combinations of letters in them and a similar sound. For example, at, cat, hat, and fat are a family of words with the “at” sound and letter combination in common. You can study one word family a week.

Is word family a list?

According to researchers Wylie and Durrel, there are 37 common word families: 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. Source: Richard E. Wylie and Donald D. Durrell, 1970.

Is there an order to teach word families?

There is no particular order to the word families that one chooses; however, short a families make a good starting point because they are so common in the reading materials of young children, and studies of children’s invented spellings show that this is the short vowel least likely to be confused (Henderson, 1985).

What is a word family in phonics?

Phonics word families are groups of words that have similar letter patterns. By learning just one pattern your child can learn many words at the same time.

What is the root word for family?

The word family came into English in the fifteenth century. Its root lies in the Latin word famulus, “servant”. The first meaning in English was close to our modern word “household” — a group of individuals living under one roof that included blood relations and servants.

How do you explain a family member?

Family Members means any child, stepchild, grandchild, parent, stepparent, grandparent, spouse, former spouse, sibling, niece, nephew, mother-in-law, father-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law (including adoptive relationships) of the Participant, any person sharing the Participant’s …

What are family members called?

relatives

Why a family is important?

Family is the single most important influence in a child’s life. From their first moments of life, children depend on parents and family to protect them and provide for their needs. They are a child’s first teachers and act as role models in how to act and how to experience the world around them.

What family really means?

“Family means having someone to love you unconditionally in spite of you and your shortcomings. Family is loving and supporting one another even when it’s not easy to do so. Family is unrelenting, it’s secure and reliable. Family isn’t just important, it’s what is most important!”

What is a family simple definition?

Family, a group of persons united by the ties of marriage, blood, or adoption, constituting a single household and interacting with each other in their respective social positions, usually those of spouses, parents, children, and siblings.

What do you call a person with no family?

An orphan (from the Greek: ορφανός, romanized: orphanós) is a child whose parents have died, are unknown, or have permanently abandoned them. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents due to death is called an orphan.

Can you survive without family?

Is it possible to live without a family and still be happy? The answer is yes. Humans are endowed with an incredible capacity for adaptation, which allows us to cope with all kinds of circumstances. The only really important thing is that this condition be the fruit of conscious choice.

What does Autophile mean?

Noun. autophile (plural autophiles) An automobile enthusiast.

What’s a big word for lonely?

Some common synonyms of lonely are alone, desolate, forlorn, lonesome, lone, and solitary. While all these words mean “isolated from others,” lonely adds to solitary a suggestion of longing for companionship.

What are 3 synonyms for lonely?

other words for lonely

  • deserted.
  • desolate.
  • destitute.
  • homeless.
  • isolated.
  • lonesome.
  • reclusive.
  • solitary.

What is the word for not lonely?

being without company. cut off from others, solitary. not frequented by human beings, desolate.

What is a good synonym for loneliness?

other words for loneliness

  • alienation.
  • desolation.
  • heartache.
  • solitude.
  • aloneness.
  • seclusion.
  • solitariness.
  • withdrawal.

What means lonely?

affected with, characterized by, or causing a depressing feeling of being alone; lonesome. destitute of sympathetic or friendly companionship, intercourse, support, etc.: a lonely exile. lone; solitary; without company; companionless. remote from places of human habitation; desolate; unfrequented; bleak: a lonely road.

What is another word for feelings?

Feeling Synonyms – WordHippo Thesaurus….What is another word for feeling?

emotion sentiment
reaction sensibility
affection response
sensation sensitivity
affectivity susceptibility

Introduction

Are you struggling to help your child understand how to read? There are many things that you can do to help encourage literacy, one of which includes teaching your child word families.

Word families are the grouping of common letters into similar word lists. In short, if your child understands the word family, they’ll be able to understand a list of words with the word family in common.

This guide will not only explain the various word families in the English language but also give you tips and tricks on how to increase reading comprehension.

A word family is a group of letters that are combined to make a specific sound. For example, -ack, -am-, and -at are all word families.

The purpose of understanding a word family is the notion that if you can identify one word, you should be able to identify many others with the common word family. So, if your child can sound out “back,” then they should easily be able to sound out “smack, tack, and rack” as well.

This is also the foundation of understanding how words work together to create a rhyme. Since these words all sound the same, you can combine them to make them have the same flow and rhyme scheme.

Word families increase with difficulty as children age. The first world families that are taught are generally simple, like “at” (for “cat, bat, and sat”). As children age, they will be asked to identify more complex word families like “ain” (or “rain, refrain, and stain”).

Word families and sight words work together to help children learn how to read. All of these words are high-frequency words, which means that children will see them often. When children can identify them quickly and easily, they can become more persuasive writers.

What are Word Families?

Examples

According to Wylie and Durrell, there are 37 common word families in the English language. In actuality, there are many more than 37, but these are the highest frequency words.

Many popular nursery rhymes include these 37 word families. They are simple because each letter is pronounced the way it should be. The only time that words are not pronounced as they are spelled is in the event of two vowels being next to each other. When you encounter one of these two-vowel words (like rain), the rule is to pronounce the first vowel only.

Below is a list of examples for each of the 37 most popular word families.

ack ain ake ale all ame
attack brain awake ale all blame
back chain bake bale ball came
black explain brake dale call fame
crack gain cake gale fall flame
hack grain fake kale gall frame
knack main flake male hall game
lack pain Jake pale install lame
pack plain lake sale mall name
quack rain make scale small same
rack slain quake stale squall shame
snack sprain rake tale stall tame
stack stain sake whale tall  
tack strain shake   thrall  
whack train snake   wall  
  vain stake      
    take      
    wake      
an ank ap ash at ate
an bank cap ash at abate
ban blank clap bash bat ate
bran crank flap brash brat crate
can dank gap cash cat date
clan drank lap clash chat debate
Dan flank map crash fat fate
fan frank nap dash flat gate
flan Hank rap flash gnat grate
Fran plank sap gash hat hate
Jan prank scrap gnash mat Kate
Japan rank slap hash pat late
man sank snap lash rat mate
pan shrank strap mash sat plate
pecan spank tap rash slat rate
plan tank trap sash spat relate
ran thank wrap slash tat sate
scan yank yap smash that skate
span   zap splash vat state
Stan     stash    
tan     thrash    
than     trash    
van          
aw ay eat ell est ice
caw away beat bell best dice
claw bay cheat cell chest ice
draw bray cleat dell crest mice
flaw clay eat dwell jest nice
gnaw day feat farewell nest price
jaw decay greet fell pest rice
law delay heat hell quest slice
paw display meat sell rest spice
raw flay neat shell test splice
saw gay peat smell unrest thrice
slaw gray pleat spell vest twice
straw hay seat swell west vice
thaw jay treat tell zest  
  lay wheat well    
  may   yell    
  nay        
  okay        
  pay        
  play        
  pray        
  quay        
  ray        
  relay        
  replay        
  say        
  slay        
  spray        
  stay        
  stray        
  sway        
  they        
  today        
  tray        
  way        
ick ide ight ill in ine
brick bride bright bill bin brine
chick decide delight chill chin decline
click glide fight dill din define
flick hide flight drill fin dine
kick pride fright fill gin fine
lick ride height frill grin line
nick side knight gill in mine
pick slide light grill kin nine
quick stride might hill pin pine
Rick tide night ill shin shine
sick wide plight Jill skin shrine
slick   right kill sin sine
stick   sight krill spin spine
thick   slight mill thin swine
tick   tight pill tin tine
trick   tonight quill twin twine
wick     shrill win vine
      sill within whine
      skill   wine
      spill    
      still    
      swill    
      thrill    
      thrill    
      till    
      trill    
      will    
ing ink ip it ock op
bring blink blip admit block coop
cling brink chip bit clock droop
fling drink dip fit cock hoop
king fink drip flit crock loop
ping ink flip grit dock scoop
ring link grip hit flock snoop
sing mink hip it frock stoop
sling pink lip kit hock troop
spring rink nip knit jock  
sting shrink quip lit knock  
string sink rip mit lock  
swing stink ship pit mock  
thing think sip quit o’clock  
wing wink skip sit rock  
wring   slip skit shock  
zing   snip slit smock  
    strip snit sock  
    tip spit stock  
    trip split    
    whip twit    
    zip wit    
ore ot uck ug ump unk
bore apricot buck bug bump bunk
chore blot chuck dug clump chunk
core bot cluck hug dump drunk
fore clot duck jug grump dunk
gore cot luck lug hump flunk
lore dot muck mug jump funk
more forgot puck plug lump hunk
ore got pluck pug plump junk
pore hot stuck rug pump lunk
score jot struck shrug rump plunk
shore knot truck smug slump punk
sore lot tuck snug stump skunk
spore not yuck thug thump slunk
store plot   tug trump spunk
swore pot       sunk
tore rot       trunk
wore shot        
yore slot        
  spot        
  tot        
  trot        

Tips and Tricks for Teaching Reading

When beginning to teach your child to read, you will want to blend information from word families and sight words to help your child start identifying words.

To do this, pick a list of words that matches their age-level and start practicing those words only. When your child can identify these words in a text, it means that they are beginning to see the patterns and identify those high-frequency words in writing.

When you begin teaching word families, start with one of the easier ones first, like am. Once they can identify am, sound it out, and find words that end in am, move to a more complicated word.

Once your child understands how to form these word families into actual words, they will be able to spell and read them!

If your child struggles with some of the foundational skills associated with reading, consider adding a workbook to their daily practice. ArgoPrep has worked with educators to deliver high-quality practice that will entertain, educate, and excite your child. These workbooks are especially helpful for students who might need a little extra attention to reading comprehension, English language skills, and more.

begin teaching word families

Conclusion

My daughter loves to build things with Magnatiles. She will grab all of the tiles and construct fantastic castles, homes, and more with the simple building tools. But what happens when she builds a weak base? We all know. It can’t stand, it’s not steady, and it falls.

Learning how to read can kind of be similar to building a weak structure. Identifying something as simple as a word family seems like a mindless activity for us. Still, for kids, it’s necessary to understand the increasingly tricky skills that kids learn for reading comprehension.

learn word families

Taking the time to learn word families will help them identify words more quickly and spell with more accuracy. This list of 37 high-frequency word families is a great place to start, but once your child masters it, consider researching more challenging word families to increase comprehension!

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