-
Vocabulary building
Affixes and
roots
Adding affixes to existing words
(the base or root) to form new words is
common in academic English. Prefixes
are added to the front of the base
(
like
dislike
), whereas suffixes
are added to the end of the base
(
active
activate
). Prefixes usually
do not change the class of the base word, but
suffixes usually do change the class of
the word.
The most common prefixes used
to form new verbs in academic English
are:
re-, dis-, over-, un-,
mis-, out-
. The most common suffixes
are:
-ise, -en, -ate,
-(i)fy
.
By far
the most common affix in academic English is
-ise
.
Verbs
e.g. prefix + verb
Prefix
re-
dis-
over-
un-
mis-
out-
be-
co-
de-
fore-
inter-
pre-
sub-
verb
Examples
Meaning
again or back
reverses the meaning of
the
verb
too much
reverses the
meaning of
the verb
badly or
wrongly
more or better than others
make or cause
together
do the opposite of
earlier,
before
between
before
under/below
restructure,
revisit, reappear, rebuild,
refinance
disappear, disallow, disarm,
disconnect,
discontinue
overbook, oversleep,
overwork
unbend, uncouple,
unfasten
mislead, misinform,
misidentify
outperform,
outbid
befriend,
belittle
co-exist, co-
operate, co-own
devalue,
deselect
foreclose,
foresee
interact, intermix,
interface
pre-expose,
prejudge, pretest
subcontract, subdivide
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trans-
across, over
under-
not enough
transform, transcribe,
transplant
underfund,
undersell, undervalue,
underdevelop
Exercise
e.g. Suffix used to form verbs with the
meaning
Suffix
-ise
-ate
-fy
-en
Example
stabilise, characterise, symbolise,
visualise, specialise
differentiate, liquidate, pollinate,
duplicate, fabricate
classify, exemplify, simplify,
justify
awaken, fasten,
shorten, moisten
Exercise
Nouns
The most common
prefixes used to form new nouns in academic
English are:
co-
and
sub-
. The
most common suffixes are:
-tion,
-ity
,
-er, -ness, -ism,
-ment,
-ant, -ship, -age,
-ery
.
By far the most common
noun affix in academic English
is
-tion.
e.g.
prefix + noun
Prefix
anti-
auto-
bi-
co-
noun
Examples
Meaning
against
self
two
joint
anticlimax, antidote,
antithesis
autobiography,
automobile
bilingualism,
biculturalism, bi-metalism
co-founder, co-owner, co-
descendant
counter-argument,
counter-example,
counter-
proposal
discomfort,
dislike
2
counter-
against
dis-
the converse of
ex-
hyper-
in-
in-
inter-
kilo-
mal-
mega-
mis-
mini-
mono-
neo-
out-
poly-
former
extreme
the converse of
inside
between
thousand
bad
million
wrong
small
one
new
separate
many
ex-
chairman, ex-hunter
hyperinflation, hypersurface
inattention, incoherence,
incompatibility
inpatient,
interaction, inter-change,
interference
kilobyte
malfunction, maltreatment,
malnutrition
megabyte
misconduct, misdeed,
mismanagement
mini-
publication, mini-theory
monosyllable, monograph,
monogamy
neo-colonialism,
neo-impressionism
outbuilding,
polysyllable
pseudo-expert
re-
organisation, re-assessment, re-
examination
semicircle,
semi-darkness
subset,
subdivision
superset,
superimposition, superpowers
surtax
telecommunications,
tripartism
ultrasound
underpayment, under-development,
undergraduate
vice-
president
pseudo-
false
re-
semi-
sub-
super-
sur-
tele-
tri-
ultra-
under-
vice-
Exercise
again
half
below
more than,
above
over and above
distant
three
beyond
below, too little
deputy
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