Vocabulary "The Importance of Enriching Vocabulary"

Prefixes and Suffixes

Prefixes and suffixes are grammatical and lingual "affixes". Prefixes are affixed before and suffixes after a base word or word stem to add information. For example, with the word "prehistorict", and the prefix is "pre-" meaning "before," the base word is "history" meaning "recorded event and knowledge", and the suffix is "-ic" meaning "relating to the science of."

In other words, "prefix" simply refers to an attachment before or in front of, in this case, a shorter word or stem. In lingual terms, a "stem" is the main part of a word to which prefixes and suffixes can be added and may not necessarily be a word itself, such as "dod" in "doddle."

Similarly, "suffix" refers to an attachment after the end of an existing word or stem, serving to form a new word or functioning as an inflectional ending, for example, “s” or “es” to make for plurality.

Is an Affix a Single Syllable?

No, a prefix or suffix can be one or more syllables, depending on the root word from Latin or Greek or from any one of a host of other English lingual influences.

Inflectional Suffixes

Are Endings such as "-ed," "-ing," and "-s" Suffixes?

Yes, endings that are create different forms of the same word are called "inflectional suffixes." There are very few inflectional suffixes but they occur rather frequently. They are:

-s, -es, -ies		plural
-s		3rd person singular present
-ed		past tense
-en		past participle
-en		plural (irregular)
-ing		progressive/continuous
-er		comparative
-est		superlative
-n't		negative (contraction)

Derivational Suffixes

Are Endings such as "-ism," "-ful," and "-fy" Suffixes?

Endings that change the meaning of the word are called "derivational suffixes." Some are:

-ism		forms a noun
-ist		noun
-ful		noun
-able		adjective
-ation		noun
-ness		noun
-ment		noun
-ify		verb
-fy		adjective
-ity		noun
-ly		adverb
-ise, -ize		verb

Derivational suffixes can combine, providing flexibility in creating other words, but such activity can lead to spelling complications. For example, "-ity" can combine with "-able," but the result is "-ability" (desirability, predictability), and when "-ly" is added to a word ending in "-ic" to make an adverb, the result is usually "-ically" (historically, mechanically).

Compound words

Compound words, especially through word matching games, is fun for kids. Plus compound words help kids grasp language structure and increase their interest in words, especially prefixes, suffixes and word roots.

Compound words exist in many languages and offer great insight into the inner workings of each language, including the basic building blocks such as prefixes, suffixes and word roots. In English, there are three forms of compound words: closed form (notebook), hyphenated form (mother-in-law), and open form (real estate).

Students find it fun to learn compound words and practice English vocabulary with fun compound word games. Teachers can best prepare their students by making lists of compound words organized by level. There are excellent resources for creating worksheets for compound words for first grade and activities for compound words for second grade online. Teachers wanting to prepare lesson plans on compound words for third grade classroom activities or compound words for fourth grade can also find what they need effortlessly. Teaching more complex compound words for fifth grade and creating exercises for compound words for sixth grade requires more targeted worksheets and games, also readily available.

ESL students and ESL teachers also find great value in the material, as both printable worksheets and fun online games are available to study compound words. Because they are such an integral part of the English language, it is common to find compound words on standardized tests.

Some examples of compound words include:

* Noun-Noun Compounds: fireman, newsstand, pigtail, ladybug, classroom
* Noun-Verb Compounds: breastfeeding, finger-pointing
* Verb-Noun Compounds: spoilsport, killjoy, breakfast, pickpocket, crossword
* Verb-Verb Compounds: go and do, up and leave
* Verb-Adverb Compounds: drop-out, fall-out, camp-out
* Adverb-Verb Compounds: intake, backtrack, backdrop, foreground
* Adjective-Noun Compounds: hardware, software, blackboard, shortchange
* Adjective-Verb Compounds: blacklist, shortchange 


Take from Vocabulary book from Mr. Choirul Huda.