Words can have three parts: a suffix, a prefix, and a root.
A suffix comes after the root, as in added. The -ed indicates past tense. Pre means before, so a prefix is fixed before the word. The root is the basic word.
"In most dictionaries, a word part printed with a hyphen after it is a prefix. A word part with a hyphen before it is a suffix. Roots may appear anywhere."
Learning the meanings of suffixes, prefixes, and roots can assist you in your word comprehension. For example, son and phon mean sound.
sonorous: having or producing an impressive sound
sonic: of or relating to sound
phonograph: a machine that reproduces sound from a disk
phonetics: the study of the sounds of speech
audi = hearing
scop, spec, vid, and vis = see
ocul = eye
voc, vocal = voice, call
ped, pus = foot
man = hand
cardio = heart
I bet you recognize some or most of these roots and don't even have to think about their meanings when you see them.
We'll probably talk about more word parts next week.
Infinities of love,
Janie Junebug
I leaned very heavily on my source to write this post. It's Vocabulary For A New World by Linda J. Palumbo and Frank J. Gaik.
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| Thanks, fishducky! |
Love that cartoon^ :D
ReplyDeleteI also like recognizing word roots. It grows on you.
Like mold or fungus.
DeleteI'm like, Huh? Well, I think I would fail the test on the word parts portion of the lesson... :)
ReplyDeleteOf course it is 3:00 in the morning and I just woke up to throw a load of couch cover blankets in the wash... Yes, I had my alarm set. a lot to do before the family arrives on Wednesday.
LOL on the cartoon!
Michele at Angels Bark
Tip for Michele: Don't read TIP TUESDAY at 3 a.m.
DeleteHi Janie - if we have an inkling of how words are made up we can ascertain much about their origin ... and spell checking ... I think our brains type before our fingers ... cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely! Cheers
DeleteThat cartoon made me laugh! Bloody spellcheck.
ReplyDeleteWhat would we do without it? Maybe learn how to spell.
DeleteMy girls were consummate readers, back in the pre-computer days. I'd be asked, from the back seat, for a word definition. Evil mother that I was, I generally made them break it down to its root. I find word sources fascinating.
ReplyDeleteIf I'd had a child who didn't like to read, I would have known that a switch had taken place at the hospital.
DeleteThanks for the info.
ReplyDeleteOMG!! That cartoon is hysterical! I knew more roots than I expected. :)
ReplyDeleteI think people who like to read pick them up naturally.
DeleteThat is one of the best cartoons ever. What a hoot!
ReplyDeleteFishducky keeps me well supplied.
DeleteYou would not believe how many people ask me if my last name means foot.
ReplyDelete(Pedas, pronounced 'Peddis')
You're very welcome!!
ReplyDeleteYou're always very thanked.
DeleteWhen I read "pus = foot," I thought "I wonder if that's why they called a certain flat-footed animal a platypus?" I looked up the etymology of the word, and I was right. You learn something new (almost) every day.
ReplyDeleteI learn new things all the time, but most of them aren't worth knowing.
DeleteLove the cartoon! That's how I feel when I read our local newspaper ... and they need a good editor, not spellcheck :)
ReplyDeleteIf my mother the English teacher was willing to use a computer and was reading your blog, she would be so happy to see someone teaching this stuff!! She has been known to enter local businesses and correct their signage ...
I emailed The Huffington Post this morning to tell them how to spell a word. I've also gone into businesses to tell them that their signs are wrong. Your mother and I would get along famously.
DeleteThanks for keeping me on my toes. Sometimes I forget or just get lazy, but I do try to be mostly correct.
ReplyDeleteYou're fine. I love your blog.
DeleteThanks, Janie. I love Tip Tuesday.
ReplyDeleteHow kind of you.
DeleteThank you I knew none of this
ReplyDeleteHAHA! Love that cartoon. Thanks for all these tips, too. It's been a long time since I've been in school and this is a great refresher!
ReplyDeleteI always enjoy reading your English language information. Prefixes, suffixes, and roots are all very interesting.
ReplyDeleteBeing an avid reader my whole life has inspired an interest in etymology for me. And when I started learning Spanish, I was pleasantly surprised to find that a lot of words were easy to remember thanks to recognizing root words.
ReplyDeleteI second, third and fourth the love for Tip Tuesday (I have the kind of power that allows me three votes). Do you think the car company, Audi, comes from that prefix? Those cars don't sound particularly distinct. There's probably something I can Google if I cared enough.
ReplyDeleteI love the cartoon thanks for that and for your interesting post.
ReplyDeleteohh I really liked this post I learnt something today!
ReplyDeleteLove that cartoon.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy your language posts, Janie! My brain is scrambled between American and Canadian spelling, grammar, punctuation, and usage. That is complicated by working with second and third graders for twenty-five years. Of course as a middle elementary teacher, I drilled my kids on prefixes, suffixes, roots, and the meaning of roots. I love the word "sonorous," but I rarely get to use it. btw, I am confused about that comma after sonorous ~ It may be a Canadian/American dissonance. Does it go before or after the quote in America? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThanks for keeping me on my toes. Sometimes I forget or just get lazy, but I do try to be mostly correct.
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What a great cartoon! Last year when my oldest grandson was studying for the National Spelling Bee we talked a lot about prefixes, suffixes and root words.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how this would work in Swedish, but I think I'm too old and tired to try to figure it out. Not too old to appreciate a great cartoon though.
ReplyDelete