In this guide, we are going to learn about affixes, prefixes and suffixes.
– What are affixes?
– Learn more about prefixes.
– Learn more about suffixes.
What are affixes?
Affixes are a letter or a group of letters that are added to a root words, either at the beginning or the end. Something added to beginning is called a prefix. Something added to the end is called a suffix.
Let’s take a look at how affixes change the meaning of a word. Let’s use the word employ.
Employ is a verb which means to hire or use. Businesses employ workers.
Employed is the Past Simple of employ. The business employed 5 workers last year.
Employed is also an adjective. My friend is employed.
Employment is a noun, it is about having a job. People need employment to earn money to live.
Unemployment is the opposite, it is about not having jobs. Unemployment is a big problem.
An employer is the person who employs. Camila’s employer didn’t pay her this month.
An employee is the person who works. Tom is an employee for the company.
Learn more about affixes.
Dictionary of Affixes – Look up affixes that you want to learn about.
Learn more about prefixes.
Negative Prefixes in-, im-, un-, and dis- – Learn and practice common negative prefixes with adjectives and their synonyms. (high beginner/low intermediate)
Learn more about suffixes.
-y, -able, -ive, -al, -ous, -ful, -less, -ing – Adjective suffixes that we use every day
-an, -ian, -ish, -ese, -i, and -er – Suffixes of nationality
-ant and -ent – Usage and pronunciation
-ant and -ent – Suffixes Quiz (Part of the How to Argue Lesson B2-C2)
-ed and -ing – Bored or boring? Learn how to use the endings correctly.
-er and -est – Suffixes with comparatives and superlatives
-ship and -hood – Learn common uses of the suffixes (Part of the Peace Lesson B2-C2)
-tion and -sion – Usage and pronunciation
Suffix Guessing Game – An advanced game based on using a process of elimination
Values Nouns to Adjectives Quiz – Can you change the suffix to form adjectives from the nouns?
Check out this great list of suffixes. Here’s another really good reference list.
Listen to The History of English Podcast to learn about the history of suffixes.
