Prefixes A prefix comes at the beginning of a word. It adds something to the meaning. Here are some common prefixes. anti = against auto = of / by oneself bi = two, twice de = away / from en = make / cause to become ex = previously ex = out of fore = before/in advance hyper = extremely / too in = inside / into inter = between mal= badly / wrongly micro = small mini = small mis = badly / wrongly mono = one multi = many out = more / better over = too much post = after pre = before pro = in favour of pseudo = false re = again semi = half sub = under / less super = big / more trans = across co = together under = too little anti-nuclear protestors, anti-aircraft guns autograph, auto pilot, autobiography bicycle, bilateral, biannual, bilingual de-ink, de-ice, de-forest enrich, enlarge, encourage, enable, endanger ex-wife, ex-director, ex-student, ex-soldier extract, exhale, excommunicate foretell, forefathers, forecast, foreword, foreknow, foretime hyperacid, hypercritical, hypermarket, hypersonic, hyperphysical internal, insert, income, inarch, inarm, inboard, inbuilt inter-city trains, international, interchange, intercity maladapt, maladjusted, maladministration microcassete, microwave, microscopic minibus, miniskirt, minicomputer, minify misuse, misbehave, misgovern, miscount, misunderstanding, misadvice monorail, monolingual, monotone, monocycle a multinational company, a multi-storey car-park outnumber the opposition, outplayed their opponents overcrowded, ill from overwork, an overgrown a post-dated cheque, the post-war period the pre-war years, prehistoric times, preface pro-government forces, pro-European policies pseudonym, pseudo-inter texture, pseudo-classic, pseudo-graph rewrite, redo, remarry, recount, re-employ, re-read semi-skilled workers, semi-conscious state, semi-political, semi-solar subnormal intelligence, sub-zero temperatures superstore, superhuman, supermarket, super-fast, super-bus transatlantic, transplant, transcode, transsexual co-exist, co-production, co-driver, co-author undercooked food, underage, underpaid, undercover There are some negative prefixes used to express an opposite. a un: unhappy, unfair, unofficial, unemployed, unplug a machine, unpack a suitcase, undo, undress, unlock, unveil, unwrap . This is the most common way of expressing an opposite. b in: inexact, independent, indirect, inexpert, injustice, inedible NOTE: We do not use in before l, m, p or r. We use il, im and ir instead. - illegal, illogical, illiterate - immobile, immoral, impossible, impatient - irrelevant, irresponsible c dis: dishonest, disunited, disagree, disappear, dislike, disable, disadvantage, disapprove, disbelieve, disconnect, disqualify d non: non-alcoholic drinks, a non-stop flight, a non-smoker e de: defrost a fridge, the depopulation of the countryside, the decentralization of government, depopulate Suffixes Nouns + Abstract nouns 1. Verb + ment: payment, movement, government, arrangement, development 2. Verb + ion/tion/ation/ition: correct correction, discuss discussion, describe description inform information, invite invitation, translate translation add addition, repeat repetition, compete competition 3. Verb with d/t sion: decide decision, erode erossion, permit permission 4. Verb + ance/ence: performance, acceptance, existence, preference 5. Verb + ing: building, feelings, greeting, meeting, meaning, beginning, savings, living 6. Verb + al: refusal, dismissal, approval, signal, proposal, denial 7. Verb + age: drainage, marriage, postage, stoppage, breakage 8. Noun + hood: boyhood, neighbourhood, husbandhood, sisterhood 9. Noun + ship: friendship, sonship, championship 10. Noun + dom: kingdom, stardom, wisedom 11. Noun + ful: mouthful, handful, spoonful, cupful, roomful 12. Adjective + ty/ity: certainty, royalty, stupidity, nationality, security 13. Adjective + ness: happiness, illness, freshness, forgetfulness, blindness 14. Adjective in ent ence: silent silence Others are: absence, intelligence, independence, violence… Examples of ant ance are: distance, importance. + Nouns for people 1. Verb + er/or: walker, owner, builder, driver, doctor, editor There are very many such nouns, especially with er. NOTE : We also use er in nouns for things, especially machines. e.g. a computer, a food mixer 2. Noun/Verb/Adjective + ist: journalist, motorist, nationalist, tourist NOTE : We can use ism to form an abstract noun. e.g. journalism, nationalism 3. Verb + ant/ent: applicant, assistant, inhabitant, servant, student 4. Noun + an/ian: republican, electrician, historian, musician 5. Noun + ess: (female) waitress, actress, hostess, stewardess, princess 6. Verb + ee: employee, payee, interviewee, trainee This suffix usually has a passive meaning. Compare er and ee. The company is the biggest employer in the town. It has two thousand employees / workers. NOTE : 1. Sometimes two related words have a different vowel sound. Adj N: proud pride, hot heat V N: bleed blood, feed food, fill full, lose loss, sell sale, shoot shot, sing song, sit seat, tell tale 2. There can be a different consonant sound. That's what I believe. That's my belief. Also: advise advice, believe belief, descend descent, prove proof, speak speech, fly flight, fail failure 3. Sometimes more than one sound changes: V N: choose choice, lend loan, live life, succeed success, think thought, die death N Adj.: sun solar + The same form of Verb and Noun. Many words can be both verbs and nouns. Verb: You mustn't delay. I hope I win. Noun: a short delay my hope of victory Some words of this kind are: answer, attack, attempt, call, care, change, climb, control, copy, cost, damage, dance, delay, doubt, drink, drive, experience, fall, help, hit, hope, interest, joke, laugh, look, love, need, promise, rest, ride, run, search, sleep, smile, sound, swim, talk, trouble, visit, wait, walk, wash, wish. 2. + Some verbs and nouns differ in their stress. The verb is usually stressed on the second syllable, and the noun is stressed on the first. Verb: How do you trans`port the goods? Noun: What `transport do you use? The stress can make a difference to the vowel sounds. For example, progress as a verb is /pr ∂ 'gres/ and as a noun /'pr ∂υgres/. (Verb: 2 – Noun: 1) + Some words of this kind are: conflict, contest, contrast, decrease, discount, export, import, increase, permit, produce, progress, protest, rebel, record, refund, suspect, transfer, transport… Verbs: 1. Adjective + ize: 2. Adjective + en: 3. N/Adj. + ify: modernize, popularize, privatize, centralize, legalize shorten, widen, brighten, harden, loosen simplify, solidify, clarify, beautify + Some concrete nouns can also be verbs. He pocketed the money. (= put it in his pocket) We've wallpapered this room. (= put wallpaper on it) The man was gunned down. (= shot with a gun) The goods were shipped to America. (= taken by ship) Some others are: bottle (wine), box, brake, butter (bread), garage (a car), glue, hammer, mail, oil, parcel, (tele)phone . + Some adjectives can also be verbs. . This wind will soon dry the clothes. (= make them dry) The clothes will soon dry. (= become dry) Some words of this kind are: calm, cool, dry, empty, narrow, smooth, warm, wet… Adjectives: 1. Noun + al: 2. Noun + ic: 3. Noun/Verb + ive: 4. Noun + ful: 5. Noun + less: 6. Noun + ous: 7. Noun + y: 8. Noun + like: 9. Noun + ish: 10. Noun + ly national, industrial, cultural, additional, original heroic, artistic, photographic, energetic, chaotic, entomic, poetic active, effective, exclusive, informative, expensive careful, hopeful, peaceful, beautiful, harmful careless, hopeless, worthless, powerless less means ‘without’. Painful and painless are opposites. dangerous, luxurious, famous, courageous salty, healthy, thirsty, wealthy, greedy, guilty godlike, lifelike, homelike, childlike childish, selfish, foolish manly, daily, cowardly Other adjective suffixes: 1. Verb + a(i)ble: 2. Adj. + ish: 3. Noun + ed: readable, eatable, loveable, forcible, visible, reducible youngish, coolish, oldish, prettyish, reddish, sweetish, yellowish balconied, beared man, kind-hearted woman Adverb suffixes: 1. Adj. + ly: 2. Adv. / N + ward(s) 3. Noun + wise: happily, strangely, carefully, beautifully backward(s), heavenward, earthward, seaward clockwise, lengthwise, anywise, likewise . and Noun. Many words can be both verbs and nouns. Verb: You mustn't delay. I hope I win. Noun: a short delay my hope of victory Some words of this. ex-soldier extract, exhale, excommunicate foretell, forefathers, forecast, foreword, foreknow, foretime hyperacid, hypercritical, hypermarket, hypersonic,