Vocabulary Development: Prefixes, Suffixes and Word Formation for SS 1

Affixation

Performance Objectives

By the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

1. explain the meaning of affixation;
2. differentiate between a prefix and a suffix;
3. discuss the functions and meaning of common prefixes and suffixes;
4. differentiate between derivational suffixes and inflectional suffixes.

Introduction to Word Formation

Vocabulary development is an important aspect of mastering the English Language. It involves learning new words and understanding how words are formed. One of the most common ways new words are created or existing words are modified is through a process called affixation.

Understanding affixation helps learners to decode the meaning of unfamiliar words and to build new words correctly. It provides a powerful tool for expanding vocabulary and improving comprehension.

What is Affixation?

Affixation is the process of adding a morpheme (a meaningful unit of language) to a word stem or root to form a new word or to change its grammatical function.

The added morphemes are called affixes. Affixes are not standalone words; they must be attached to a base word to have meaning. The base word, also known as the root or stem, carries the core meaning.

For example, in the word “unhappy”, “happy” is the root word, and “un-” is an affix. In “kindness”, “kind” is the root word, and “-ness” is an affix. These affixes change the meaning or the grammatical category of the original word.

Prefixes and Suffixes

Affixes are categorised into two main types based on their position relative to the root word: prefixes and suffixes.

What is a Prefix?

A prefix is an affix placed at the beginning of a word to modify its meaning.

Prefixes usually change the meaning of a word but rarely change its grammatical category (e.g., a noun remains a noun, an adjective remains an adjective). For instance, adding “un-” to “happy” (an adjective) creates “unhappy” (still an adjective), but with an opposite meaning.

Examples of words with prefixes include:

1. un + happy = unhappy (opposite meaning)
2. re + write = rewrite (meaning “write again”)
3. dis + agree = disagree (opposite meaning)
4. pre + view = preview (meaning “view before”)

What is a Suffix?

A suffix is an affix placed at the end of a word to modify its meaning or change its grammatical function.

Suffixes often change the word class of the base word. For example, adding “-ness” to “kind” (an adjective) creates “kindness” (a noun). They can also indicate grammatical features like tense, plurality, or comparison.

Examples of words with suffixes include:

1. kind + ness = kindness (changes adjective to noun)
2. teach + er = teacher (changes verb to noun)
3. quick + ly = quickly (changes adjective to adverb)
4. walk + ed = walked (changes verb tense)

Functions and Meanings of Common Prefixes

Prefixes are powerful tools for expanding vocabulary because they carry specific meanings that combine with the root word. Understanding these meanings helps in guessing the sense of new words.

Common prefixes, their meanings, and examples include:

Functions and Meanings of Common Suffixes

Suffixes serve various functions, primarily changing the word class of a word or indicating its grammatical role. They can turn verbs into nouns, adjectives into adverbs, and so on.

Common suffixes, their functions, and examples include:

Types of Suffixes: Derivational and Inflectional

Suffixes are further divided into two main categories based on their impact on the word: derivational suffixes and inflectional suffixes.

Derivational Suffixes

Derivational suffixes are affixes that, when added to a base word, create a new word with a new meaning or, more commonly, change the word’s grammatical category (part of speech).

These suffixes “derive” a new word from an existing one. For example, adding “-er” to the verb “teach” creates the noun “teacher”. Adding “-ness” to the adjective “kind” creates the noun “kindness”. The new word is often listed as a separate entry in a dictionary.

Examples of words formed with derivational suffixes include:

1. Verb “govern” + -ment = Noun “government”
2. Adjective “happy” + -ness = Noun “happiness”
3. Verb “read” + -able = Adjective “readable”
4. Noun “child” + -ish = Adjective “childish”
5. Adjective “quick” + -ly = Adverb “quickly”

Inflectional Suffixes

Inflectional suffixes are affixes that are added to a word to indicate grammatical information such as tense, number, possession, or comparison, without changing the word’s grammatical category or its core meaning.

These suffixes simply adjust a word to fit into a sentence grammatically. English has a small number of inflectional suffixes, often called “grammatical endings.”

The common inflectional suffixes in English are:

1. -s/-es (for plural nouns): cats, boxes
2. -‘s/-s’ (for possessive nouns): boy‘s, girls’
3. -s/-es (for third person singular present tense verbs): walks, teaches
4. -ed (for past tense verbs): walked, played
5. -ing (for present participle verbs): walking, playing
6. -en (for past participle verbs, less common): eaten, broken
7. -er (for comparative adjectives/adverbs): taller, faster
8. -est (for superlative adjectives/adverbs): tallest, fastest

Differentiating Derivational and Inflectional Suffixes

The key difference between derivational and inflectional suffixes lies in their effect on the base word:

1. Change in Word Class: Derivational suffixes often change the part of speech of the base word (e.g., verb to noun, adjective to adverb). Inflectional suffixes never change the part of speech.
2. Change in Meaning: Derivational suffixes can significantly alter the meaning of the base word. Inflectional suffixes add grammatical meaning (like plurality or tense) but do not change the core lexical meaning.
3. Productivity: Inflectional suffixes are highly productive, meaning they can be added to almost all words of a certain class (e.g., almost all regular verbs take “-ed” for past tense). Derivational suffixes are less productive and apply only to specific words.
4. Position: If both types of suffixes are present in a word, derivational suffixes always come before inflectional suffixes (e.g., “govern-ment-s”, where “-ment” is derivational and “-s” is inflectional).

Noun (teacher)”. It highlights the change in word class. The other path is labelled “Inflectional Suffixes” and shows an example: “Noun (cat) + -s -> Noun (cats)”. It highlights the change in grammatical function (plurality) without changing word class.
alt: Diagram comparing derivational and inflectional suffixes. Derivational changes word class, inflectional changes grammatical function.
caption: Derivational suffixes often change the word class, while inflectional suffixes add grammatical information.
aspect_ratio: 16:9
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Conclusion

Affixation is a fundamental process in English word formation. By understanding prefixes and suffixes, their meanings, and their functions, learners can significantly improve their vocabulary and comprehension skills. Differentiating between derivational and inflectional suffixes further enhances this understanding, providing insight into how words are built and how they function grammatically within sentences.