Many of us have heard of prefixes and suffixes along the way in learning English grammar. Prefixes and suffixes both belong to a larger category, the affix.<\/p>\n
An affix is any bound morpheme<\/a> attached to a root word<\/a> to form a new word or word form with a new meaning. Because they are morphemes, affixes are not independent units: They must be linked to the root to complete their function.<\/p>\n For example, many of us have seen the affix -est<\/em>. It means little to us on its own other than to suggest a superlative (the greatest of something). When we attach the affix to the root word smart<\/em>, we have a definable word, smartest<\/em>, which gives us a new form of smart <\/em>with an adjusted meaning (the superlative).<\/p>\n Similarly, we may often see the affix bio-<\/em>, which means less to us when it’s alone. Attached to the root word sphere<\/em>, however, it creates a full word to comprehend: biosphere.<\/em><\/p>\n When an affix is added to the start of a word, it is a prefix. Some well-known prefixes in English are a-<\/em>, un-<\/em>, in-<\/em>, and mis-<\/em>: a<\/u>typical<\/em>, un<\/u>do<\/em>, in<\/u>fuse<\/em>, mis<\/u>place<\/em>.<\/p>\n We see how a prefix can transform a word’s meaning (typical <\/em>and atypical<\/em> are opposite descriptions). As we’ve mentioned, an affix as a prefix also can create a new word or word form with a new meaning. When we add auto- <\/em>to graph<\/em>, for example, we make the new word autograph<\/em>.<\/p>\n The following affixes are other common English prefixes:<\/p>\n When an affix is added to the end of a word, it is a suffix. Some well-known suffixes in English are -ful, -ize<\/em>, -ment<\/em>, and -ness: bountiful<\/u><\/em>, memorize<\/u><\/em>, merriment<\/u><\/em>, happiness<\/u><\/em>.<\/p>\n These are examples of derivational suffixes, which alter a word’s form or meaning. Suffixes also can be inflectional to convey a word’s grammatical behavior or function, such as when we add -s<\/em> to a word to change from it from singular to plural (e.g., book<\/em> > books<\/u><\/em>). Other inflectional suffixes would be -ed<\/em> and -ing<\/em> as verb endings that convey tense (e.g., he washed<\/u>, she is working<\/u>).<\/p>\n The following affixes are other common English suffixes:<\/p>\n Here we also see the orthographic (spelling) changes that can occur at the end of the root word when the suffix is attached:\u00a0fantasy<\/em>\u00a0+\u00a0-ic<\/em>\u00a0=\u00a0fantastic<\/em>,\u00a0taste<\/em>\u00a0+\u00a0-y<\/em>\u00a0=\u00a0tasty<\/em>.<\/p>\n In daily formal writing in American English, we typically will not hyphenate an affix when we add it to a word.<\/p>\n An exception with a hyphenated prefix can be when the hyphenation results in something other than an actual word. The prefix is not a part of the word or phrase but still offers information to it.<\/p>\n Examples<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n pre-Soundgarden (before the 90s alt-rock band came to be)<\/p>\n anti-Magilla Gorilla (against the cartoon primate)<\/p>\n ex-president (former president)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n In each example, we attach a prefix to offer extra detail about a word or a phrase. However, the new form is not something we would find without a hyphen in a dictionary\u2014i.e., preSoundgarden<\/em>, antiMagilla Gorilla<\/em>, expresident<\/em>.<\/p>\n In some cases we might also use a hyphen with a prefix to avoid doubling of letters between the prefix and the first letter of the root word.<\/p>\n Examples<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n pre-existing<\/p>\n anti-inflammatory<\/p>\n co-opt<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Hyphenated suffixes are less common than hyphenated prefixes. We would typically use them only to identify that the result is a manufactured word or to avoid doubling of letters between the last letter of the root word and the suffix.<\/p>\n Examples<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Beatle-ness (like or resembling the Beatles)<\/p>\n urban-ish (having urban characteristics)<\/p>\n sushi-ism (a word or description pertaining to sushi)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n A word with an affix differs from a compound word. As we’ve mentioned, because an affix is a bound morpheme, it cannot stand alone: It must have a root word to be viable.<\/p>\n Examples: Affixes<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n de<\/u>odorize<\/u><\/p>\n dis<\/u>association<\/u><\/p>\n un<\/u>identifiable<\/u><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Examples: Compound Words<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n chickpea<\/p>\n boyfriend<\/p>\n run-in<\/p><\/blockquote>\n You can see in our affix examples that each builds a word with a prefix, a root word, and a suffix. The prefix and suffix depend on the root word to function.<\/p>\n In the compound words, we take established words and combine them with others to form new ones. Neither depends on the other to function.<\/p>\n Hyphens with the Prefix re<\/a> Identify any affixes in the following sentences.<\/p>\n 1. Sal is uninterested in prepackaged produce; he likes his fresh.<\/p>\n 2. Roger is installing a new antivirus program on his laptop.<\/p>\n 3. Have you written the kindest note you can?<\/p>\n 4. The score of that hockey game is unbelievable!<\/p>\n 5. Prasha will undoubtedly reappear on the next President’s List.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1. Sal is un<\/u>interested<\/u> in pre<\/u>packaged<\/u> produce; he likes his fresh.<\/p>\n 2. Roger is in<\/u>stalling<\/u> a new anti<\/u>virus program on his laptop.<\/p>\n 3. Have you written<\/u> the kindest<\/u> note you can?<\/p>\n 4. The score of that hockey game is un<\/u>believable<\/u>!<\/p>\n 5. Prasha will un<\/u>doubtedly<\/u> re<\/u>appear on the next President’s List.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Many of us have heard of prefixes and suffixes along the way in learning English grammar. Prefixes and suffixes both belong to a larger category, the affix. An affix is any bound morpheme attached to a root word to form a new word or word form with a new meaning. Because they are morphemes, affixes […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6572","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-prefixes-and-suffixes"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6572"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6572"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6572\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6803,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6572\/revisions\/6803"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6572"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6572"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6572"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Affix Examples: Prefixes<\/h2>\n
\n\n
\n Prefix<\/strong><\/td>\n Meaning<\/strong><\/td>\n Example<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n anti-<\/td>\n against<\/td>\n antisocial, antivirus<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n de-<\/td>\n reversal, removal, departure<\/td>\n decompose, dethrone<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n micro-<\/td>\n very small<\/td>\n microcosm, microorganism<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n sub-<\/td>\n under<\/td>\n subordinate, submarine<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n Affix Examples: Suffixes<\/h2>\n
\n\n
\n Suffix<\/strong><\/td>\n Meaning<\/strong><\/td>\n Example<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n -able, -ible<\/td>\n can be done<\/td>\n manageable,\u00a0mixible<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n -ic<\/td>\n having traits of<\/td>\n fantastic, ironic<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n -less<\/td>\n without<\/td>\n fearless, motionless<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n -y<\/td>\n characterized by<\/td>\n tasty, quirky<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n When to Hyphenate an Affix<\/h2>\n
Affix: Different from Compound Words<\/h2>\n
Related Topics<\/h3>\n
\nHyphens with Common Prefixes<\/a>
\nWhat Is a Suffix\u2014and How Should You Use One?<\/a><\/p>\nPop Quiz<\/h2>\n
Pop Quiz Answers<\/h3>\n