Unit 2 - Page 27 (Affixes)

Unit 2 - Page 27 (Affixes)

Word Formation

What are affixes?

An affix is an extra element that is added to the root of a word to change its meaning.

An affix added to the front of a word is known as a prefix.

An affix added to the back of a word is known as a suffix.

Real-life examples of Affixes

"The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results." - Allegedly by Albert Einstein

Affixes: Definition (Define + ition), Different (Differ + ent) Insanity (In + Sanity)

Real-life examples of Affixes

“Books are the perfect entertainment: no commercials, no batteries, hours of enjoyment for each dollar spent. What I wonder is why everybody doesn't carry a book around for those inevitable dead spots in life.” - Stephen King

Affixes: entertainment (entertain + ment), enjoyment (enjoy + ment), inevitable (In + evitable)

Why should I care about Affixes???

Reason 1: To reduce wordcount in your sentence:

Not aware > unaware

Not sure > unsure

Check again > recheck

Why should I care about Affixes???

Reason 2: To break down long words to help with spelling

Try spelling antidisestablishmentarianism. This is an impossible task, surely? Well, no. If you break it down into affixes, it's pretty simple: Anti-dis-establ-ish-ment-arian-ism. 

Why should I care about Affixes???

Reason 3: To break down long words and help with decoding their meaning.

disrespectfully breaks down to dis-respect-ful-ly (Dissecting disrespectfully leads to something like "done in a manner that is full of no respect."