Latin and Greek Roots

​Affixes:
Prefixes and Suffixes

Understand
unfamiliar
words!

To learn common affixes (prefixes and suffixes), word roots, and their meanings.

The English language is a combination of different languages. We will focus on Greek and Latin.

​

​The Purpose of this Lesson

​Useful for...
ELA,
Science,
History,
Math,
& more!

​Affixes:
Prefixes & Suffixes

​A prefix can be added to the beginning of a base word to create a new word.

A suffix is added to the end of a base word.

​Some well-known affixes:

Here is a quick look at/reminder about common prefixes and suffixes

Prefixes come before the root

Words can be broken down into parts to be more easily understood:
Prefix, ROOT, Suffix

the root is basically the main meaning

Suffixes are at the end of the word

We can find the meaning of the whole word by knowing these word parts.
Let's try it out.

com-
means together
think: combine

Let's break down a word with its​
Prefix, ROOT, Suffix

-pen-
means to weigh
think: expensive

-sate
means to satisfy
think: satiate

​compensate

Used in a sentence: "The city compensated Bob because he stumbled into an open manhole and injured his foot."

Meaning: ​With the context and the clues to the word's meaning, we can figure out that compensate means to "correct an imbalance," or "to adjust for."

Drag and Drop

A prefix is at the ​

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of a base word.

A suffix is at the ​

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of a word.

Both prefixes and suffixes are known as ​

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.

Drag these tiles and drop them in the correct blank above

beginning

end

affixes

potato

Greek

twelve

Prefix: pre-
means before:
from Latin "prae," which means "before" or "in advance"

preorder food: order ahead
prewash new clothes: wash before
precollege classes: classes you take before college.
preseason practice: practice for the upcoming season
preface of a book: is at the beginning
prepare for a test: get ready for a test

Multiple Choice

When is a prebuilt shed put together?

• after you take it home.

• before you take it home.

• in Cognito.

Prefix: sub-
means under;
from Latin origin "sub," which means "under" or "below"

A subway is beneath the street.
Something subpar is below quality.
Subterranean means beneath the earth (terra).
A subproject is within a larger project.
Subtropical climates border on tropical climates.

Multiple Choice

Which of these would be in a subsection of Strings in an orchestra?

• Violin
• Trumpet
• Drums

Prefix: mis-
means bad/badly, wrong/wrongly;
from Latin origin "minus," which means "less"

Something misleading does not give you full facts.
A mismanaged business would likely fail.
A letter with a misprint means it has a mistake.
To misspell something means that it was not spelled correctly.
To misplace something means that you cannot remember where you last put it.

Multiple Choice

What would happen if someone misclicked or misheard something, and really needed to get it right?

• They would have made a mistake.

• Everything would be fine.

• No problems would happen.

Suffix: -ful
means having, showing or causing

If you are watchful, you are cautious.
If you are gleeful, you are showing lots of glee (joy, happiness)
A professional athlete is very skillful.
Surprising your friend with their favorite refreshing drink is a very thoughtful thing to do.
Something beautiful is full of beauty,
and so on.

Suffixes: -able or -ible
means "able to"
from Latin abilis: capable or worthy of being acted on

-able: Fixable, lovable, coachable, etc.
We often have to drop an “e” :
Adore --> adorable (cute)

​-ible: ex Flexible, Audible, Gullible, etc.
Many words that end with -ible always need it, like possible.

Multiple Choice

The prefix archaea comes from Greek and means "ancient" or "primitive." The suffix -ology means of the study of.

What is archaeology?

• The study of historical societies and their cultures.

• The study of astronomy and objects in outer space

• The study of oceanography
• The study of rocks and minerals

Raise your hand if you feel like you understand prefixes and suffixes.

​

You got it!

Many words we use daily and/or in higher education and professions (law and medicine) come from Greek and Latin, which was spoken by the Romans.

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Greek and Latin Roots

You may recognize a few of these roots and their meanings.

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Drag and Drop

An antibiotic fights against ​

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.

A person with dyslexia may have a hard time ​

Placeholder

.

Something contrary to the norm ​

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it.

Drag these tiles and drop them in the correct blank above

bacteria

reading

goes against

specific

astrobiology

You may recognize a few of these roots and their meanings.

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Multiple Choice

"Jim was born in 1970. His brother Bob was born in 1980... and that decade made quite a difference."

What does dec- in decade mean?

• Ten
• Cats

• Twenty
• Hundred

You may recognize a few of these roots and their meanings.

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Multiple Choice

A misanthropic person has a strong dislike of people, and misogyny is prejudice against women. What does the root mis mean?

• appreciation

• love
• indifference

• hatred or dislike

Match

Match the following root with their meaning:

• Auto as in: Automatic

• Hydr as in:

  Hydrate

• Phob as in: Phobia

• Morph as in: metamorphosis

• Psych as in: Psychology

self

water

fear

form/shape

mind

• self

• water

• fear

• form/shape

• mind

That's it!

We've covered affixes and Greek and Latin roots.

Now you can work on IXLs :)