In studying these words, you may have noticed that something besides the root or base is needed to make the meaning clear. The other two parts which help to make up words are called prefixes and suffixes. These will be taken up separately.
PREFIXES
A prefix is a word or syllable placed before another word, and so completely joined to it that it changes the meaning of the basic word.
Note to Teacher:—Have the pupils select in the lessons of your grade, words which have similar prefixes.
As you can see in the list below, the final consonant of a prefix has often been changed to make the pronunciation easier, but does not disappear when added to the stem. Thus, ad-cord became ac-cord, ad-fect became af-fect, etc.
| Prefix | Definition | Illustration |
| ab (abs, a) | from, away | abandon |
| ad (ac, af, ag, al, an, ap, ar, as, at) | to | accommodate |
| ante | before | antecedent |
| circum | about, around | circumstance |
| com (co, col, con, cor) | with, together | compare, concert |
| de | from, down, away | desert, debate |
| dis (dif, de) | apart, not | disobey |
| ex (e, ef) | out, out of, away from, off, beyond | expect |
| extra | out of | extraordinary |
| in (ill, im, ir) | in, into, not, without | inside |
| inter | among, between, mutually | interurban |
| non | not | nonsense |
| per | through, by, for | perhaps |
| post | behind, after | postpone |
| pre | before | prevent |
| pro | forward, before, instead | provide |
| re | back, again, against | return |
| se | aside, apart, without | separate |
| sub (suc, suf, sug, sup, sur) | under, below, near | subject, succeed |
| super | over, above, beyond | superintendent |
| trans (tran, tra) | across, over, beyond, through | transfer, travel |
SUFFIXES
A suffix is a syllable or word which is added to the end of another word to change the meaning of the basic word.