Affixes

An affix is a set of letters added to a word to change the meaning and/or form of the word. It literally means "to attach." Using affixes is kind of like adding spices to a meal. The original parts stay the same but the flavor, or in this case the meaning/function, changes slightly.

There are two main types of affixes: prefixes and suffixes.

A prefix is an affix that attaches to the beginning of a word. For example, we often see the prefix re-. It means "again". Let's look at a few examples.

arranged --> rearranged

apply --> reapply

turn --> return

It can also be helpful to understand what certain prefixes mean because it enables you to figure out the meaning of words that you are unfamiliar with. The prefix pre- means "before". See if you can figure out what these words mean based on that knowledge!

prehistoric

precaution

pretest

preview

Did you guess correctly?

Prehistoric essentially means before history. In other words, it took place before a lot of the history we are more familiar with. (Que dinosaurs here.)

Precaution means to have caution beforehand. In other words, it is the action in which we are being careful before we are in trouble.

A pretest is a test that you take before the actual test. More often these are referred to as practice exams.

To preview is to look ahead of time. When looking at a document on your computer you can look at how it will print before you print it. This is an example of previewing. We also call movie trailers previews because they allow us to see a part of the movie ahead of time.

A suffix is an affix that attaches to the end of a word. For example we often see the suffix -est. It means that something is the most superior. Here's a few examples.

warm --> warmest

wealthy --> wealthiest

wise --> wisest

Let's see if we can figure out the part of speech of the following words based on the use of the suffix -ly, which refers to the manner in which something was done.

warmly

happily

sufficiently

terribly

Did you guess adverbs? Then you'd be right! In this case, the affix changed where the word belongs in the sentence. Each of these words can now be used to talk about an action. For instance, we could say that Sally smiled warmly at her father.

Want more examples of suffixes? Click here.