Prefix and Suffix

Prefix and suffix are two of the most important concepts in Basic English learning. Prefix and suffix are two forms of affix that are added to words to form a new word or meaning. Let’s have a look at prefix and suffix along with relevant examples in this post.

Prefix: A prefix is a word that is added before the root of a word. A prefix added to a word changes the meaning of the word and owing to this fact, prefix is also referred as reformative.

For example:
• Maria is happy that John went to buy pillow for baby alone – Maria is unhappy that John went to buy pillow for baby alone. (Here, the word happy is changed to unhappy with the use of prefix un-. The positive meaning changed to negative.)
• Sana visited the website to buy folding chairs for babies online – Sana revised the website to buy folding chairs for babies online. (Here, the prefix re- means again.)
• Hari is an honest person – Hari is a dishonest person. (Here, dis- is a negative prefix.)
Suffix: Suffix is a word that is added after the stem of a word. Suffix can change the form of a word to which it is added and therefore, suffix is also referred as affirmative. For example:
• The Girl was checking bed sheet sizes before buying it – The Girls were checking bed sheet sizes before buying it. (Here, the suffix –s made singular form girl to plural form girls.)
• Hari, please close the door – Hari closed the door. (Here, the suffix –ed made present tense close to past tense closed.)
• He has bought me the pen – He hadn’t bought me the pen. (Here, the suffix –n’t is making the word has negative.)
These are basics about prefix and suffixes along with examples in English language.