WORD ANALYSIS
To learn English words thoroughly we must spend some thought on the way
in which they are made up, on the language from which they have been
derived, and on the changes in meaning made by adding prefixes and
suffixes. Three important influences in building the English have been
the Anglo-Saxon, the Greek, and the Latin languages. The simplest words
in the language are Anglo-Saxon. The following exercises illustrate how
words have been multiplied by Anglo-Saxon prefixes and suffixes.
=Exercise 46=
Name as many words as you can that make use of each of the following
prefixes. Give only such as are recognizable English words without the
prefix.
_a_--aboard _mis_--misjudge
_be_--becalm _un_--unknown
_fore_--foretell _up_--uproot
Give the meaning of each of the prefixes used above.
What part of speech does each prefix make?
=Exercise 47=
Using the following Teutonic suffixes, form English words. Be careful
that the root taken alone is an English word.
_dom_--kingdom _ness_--goodness
_hood_--manhood _ship_--friendship
What does each suffix mean?
What part of speech does it make?
=Exercise 48=
As above, form words using the following suffixes:
_en_--darken _ful_--fearful
_en_--golden _ly_--smoothly
_ish_--sweetish _like_--childlike
_less_--fearless _some_--lonesome
Define each suffix.
What part of speech does it make?
=Exercise 49--Greek Roots=
Below is given a list of common Greek roots with the English meaning of
each. Form words using one or more of the roots for each word, and
define the words you make. For instance, give the meaning of
_telephone_, _telegraph_, and _monarch_.
_Greek_ _English_ _Greek_ _English_
_phon_--hear _chron_--time
_tele_--far _cycl_--circle
_graph_--write _geo_--earth
_scop_--see _polit_--government
_micro_--small _cra_--rule
_mono_--one _demo_--people
_arch_--chief _hydro_--water
_metr_--measure _poly_--many
_baro_--pressure, weight _pluto_--riches
How many names of modern inventions have you made?
=Exercise 50=
What words belonging to your vocabulary end in the following suffixes?
Choose only such as have an English word for the root.
Adjective Suffixes