Page 40 - ABCTE Study Guide_Neat

• The root is the core element of a word and contains the basic meaning.

• A prefix begins a word and changes the word's meaning or makes a new word.

• A suffix ends a word and can indicate whether a word is a noun, verb, adjective, or
adverb. Suffixes can also modify and extend meaning.

Let’s look at an example— of the word “reporter.”

Basic Word Parts

When teaching word parts, you may want to plan lessons that focus on meaning— particularly, how new
readers can use information from common prefixes and suffixes to deconstruct words, as you saw in the
previous example.

Prefix Meaning Example

re- back or again repository

un- not, against, opposite uninspired

pre- before prejudice

bi- two biannually

mis- wrong misanthrope

dis- not, opposite of, exclude disappear

If you look at the chart above you’ll notice that common prefixes have fixed meanings that provide
students with reliable clues when encountering unfamiliar words. In fact, the top twenty prefixes and
suffixes account for ninety-seven percent of prefixed words, excluding those followed by non-English
roots.