English Vocabulary: Roots, Prefixes and Suffixes

Summary

This lesson, designed for high intermediate to advanced English learners, introduces the concept of morphemes—meaningful units of sound in words. The instructor explains how roots and affixes (prefixes and suffixes) form word families, turning a single root into many words. The lesson covers grammatical and derivational suffixes, which either add grammatical information or change the word class, respectively. By mastering these, learners can significantly expand their vocabulary and improve fluency. The focus is on building understanding of word structure and developing a strong linguistic foundation.

Takeaways

• 📚 This lesson is designed for high intermediate to advanced English learners, aiming to expand vocabulary significantly.
• 🔑 The lesson introduces the concept of 'morpheme', a meaningful group of sounds, and explains its role in word formation.
• 🌱 The word 'morpheme' itself is composed of two morphemes: 'morph-' meaning shape, and '-eme' meaning meaningful.
• 🌟 Roots are independent units that can stand alone as words, such as 'eat'.
• 📌 Affixes are added to roots to form new words; they are divided into prefixes and suffixes.
• 🔗 Prefixes are added to the beginning of a root, like '-il' in 'civil', changing its meaning.
• 🔄 Suffixes can be added to the end of a root, and there are two types: grammatical and derivational.
• 📈 Grammatical suffixes provide additional information without changing the word class, like the plural '-s'.
• 🔀 Derivational suffixes change the word class, such as '-ly' turning an adjective into an adverb.
• 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 A 'word family' consists of all words derived from a single root, like 'expect' leading to 'expectation', 'expectant', and 'expectantly'.
• 🚀 Mastering word families is crucial for achieving fluency in English.

Q & A

What is the main goal of this lesson?

The main goal of this lesson is to provide students with the tools to expand their vocabulary by understanding how to create new words from a base of 2000 words.

Who is the lesson intended for?

The lesson is intended for high intermediate to advanced students.

What is a morpheme?

A morpheme is a group of sounds that is meaningful in linguistics. It can be a root or an affix.

Can you give an example of a morpheme?

Yes, the word 'morpheme' itself is composed of two morphemes: 'morph-' which means shape, and '-eme' which means meaningful.

What is the difference between a root and an affix?

A root can exist independently and does not need to be added to anything else to be used in a sentence, like 'eat'. An affix, on the other hand, is a morpheme that is added to a root to form a new word.

What are the two types of affixes?

There are two types of affixes: prefixes, which are added to the beginning of a root, and suffixes, which are added to the end.

Can you provide an example of a word formed with prefixes and suffixes?

Yes, the Latin root 'civ' or 'civis-' meaning 'citizen' can have various affixes added to it. For example, adding '-il' creates 'civil', and adding 'un-' creates 'uncivil'.

What is the difference between grammatical and derivational suffixes?

Grammatical suffixes add grammatical information without changing the class of a word, like plural '-s'. Derivational suffixes change the class of a word, such as turning an adjective into an adverb by adding '-ly'.

Can you give an example of a grammatical suffix?

Yes, the plural '-s', the possessive '’s', and the third person '-s' are examples of grammatical suffixes.

What is a word family?

A word family consists of all the words that can be made from a single root by adding various affixes.

Can you provide an example of a word family?

Yes, the verb 'expect' can form a word family including the noun 'expectation', the adjective 'expectant', and the adverb 'expectantly'.

Why is understanding word families important for English fluency?

Understanding word families is important for English fluency because it allows learners to recognize and use a wide range of vocabulary derived from a single root, enhancing their ability to communicate effectively.