Welcome to today’s vocabulary lesson! We’re going to explore a powerful tool for building your English vocabulary: affixes. Understanding affixes can significantly improve your comprehension and help you express yourself more clearly and confidently. This lesson is designed for B1 level English learners like you, focusing on practical usage and how affixes can boost your spoken English.

What are Affixes and Why are They Important?

Affixes are word parts that are added to the beginning or end of a word to change its meaning. There are two main types of affixes:

• Prefixes: These are added to the beginning of a word.
• Suffixes: These are added to the end of a word.

Learning about English affixes is a fantastic way to improve your vocabulary because:

• Vocabulary Building: You can understand and learn many new words by knowing the meaning of common prefixes and suffixes. Instead of memorizing each word individually, you can understand word families.
• Improved Comprehension: When you encounter unfamiliar words, recognizing prefixes and suffixes can help you guess their meaning from context.
• Better Communication: Using affixes correctly makes your spoken and written English more precise and sophisticated.
• Word Formation: Understanding affixes helps you create new words and variations of words you already know.

Let’s dive into prefixes first!

Understanding Prefixes: Changing the Beginning

Prefixes are attached to the front of a root word to alter its meaning. They often change the word to its opposite or modify its sense in some way. Here are some common prefixes for B1 level English learners:

Common Prefixes and Examples

1. un-: This prefix usually means “not” or “opposite of.”
   • Example: happy (feeling pleasure) + un- = unhappy (not happy, sad). “She was unhappy about the news.”
   • Example: usual (normal, common) + un- = unusual (not common, rare). “It’s unusual to see snow in July.”
2. re-: This prefix means “again” or “back.”
   • Example: write (to form letters or words) + re- = rewrite (to write again). “Please rewrite your essay to improve it.”
   • Example: turn (to move around) + re- = return (to go back). “I will return home tomorrow.”
3. dis-: Similar to “un-“, this prefix often means “not” or “opposite of,” or “away.”
   • Example: agree (to have the same opinion) + dis- = disagree (to have a different opinion). “They disagree on politics.”
   • Example: appear (to become visible) + dis- = disappear (to become invisible). “The magician made the rabbit disappear.”
4. in-/im-: These prefixes can also mean “not.” ‘Im-‘ is often used before ‘m’, ‘p’, ‘b’. ‘In-‘ is used before other letters.
   • Example (in-): correct (right, accurate) + in- = incorrect (not correct, wrong). “Your answer is incorrect.”
   • Example (im-): possible (able to happen) + im- = impossible (not able to happen). “It’s impossible to fly without wings.”
   • Example (in-): visible (able to be seen) + in- = invisible (not able to be seen). “The ghost was invisible.”
5. mis-: This prefix means “wrongly” or “badly.”
   • Example: understand (to comprehend) + mis- = misunderstand (to understand wrongly). “I think you misunderstood my instructions.”
   • Example: behave (to act in a certain way) + mis- = misbehave (to behave badly). “The children misbehaved in class.”

Now, let’s move on to suffixes and see how they change the ends of words!

Exploring Suffixes: Modifying the Ending

Suffixes are added to the end of a root word. They often change the word’s grammatical function (e.g., from a verb to a noun, or from a noun to an adjective) or add a specific meaning. Here are some useful suffixes for B1 English vocabulary building:

Common Suffixes and Examples

1. -ful: This suffix means “full of” or “characterized by.” It often changes a noun into an adjective.
   • Example: care (noun: attention and concern) + -ful = careful (adjective: being cautious and attentive). “Be careful when you cross the street.”
   • Example: help (noun: assistance) + -ful = helpful (adjective: willing to help). “She is a very helpful person.”
2. -less: This suffix means “without.” It also often changes a noun into an adjective, and it’s the opposite of ‘-ful’.
   • Example: care (noun) + -less = careless (adjective: not careful). “He was careless and broke the vase.”
   • Example: hope (noun: a feeling of expectation) + -less = hopeless (adjective: without hope). “The situation seemed hopeless.”
3. -ly: This suffix often changes an adjective into an adverb, indicating “in a … manner.”
   • Example: quick (adjective: fast) + -ly = quickly (adverb: in a fast manner). “He ran quickly to catch the bus.”
   • Example: slow (adjective: not fast) + -ly = slowly (adverb: in a slow manner). “Please speak slowly, I’m learning English.”
4. -able/-ible: These suffixes mean “able to be…” and often change a verb into an adjective.
   • Example (-able): read (verb: to look at and understand written words) + -able = readable (adjective: able to be read). “This book is very readable.”
   • Example (-ible): possible (adjective: able to happen) is already an adjective, but think of the verb ‘to be possible’. sense (verb: to perceive) + -ible = sensible (adjective: able to make good judgements, or easily perceived by the senses). “That’s a sensible idea.”
5. -ing/-ed: These are common suffixes for verb forms. ‘-ing’ is used for the present participle (often in continuous tenses), and ‘-ed’ is used for the past simple and past participle (for regular verbs).
   • Example (-ing): walk (verb: to move on foot) + -ing = walking (present participle). “She is walking in the park.”
   • Example (-ed): walk (verb) + -ed = walked (past simple/past participle). “They walked to school yesterday.”
6. -er/-or: These suffixes can create nouns from verbs, often indicating a person who performs the action of the verb. ‘-er’ is more common. ‘-or’ is often used for certain Latin-origin verbs.
   • Example (-er): teach (verb: to give instruction) + -er = teacher (noun: a person who teaches). “My teacher is very kind.”
   • Example (-or): act (verb: to perform in a play or film) + -or = actor (noun: a person who acts). “He is a famous actor.”
7. -tion/-sion/-ment: These suffixes often create nouns from verbs, indicating the action or result of the verb.
   • Example (-tion): inform (verb: to give information) + -tion = information (noun: facts provided). “We need more information about the project.”
   • Example (-sion): decide (verb: to make a choice) + -sion = decision (noun: a choice made). “Making a decision is sometimes hard.”
   • Example (-ment): develop (verb: to grow or improve) + -ment = development (noun: the process of developing). “The city is undergoing rapid development.”

Let’s Practice! English Affixes in Action

Now it’s your turn to practice using prefixes and suffixes! Complete the sentences below by adding the correct affix to the word in brackets. Choose from the affixes we’ve learned: un-, re-, dis-, in-, im-, mis-, -ful, -less, -ly, -able, -ing, -ed, -er, -or, -tion, -ment.

1. It’s ________ (possible) to predict the future.
2. Please ________ (write) your name clearly.
3. She is a very ________ (care) driver.
4. He spoke ________ (slow) so everyone could understand.
5. They ________ (agree) with our proposal.
6. The movie was very ________ (enjoy). I really liked it! (Use ‘-able’ or ‘-ing’ depending on meaning)
7. He is a famous ________ (act).
8. We need more ________ (inform) about the trip.
9. Don’t be ________ (care)! You might break something.
10. She ________ (understand) my question.

Answers

1. It’s impossible to predict the future.
2. Please rewrite your name clearly.
3. She is a very careful driver.
4. He spoke slowly so everyone could understand.
5. They disagree with our proposal.
6. The movie was very enjoyable. I really liked it! (or enjoying if you mean “I am enjoying it now”)
7. He is a famous actor.
8. We need more information about the trip.
9. Don’t be careless! You might break something.
10. She misunderstood my question.

Continue Your Vocabulary Building Journey!

Congratulations on completing this lesson on English affixes! You’ve taken a significant step in expanding your vocabulary and improving your understanding of word formation. By recognizing and using prefixes and suffixes, you can unlock the meanings of countless new words and express yourself more effectively in English.

To further enhance your spoken English and practice using these new vocabulary skills in conversation, we encourage you to try Lingofrnd.com, your AI spoken English teacher. It’s a fantastic tool for practicing vocabulary in real conversations and building your speaking confidence.

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Keep practicing, and you’ll see your English vocabulary grow rapidly!