Prefixes

Summary
This is an introductory lesson about prefixes and what they mean.

Objectives
• to briefly describe what a prefix is;

• to explain how to identify a prefix;

• to list some of the most common prefixes;

• to show how a prefix changes the meaning of a word.

Suggested Grades
4th Grade
5th Grade
6th Grade

Excerpt
A prefix is a letter or syllable that is added to the root of a word in order to form a new word with a different meaning. Root, stem, and base word all mean the same thing. Words change their meaning and become new words when we place letters or syllables at the beginning or end of a base word.

If we look at the word ?prefix? itself, we will see that it is made up from two parts: ?pre? and ?fix.? ?Pre,? means before, and ?fix? means attached. ?Pre? is a syllable that is placed before the root which in this case is ?fix.? So a prefix is a word or syllable that is placed before the root of the word. Prefixes have their own meaning, but when they are added to a root word, they change the meaning of that word.

Prefixes are very useful because if we know how to identify them and their meaning, we can learn the meaning of the new word and improve our vocabulary.

Continued...