4. Grammar Focus Prefixes and Suffixes

A.

Prefixes and suffixes are very useful if you need to express an idea and there is no word for it. Here are some modern and more creative examples: Your idea is a non-starter. The party was a non-event. Our school is a non-profit-making organization. You are anti-anything I suggest, aren’t you? The computer will have to be re-programmed. The film is badly mis-managed. Some prefixes are more common with some parts of speech than others: un- is used with adjectives and verbs, but not with nouns. anti- is the commonest with adjectives. Here are some more useful words which use prefixes: un-fasten, un-do, re-think, re-write, mis-manage, mis-direct, over-pay, over-eat, anti-war, anti-apartheid, pro-French, pro-nuclear, pre-war, pre-Christian, post-war, post-1980, non-drinker, non-driver, ex-King, ex-teacher. Prefixes and suffixes are often used to help us to invent new words to say what we mean in a very convenient way: I can’t do anything at the moment. I’m car-less. I’ve spent a long time looking for a scarf, but the colour is un-matchable. I can’t find anything that matches it. If you want to say something and you don’t know a particular word, don’t be afraid to invent a word. Prefixes and suffixes can help you. The word you invent may not be a correct ‘real’ word, but people will often understand you, and that is the most important thing.

B. Use the following prefixes to make words to fit the explanations:

over- mis- anti- non- re- pro- pre- ex- post-

a. too enthusiastic d. not a driver g. place wrongly

b. the former king e. do again h. after 1980

c. in favour of war f. before 1900 i. against nuclear

Now use these words in the following sentences:

1. The _________________ demonstration marched as far as the power station itself.

2. I can’t give you a lift. I’m afraid I’m a _________________.

3. This work isn’t good enough. You’ll have to _________________ it – and this time be more careful.

4. _________________ women were expected to stay at home.

5. I don’t know where I’ve put your book. I must have _________________ it.

6. Calm down! Take it easy! He’s only a pop singer. There’s no need to be _________________.

7. The _________________ comes to England quite a lot to visit his relatives in Buckingham Palace.

8. The Conservative Party became more popular in the _________________ period.

9. I thought you were a pacifist. How can you say that you would have been _________________ in 1945?

C. If someone is without a home they are homeless. What is the word for:

1. Without a child ___________ 5. Without thought ___________

2. Without hope ___________ 6. Without a friend ___________

3. Without power ___________ 7. Without care ___________

4. Without fear ___________ 8. Without meaning ___________

D. Some verbs can be made into adjectives by adding – able.

Example:

You can wash these trousers. You don’t have to have them dry-cleaned. They are washable.

Make adjectives from these verbs, then use them in the sentences below. In some of the examples you will also need the prefix un- .

break ___________ accept ___________ wash ___________

love ___________ laugh ___________ control ___________

recognize ___________ believe ___________

1. When the cat had six kittens, we didn’t want to give any of them away. They were so _________________.

2. I wanted at least ₤200 for my moped. When he offered me ₤50, I told him his offer was _________________ and _________________.

3. After he had been attacked, Bill’s face was hardly _________________.

4. Some plastics are almost ________________, except at very low temperatures.

5. This jumper is _________________ only in cold water.

6. For one man to win both the 100 metres and the marathon is totally _________________.

7. The car was _________________ when it hit the patch of ice.