English
Word building.
Definition
Word building is the process of creating new words by combining prefixes, roots, and suffixes. Understanding how word parts combine allows students to decode unfamiliar words and expand their vocabulary exponentially by learning patterns rather than memorizing individual words.
Examples
Real-world.
- 1 'Un-' + 'believe' + '-able' = 'unbelievable' (not able to be believed)
- 2 'Bio-' (life) + '-logy' (study of) = 'biology'; add '-ist' = 'biologist'
- 3 'Tele-' (far) + 'scope' (see) = 'telescope'; 'tele-' + 'phone' (sound) = 'telephone'
Key Fact
Learning just 20 common prefixes and 20 common roots can help unlock the meanings of thousands of English words.