How Prefixes and Suffixes Enhance Your Word Game Skills
In this digital era, parents are engaging their children with word games. Playing word games is not only entertaining, but also it helps build language skills. You need to create various words to win word games. Understanding the proper use of prefixes and suffixes will help you create multiple words without remembering a large number of words.
In the following tutorial, I will explain how prefixes and suffixes will help you enhance your word game skills. In addition, I will share some unique prefix and suffix activities so that you can easily apply them when needed.
What are prefixes and suffixes and what are their roles?
Prefixes and suffixes are combinations of English letters that you add to the beginning and end of a root word to change its meaning and function. These can contain two or three letters. For example, if you add the prefix “ir-” to the word “responsible”, the word becomes “irresponsible”, which is the opposite of the word. Now, if you change the parts of speech of “refresh”, you need to add “-ment” to the end of the word.
Word games are designed so that you need to think words quickly to stay ahead of the competition. So, the knowledge of prefixes and suffixes will help you create words strategically from the given letters.
How do they help solve word games quickly?
When you start remembering prefixes and suffixes, the first thing you need to do is to keep a chart with you. It will act as a reference whenever you play a word game.
The more you understand the usage of affixes, the more your vocabulary knowledge will expand. It will further help you easily create and memorize words. For example, you need to analyze clues and understand their meaning to solve crossword puzzles.
Many word-forming games require phonological skills. In this case, you need to pay attention to the pronunciation of the words. Reading and writing skills are essential to these word puzzles.
You need critical thinking to solve Letter Boxed puzzles. Here, you create words by connecting letters arranged around a square-shaped box. You must learn advanced strategies to play Letterboxed and stay ahead of your opponents.
Rules of adding Prefix and suffixes to base words
Rule 1: If you add a suffix that begins with a vowel to a root word that ends with “e”, the “e” will be omitted. For example,
Age
Aging
Make
Making
Hope
Hoping
Take
Taking
Rule 2: when you add a suffix to a word that ends with “y”, the “y” will be changed into “i”. For example,
Fry
Fried
Beauty
Beautiful
Happy
Happiness
City
Citizen
Rule 3: if you add a suffix at the end of a one-syllable word that contains a vowel before the last letter, the end letter will be doubled.
Run
Running
Plan
Planning
Tap
Tapping
Drop
Dropping
Skip
Skipping
Rule 4: If you add a prefix to a root word, the root word will not change. However, its meaning and function will change.
Act
React
Cover
Discover
Struct
Destruct
Press
Express
View
Review
Rule 5: If you add a suffix to a multi-syllable word whose last letter is a consonant, the final letter will be doubled.
Prefer
Preferred
Admit
Admitted
Begin
Beginning
Occur
Occurring
Submit
Submitted
Rule 6: When you add a prefix to a proper noun, you need to add a hyphen between the prefix and the word.
Profit
Non-profit
Pacific
Trans-pacific
Virus
Anti-virus
National
Inter-national
Active
Hyper-active
A detailed list of commonly used prefixes and suffixes
