Verbs: formation with common prefixes and suffixes

 

We can make new words by adding prefixes and suffixes to words we already know.

 

Prefixes go at the beginning of words. We use prefixes to change the meaning of words, including verbs:

• Alex decided to rewrite his paper to get a better grade.
• Why did you undo all of the work I did on the website?  Now I have to redo it all.
• I think you should disconnect the printer and then reconnect it.  That might work.
• You have to preorder items so that you get them on time.

 

The most common verb prefixes and their meaning:

 

Prefix	Meaning	Examples
re-	again or back	restructure, revisit, reappear, rebuild, refinance
dis-	reverses the meaning of the verb	disappear, disallow, disarm, disconnect, discontinue
over-	too much	overbook, oversleep, overwork
un-	reverses the meaning of the verb	unbend, uncouple, unfasten
mis-	badly or wrongly	mislead, misinform, misidentify
out-	more or better than others	outperform, outbid
co-	together	co-exist, co-operate, co-own
de-	do the opposite of	devalue, deselect
fore-	earlier, before	foreclose, foresee
inter-	between	interact, intermix, interface
pre-	before	pre-expose, prejudge, pretest
sub-	under/below	subcontract, subdivide
trans-	across, over	transform, transcribe, transplant
under-	not enough	underfund, undersell, undervalue, underdevelop

 

Note: You may see verbs with prefixes written with a hyphen (-).  This happens when a verb is not commonly used with a prefix, such as: ‘re-submit’.  This will also depend on the type of English (American or British).

 

Suffixes go at the end of words. We use suffixes to change a word, like a noun or an adjective, to a different type of word, such as a verb.  

• The butter is very soft because of the heat. – The butter softens when it is hot.  

‘Soft’ is an adjective, and it changes to a verb when we add ‘-en’.

 

Another example is ‘-ise’, which turns nouns to verbs.

• I find it hard to sympathise with you because my life is so different.  
• We should try to synthesize all of this information so that it is easier to understand.

 

The most common verb suffixes and their meaning:

 

Suffix	Meaning	Examples
-en	To become	Soften, darken, widen, weaken, strengthen
-ise/-ize	To make or become	Sympathise, empathise, synthesize
-ate	To become	Activate, collaborate, create
-ify, -fy	To make or become	Justify, magnify, amplify, satisfy

• Nowadays students need to learn how to collaborate on projects.
• You should use clear arguments to justify the opinions in your essay.  

 

Note: It is important to be able to identify the root word or base word. This will help you create new words, such as ‘justify – justice – justification – just – justly’. The root word is often the verb and then other words, like nouns, adjectives, and adverbs, are created with it, like ‘create – creative – creativity’.