Deconstruction The process of breaking apart a word

Deconstruction - The process of breaking apart a word into meaning chunks to figure out the meaning of the whole word.

What parts contain meaning? Words Parts Roots Prefixes Suffixes

What You Will Learn Use roots, prefixes, and suffixes to figure out the meaning of words you do not know. l Some of this will seem basic. I can hear you saying, “but we studied this in elementary school. ” l Did you retain it? l

Root Words, Prefixes, Suffixes 1. Word parts cannot stand alone. v v prefixes suffixes re-, pre-, ab-ish, -ate, -ness 2. Some roots/base word can stand alone. v frost, heat, use, war 3. Some roots/base words cannot stand alone. v -bio-, -sect-, -chron-

Root Words, Prefixes, Suffixes 4. A word is built upon at least one root 5. Words can have more than one root, prefix, or suffix. v Two or more roots (geo / logy) v Two prefixes (in / sub / ordination) v Two suffixes (beauti / ful / ly)

Root Words, Prefixes, Suffixes 6. Words do not always have a prefix and a suffix. v Neither a prefix nor a suffix (read) v Suffix and no prefix (read / ing) v Prefix and no suffix (pre / read)

Root Words, Prefixes, Suffixes 7. Suffixes change the part of speech v nation (n) – national (adj) – nationally (adv) 8. The spelling of roots often change as they are combined with suffixes. 9. Spelling does not change with prefixes.

Root Words, Prefixes, Suffixes 10. Sometimes, what looks like a word part is not a word part. v mis in missile is part of the root and not a prefix. 11. Different word parts may have the same meaning. v v bi-, di-, and duo- all mean “two” un-, dis-, il, and contra- all mean “not”

Roots v Roots carry the basic or core meaning of a word. v Hundreds of root words are used to build words in the English language. v The most common roots are from Greek and Latin.

Common Roots

Prefixes Appear at the beginnings of many English words v Alter the meaning of the root to which they are attached v Root = placed (to put) Prefix = mis (wrongly) Misplaced = put in the wrong place

Common Prefixes (excerpt from handout) v “Not” Av Disv Unv Contrav v Amount or Number Quadv Equiv Triv Deciv v Direction, Location or Placement – – Ab. De. Inter. Retro-

Suffixes v Suffixes are word endings that often change the part of speech of a word. v Expand v Learn your vocabulary the variations in meaning that occur when adding suffixes to words you already know.

Suffixes For Example: l Class -ify – -cation – -ic – Classify Classification Classic (verb) (noun) (adj. )

Common Suffixes (excerpt from handout) l One Who (noun) – -er, -or (teacher) -ee (referee) – -ist (activist) – l State, Condition, Quality (adjectives) – – – -able, -ible (touchable) -ive (permissive) -ish (foolish) l Pertaining to or Referring to (noun) – – l Direction (adverb) – l -ship (friendship) -hood (brotherhood) -ward (homeward) State, Condition, Quality (noun) – – – -ance (assistance) -ation (confrontation) -ment (amazement)

How to Deconstruct to figure out meaning. 1. Look for the root (a word inside a larger word). ® 2. Example: non/adapt/able If you do not recognize the root, then you will probably not be able to figure out the meaning of the word.

How to Use Word Parts 3. If you do recognize the root word, look for a prefix and think of its meaning. ® 4. Example: non/adapt/able Locate the suffix and think of its meaning. ® Example: non/adapt/able

How to Use Word Parts 5. Try out the meaning in the sentence in which the word was used. The dodo became extinct because it was nonadaptable to changes in its environment. Nonadaptable = not able to change