with Sally Sleuth
Kristin Roslonski
EDCI 519
October 16, 2007
kroslons@gmu.edu
You can figure out the meanings of new words
by learning about the three (3) word parts:
 roots –word bases
 prefixes – word beginnings
 suffixes – word endings
Root words, prefixes, and suffixes
are everywhere!
(Click on the green arrow to continue.)
Suffixes
Investigation Trail
“Knowing root words can help you
understand and remember difficult
words much better.
Roots are everywhere! And not just
under trees and plants! ;-)
Let’s investigate!”
A root word is a base word. You can change the meaning of it
by adding suffixes and/or prefixes.
Root Word
Definition
Example
am, amor
love, liking
amiable, amorous
aud
hear, listen
audio, auditorium
bio
life
biography, biology
cycl
wheel, circular
bicycle
geo
earth
geography, geology
love, liking
My best friend is amiable.
The mama penguin and her baby are
amorous.
hear, listen
The band played music in the
auditorium.
The audience clapped at the end of the
performance.
life
Biology is the study of life.
Your biography is the story of your life.
wheel, circular
I want to ride my bicycle.
It is important to recycle paper, plastic,
and cans.
Another name for a tornado is cyclone.
earth
My favorite subject is geography.
Geology is the study of the earth.
“You can find prefixes at the
beginning of many words. Even the
word “prefix” has a prefix!
Let’s investigate some of the places
where you’ll find prefixes!”
A prefix is a group of letters that comes before a root word.
They can change or clarify the meaning of the root word.
Prefix
Definition
Example
pre-
before
preview
un-
not
unhappy
re-
back, again
reread, replay
non-
not
nonsense
sub-
under
submarine
before
Make a prediction about the story
before you read it.
I love watching movie previews.
not
Sad songs make me feel unhappy.
The old sofa is very uncomfortable.
again, back
It’s important to review before a test.
Let’s watch a replay of the homerun!
not
We would like to sit in the non-smoking
section.
Do you like to read nonfiction?
under
A submarine travels under the water.
I ride the subway into the city.
“You can find suffixes at the end of
many words. They come after
prefixes and root words.
Think of suffixes as the dessert
of a word! Yummy!
Let’s investigate!”
Suffixes come at the end of a word. Sometimes a suffix will
tell you what part of speech or tense a word is.
Suffix
-s, -es
Definition
Example
plural, more than one
books, sandwiches
-ed
past tense (regular verbs)
called, learned
-less
without
careless, hopeless
-er
one who, a person who
baker, teacher
-ful
full of
hopeful, careful
plural, more than one
The girl has many dolls.
How many sandwiches did you eat?
past tense (regular verbs)
 Jose called his mom.
 We played soccer at recess.
without
Alma spent all of her money. She was
penniless.
Don’t be careless with other people’s
things.
a person who does something
The baker bakes cakes.
A teacher is someone who teaches.
full of
Thank you for the flowers. That was
very thoughtful of you.
A ballerina is a graceful dancer.
Hopefully, there is gold at the end of
the rainbow!