Formation of Prefixes and Suffixes with 100 Examples • Englishilm

Learning suffixes and prefixes is a smart way to improve your English vocabulary. A prefix is a group of letters added to the beginning of a word, and a suffix is added to the end. They change the meaning of the word and help you understand many new words easily. In this lesson, you will learn how to form words using common suffixes and prefixes with easy meanings and examples. We will also share 100 useful word formations to help you remember and use them in your daily English.

What is a Prefix?

A prefix is a group of letters added before a word to change its meaning.

Example:

happy → unhappy (un- means “not”)
regular → irregular (ir- means “not”)

→ Prefix = Prefix + Root Word

What is a Suffix?

A suffix is a group of letters added after a word to change its form or meaning.

Example:

teach → teacher (er = a person who does something)
help → helpful (ful = full of)

→ Suffix = Root Word + Suffix

How to Form Prefixes and Suffixes

Prefix Formation Rules:

Add the prefix at the start of a word.
Do not change the spelling of the original word.
Prefixes usually change the meaning, not the word type.

Examples:

un + kind = unkind
dis + agree = disagree

Suffix Formation Rules:

Add the suffix at the end of a word.
Sometimes spelling may change (drop or add a letter).
Suffixes often change the form of the word (like verb to noun or adjective).

Examples:

move + ment = movement
create + ive = creative
happy + ness = happiness (drop ‘y’ and add ‘i’)

Prefix Examples

Prefix	Meaning	Example Word	Meaning of Word
un-	not	unfair	not fair
dis-	opposite of	dislike	not like
re-	again	rewrite	write again
pre-	before	preview	view before
mis-	wrong or badly	misunderstand	understand wrongly
in-	not	inactive	not active
im-	not	impossible	not possible
il-	not	illegal	not legal
ir-	not	irregular	not regular
non-	not	nonstop	without stopping
over-	too much	overeat	eat too much
under-	too little	underpaid	not paid enough
sub-	under or below	submarine	under the sea
inter-	between	international	between nations
trans-	across	transport	carry across
super-	above or extra	superman	man with extra power
anti-	against	antivirus	against viruses
auto-	self	autograph	self-written signature
bi-	two	bicycle	vehicle with two wheels
tri-	three	triangle	shape with three sides
semi-	half	semicircle	half circle
multi-	many	multicolor	many colors
mono-	one	monologue	speech by one person
co-	together	cooperate	work together
pro-	in favor of	promote	support or encourage
de-	opposite or remove	defrost	remove frost
en-	cause to	enable	make able
fore-	before	foretell	tell before
ex-	former or out of	ex-boyfriend	former boyfriend
inter-	between	interactive	working between things
self-	by oneself	self-made	made by oneself
micro-	small	microscope	tool to see small things
macro-	large	macroeconomics	study of large systems
neo-	new	neoclassic	new classic style
pseudo-	false or fake	pseudonym	fake name
tele-	far	telephone	hear from far
ultra-	extreme	ultramodern	very modern
mid-	middle	midday	middle of the day
uni-	one	universe	one whole space
quad-	four	quadrangle	shape with four sides
deca-	ten	decade	ten years
kilo-	thousand	kilogram	1000 grams
centi-	hundredth	centimeter	small unit of measure
contra-	against	contradict	speak against
extra-	beyond	extraordinary	more than usual
hyper-	too much	hyperactive	very active
iso-	equal or same	isometric	equal measurement
neo-	new	neonatal	newborn
pan-	all	panorama	view of all
post-	after	postwar	after war

Suffix Examples

Suffix	Meaning	Example Word	Word Type
-er	one who does	teacher	noun
-or	person	actor	noun
-ist	person who does	artist	noun
-ian	belonging to	musician	noun
-ness	state of being	kindness	noun
-ment	action or result	enjoyment	noun
-tion	action	celebration	noun
-sion	state or result	decision	noun
-ity	condition of	reality	noun
-ship	status or skill	friendship	noun
-able	able to	readable	adjective
-ible	can be	visible	adjective
-ful	full of	hopeful	adjective
-less	without	helpless	adjective
-ous	full of	joyous	adjective
-ish	like or related to	foolish	adjective
-ive	having the quality of	active	adjective
-ic	relating to	historic	adjective
-al	relating to	natural	adjective
-en	made of	wooden	adjective
-ly	in a way	quickly	adverb
-ward	direction	forward	adverb
-wise	in relation to	clockwise	adverb
-ed	past action	played	verb (past)
-ing	present action	playing	verb (present)
-ize	to make	realize	verb
-ate	to make or cause	activate	verb
-ify	to make	beautify	verb
-esque	in the style of	picturesque	adjective
-hood	state or time	childhood	noun
-dom	state	freedom	noun
-ling	small or young	duckling	noun
-ette	small or feminine	kitchenette	noun
-let	small	booklet	noun
-y	full of	sunny	adjective
-an	related to	American	adjective/noun
-ary	related to or place	library	noun
-eer	person involved in	volunteer	noun
-ent	having quality of	different	adjective
-ant	having quality of	important	adjective
-eer	doer or maker	engineer	noun
-cy	state of	privacy	noun
-ence	state or quality	silence	noun
-ance	act or quality	importance	noun
-ology	study of	biology	noun
-graphy	writing or field	photography	noun
-scape	view or scene	landscape	noun
-ness	state or quality	sadness	noun
-ology	field of study	geology	noun

Different Contexts of Formation Using Prefixes and Suffixes

Word formation means creating new words by adding prefixes or suffixes to base words. These new words can act as nouns, verbs, adjectives, or adverbs, depending on what we add.

Let’s explore how it works in different contexts.

1. Formation of Nouns using Suffixes

We can form nouns by adding suffixes to verbs or adjectives.

👉 Rule: Verb/Adjective + Suffix → Noun

Base Word	Suffix	New Word (Noun)	Meaning
act	-ion	action	the process of acting
kind	-ness	kindness	being kind
grow	-th	growth	the state of growing
manage	-ment	management	process of managing

2. Formation of Verbs using Suffixes or Prefixes

We can form verbs by adding suffixes like -ize, -ify, or prefixes like re-, un- etc.

👉 Rule: Noun/Adjective + Suffix → Verb

👉 Rule: Prefix + Verb → New Verb

Base Word	Prefix/Suffix	New Verb	Meaning
beauty	-ify	beautify	to make beautiful
real	-ize	realize	to understand
do	re-	redo	to do again
tie	un-	untie	to open (a tie or knot)

3. Formation of Adjectives using Suffixes

Adjectives describe things. We can form them by adding suffixes to nouns or verbs.

👉 Rule: Noun/Verb + Suffix → Adjective

Base Word	Suffix	New Adjective	Meaning
care	-ful	careful	full of care
hope	-less	hopeless	without hope
danger	-ous	dangerous	full of danger
act	-ive	active	showing action

4. Formation of Adverbs using Suffixes

Adverbs tell how, when, or where something happens. Many are made by adding -ly to adjectives.

👉 Rule: Adjective + -ly → Adverb

Base Word	Suffix	New Adverb	Meaning
quick	-ly	quickly	in a quick way
happy	-ly	happily	in a happy way
slow	-ly	slowly	in a slow manner

5. Negative Formation using Prefixes

We can make a word negative by adding a prefix.

👉 Rule: Prefix + Word → Negative Word

Positive Word	Prefix	Negative Word	Meaning
polite	im-	impolite	not polite
correct	in-	incorrect	not correct
agree	dis-	disagree	not agree
possible	un-	unpossible	not possible (though we say impossible)

6. Formation of Words Showing Time or Position

Some prefixes show when or where something happens.

Prefix	Meaning	Example Word	Meaning
pre-	before	preheat	heat before
post-	after	postwar	after the war
sub-	below	subway	way below the ground
inter-	between	international	between nations

Quiz: Formation of Prefixes and Suffixes

Multiple Choice Questions (Choose the correct answer)

1. What is the prefix in the word “unhappy”?
A) happy
B) un-
C) -y
D) none

2. Which word means “not possible”?
A) possible
B) unpossible
C) impossible
D) dispossible

3. What is the suffix in the word “carefully”?
A) full
B) care
C) -ful
D) -ly

4. Which suffix can be added to “kind” to make it a noun?
A) -er
B) -ness
C) -ful
D) -est

5. What is the correct prefix to make “agree” negative?
A) mis-
B) im-
C) dis-
D) in-

Fill in the Blanks (Use a Prefix or Suffix)

6. She is very ___ (help).
7. He was ___ (polite) to the teacher.
8. We must ___ (do) the project.
9. His ___ (happy) was clear on his face.
10. The boy ran ___ (quick) to catch the bus.

Word Formation

Add a correct prefix or suffix to the given word to make a new word:

11. kind → _______
12. read → _______
13. clean → _______
14. appear → _______
15. hope → _______

Answers

B) un-
C) impossible
D) -ly
B) -ness
C) dis-
helpful
impolite
redo
happiness
quickly
kindness
reread
unclean
disappear
hopeful

FAQs

What is a prefix in English grammar?

A prefix is a group of letters added before a word to change its meaning.
Example: un + happy = unhappy (not happy)

What is a suffix in English grammar?

A suffix is a group of letters added at the end of a word to form a new word.
Example: care + ful = careful (full of care)

How do you form a word using a prefix?

To form a word using a prefix, add the prefix to the beginning of the root word.
Example: dis + like = dislike

How do you form a word using a suffix?

To form a word using a suffix, add the suffix to the end of the base word.
Example: teach + er = teacher

What is the difference between a prefix and a suffix?

A prefix comes at the start of a word, and a suffix comes at the end. Both change the meaning or function of the word.

Can a word have both a prefix and a suffix?

Yes, some words have both a prefix and a suffix.
Example: un + kind + ness = unkindness

What are common prefixes in English?

Some common prefixes are:

un- (not)
re- (again)
dis- (opposite)
pre- (before)
in- (not)

What are common suffixes in English?

Some common suffixes are:

-ful (full of)
-less (without)
-ness (state of)
-ly (in this way)
-er (a person who)

Why are prefixes and suffixes important in English?

They help you understand, form, and guess new words easily, improving your vocabulary and communication.

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