1. The Grammar Business Part Three
Title of Short Course
Course Tutor
The Grammar Business Part Three
4. Common spelling errors: prefixes and suffixes

2. A prefix is
A group of letters that goes in front of a ‘root’ word and changes its meaning.
For example: in the word ‘prefix’, ‘fix’ is the root and ‘pre’ is the prefix
Or in the word ‘restore’, ‘store’ is the root and ‘re’ is the prefix.

3. Recognising prefixes and roots can help with correct spelling
Some common prefixes are 
inter
pre re
non
anti
mis

4. Some common roots are
view
play
take
make
pose
lead

5. Try matching some prefixes and some roots to make words
inter
pre re
dis
under
mis
over
Roots
play
view
take
make
pose
lead
spell

6. You should have come up with words like
interview
preplay
retake
dispose
undertake
mistake
overtake
replay
preview
repose
interpose
display
mislead
misspell

7. When you make a new word If the prefix ends in ‘s’
And if the root begins with ‘s’
The word will have a double ‘s’
Like misspell
This is worth remembering!

8. And If the prefix ends in ‘n’ And if the root begins with ‘p’
The ‘n’ will become ‘m’
So ‘in-possible’ becomes ‘impossible’
And in-portant becomes important.

9. And If the prefix ends in ‘n’ And if the root begins with ‘l’
The ‘n’ will become ‘l’
So in-logical becomes illogical
And in-literate becomes illiterate
These changes have been made over time, simply because it makes the word easier to pronounce.

10. Prefixes also help you understand the meaning of the new word
inter means between
non, un, in, dis, in, il or im will make the meaning negative
anti means opposite or against
mis adds a sense of wrongness
re adds the sense of repeat or doing something later

11. And more sub means under super means over or on top of
con means with or against
ex means out or from or previous
pro means forward or in favour or in front
epi and extra mean outside
post means afterwards

12. And more! de means undo or reverse (depose, demote)
dia means across, or between
mono means one and stereo means two
pre adds the sense of in front of, or first
poly means multiple or several
counter and con mean against
solo means one

13. Having a rough idea what the prefix might mean
can help you guess the meaning of a word you’re not familiar with
Look for the root. If you know that, or can guess what it means, you’re in with a chance.

14. For example If the root is ‘logue’ - which means word or speech.
Prologue = words at the beginning
Epilogue = words at the end, or outside
Dialogue = words travelling between people
Monologue = words from one speaker

15. So what about suffixes? Suffixes are added to the end of a root word
They change its meaning
Many of them are very familiar to you

16. For example ous (famous, infamous) ing (going, being, seeing)
less (tireless, penniless)
ful (grateful, beautiful)
ship (friendship, kinship)
er/or (lecturer, computer, tutor, instructor)
able (loveable, agreeable, manageable)
ness (kindness, deepness, shallowness)

17. Some words are made of prefix + root and suffix
understanding
everlasting
nonconformist
unnoticeable
unchangeable

18. Suffixes cause more spelling problems than prefixes
but there are rules
and some of them are very useful to know

19. For example
if you add the suffix ‘ful’ to a word it will ALWAYS have only one L
The word ‘full’ has two Ls
The suffix ‘ful’ has only ONE.
E.g. careful, bountiful, grateful, pitiful.

20. Other suffix spelling rules
require you to know the difference between
a vowel
and
a consonant

21. Vowels
Are letters whose sounds are made with your mouth open  a e i o u

22. Consonants Are all the rest! B,c,d,f,g,h,j,k,l,m,n,p,q,v,w,x,y,z
[Y is actually a bit of an odd one out. It is a consonant, but it can function as a vowel too.]

23. If you add a suffix beginning with a consonant,to a root ending in Y
like pity, happy, busy, silly
the y always changes to i
For example: pitiful, happiness, business, silliness

24. But if the suffix is ‘ing’
you keep the Y
For example: busying, worrying, carrying
it’s important to remember this!

25. Other suffix rules: when to keep the E at the end of the root
When the suffix starts with a consonant e.g. ful, less, ment,
you usually keep the E at the end of the root
For example:
grate + ful = grateful
hope + less = hopeless
retire + ment = retirement
grace + ful/ less = graceful/ graceless

26. Other suffix rules: when to drop the E
When the suffix starts with a vowel e.g. able, ation, ing
you usually drop the E at the end of the root
For example:
argue + ing = arguing
cure + able = curable
make + ing = making
write + ing = writing
recite + ation = recitation
And - yes - there are exceptions, but not many

27. The one-one-one rule
When you add a suffix that starts with a vowel (-ed, -ing, -er) to a root that ends in a consonant, you usually need to double the last letter of the root
So shop becomes shopping
kid becomes kidding
quit becomes quitter
pot becomes potted

28. It’s called the one-one-one rule because
It applies to roots that have
one syllable (drop, put, kid)
one short vowel (drop,put, kid)
one consonant at the end of the root (drop, put, kid)
if the root word has these three ‘ones’, the spelling rule works

29. One last rule worth knowing
The L Rule
which goes
like
this
see next slide….

30. If you add a suffix that starts with a vowel (-ed, -ing,) to a root that ends with an L
If the L follows a single vowel, it is doubled
e.g. propel  propelling
If the L follows a pair of vowels, it’s never doubled
e.g. conceal  concealing
If the L follows a vowel + R, it’s never doubled
e.g. whirl  whirling, curl  curling

31. Your head is now far too full of rules
So try testing your spelling
If you aren’t sure about some of the words
Look back at the rules on these slides
If you can get all the words right without looking
No need to remember the rules!

32. To test yourself
Look at Handout Three
Have fun!