Prefix and Suffix – JSS2 English Lesson Note (Third Term)

An affix is a word part added to a base word to change its meaning or word class, and the two main types are prefixes and suffixes.

• Prefix: comes at the beginning of a word (un + happy = unhappy).
• Suffix: comes at the end of a word (happy + ness = happiness).

Behavioural objectives

By the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

1. state the two main types of affix;
2. form new words by adding prefixes and suffixes to base words;
3. identify prefixes and suffixes in given words;
4. say and tell apart the sounds /æ/ and /ɑ:/ in pairs of words;
5. change simple present tense sentences to the past perfect tense.

What are prefixes and suffixes?

Affixes are small word parts, such as -s and -ed, added to the base forms of words.

• Base word: the main word to which an affix is added, such as happy.
• Prefix: an affix placed before the base word.
• Suffix: an affix placed after the base word.

What is a prefix?

A prefix is an affix added to the beginning of the base form of a word.

What do common prefixes mean?

• un-, non-, in-, il-, im-: mean “not” (unhappy, non-violent, inaccurate, illogical, impatience).
• dis-: means “the opposite of” or “not” (disconnect).
• mis-: means “wrongly” (miscalculate).
• mal-: means “badly” (maltreat).
• super-, hyper-: mean “above” or “too much” (superstar, hypercautious).
• over-: means “too much” (overeat).
• sub-: means “under” or “below” (subhuman).
• counter-: means “against” (counterattack).
• pre-: means “before” (pre-independence).
• post-: means “after” (post-primary).

What are the spelling points for prefixes?

• No change to the base word: adding a prefix does not change the spelling of the base word.
• Double letters: il- + logical and dis- + satisfied keep both letters, so we write illogical and dissatisfied.
• Hyphen: some prefixes are joined with a hyphen, as in non-violent, pre-independence and post-primary.
• Word class: a prefix usually changes the meaning only, not the word class (happy and unhappy are both adjectives).

What is a suffix?

A suffix is an affix added to the end of the base form of a word.

What kinds of word do suffixes form?

Suffixes often change the word class of the base word.

What are the spelling points for suffixes?

• Change y to i: happy + ness = happiness.
• Drop a silent e: educate + ion = education, diverse + ify = diversify.
• No change: dark + en = darken, child + hood = childhood.

How do you find the prefix and suffix in a word?

1. Read the whole word slowly.
2. Look for a known prefix at the start (dis, mis, un, sub).
3. Look for a known suffix at the end (ment, ness, less, ship).
4. Remove both and check that a real base word is left.
5. Example: disappointment = dis + appoint + ment.

Practice: prefixes and suffixes

Underline the prefixes or suffixes in the following words:

1. counterattack
2. downwards
3. subhuman
4. disappointment
5. assistant
6. introduction
7. clockwise
8. illiterate
9. maltreat
10. hypercautious

Reading assignment: Exam Focus English JSSCE, pp. 96-100.

Speech work: what are the sounds /æ/ and /ɑ:/?

/æ/ is a short vowel and /ɑ:/ is a long vowel, and they change the meaning of words such as cat and cart.

• /æ/: short sound, said with the mouth fairly wide open, as in cat.
• /ɑ:/: long sound, said with the mouth open and the tongue low and back, as in cart.
• Tip: hold the /ɑ:/ sound a little longer than the /æ/ sound.

Listen and say the following words.

Practice: speech work

Write two words for each of these sounds.

Grammar: how do you change sentences to the past perfect tense?

The past perfect tense shows an action that was completed before another action or time in the past.

• Structure: had + past participle of the verb.
• Use: it is often used with words such as before, after and when.

What are the steps?

1. Find the main verb in the present tense sentence.
2. Write its past participle (eat becomes eaten).
3. Put “had” before the past participle.
4. Keep the rest of the sentence the same.

What are some past participles?

Worked example

• Present: I eat rice and beans before going to school.
• Past perfect: I had eaten rice and beans before going to school.

Practice: past perfect tense

Change these sentences to the past perfect tense:

1. Ade sees the plane when it takes off.
2. John and Nash meet with Ade after the programme.
3. My teacher flogs me for coming late.
4. We take the money before my father returns.
5. Bode has finished his work before going home.

What are the comparative and superlative forms of adjectives and adverbs?

The comparative compares two things, and the superlative compares three or more things.

• Short words: add -er for the comparative and -est for the superlative (tall, taller, tallest).
• Words ending in y: change y to i first (happy, happier, happiest).
• Doubling: a short word ending in one vowel and one consonant doubles the last letter (big, bigger, biggest).
• Long words: use more and most (difficult, more difficult, most difficult).

Vocabulary development: what are prepositions?

A preposition is a word that shows the relationship of a noun or pronoun to another word in the sentence.

• Place: in, on, under, at, behind (The book is on the table).
• Time: at, on, in, before, after (We close at two o’clock).
• Direction: to, into, towards, across (The boy ran towards the gate).

Study the prepositions on pp. 223-224 and answer the questions on them.

Writing: how do you write an account of an outing for the school magazine?

An account of an outing is a written report of a trip, told in the order in which things happened.

1. Write a short title.
2. Say where you went, when you went and who went with you.
3. Describe the events in the order they happened.
4. Use the past tense and the first person (I, we).
5. Say how you felt and end with a short closing remark.

Study the instructions on p. 228 and write the account on p. 222.

Literature: what is the poem Ajantala about?

Ajantala, from Sunrise Poetry, is an ancient Yoruba poem that discusses the mischief of a mysterious child, Ajantala.

• Form: poem.
• Origin: Yoruba oral tradition.
• Subject: the mischief of a mysterious child named Ajantala.
• Source: Sunrise Poetry.

Practice: literature

Do Activities 1-2.

What is a noun phrase?

A noun phrase is a group of words built around a noun that does the work of a noun.

• Example: the tall boy, my new school bag.

Reading assignment: Effective English, p. 227 (noun phrases).

Evaluation

1. Define a prefix and a suffix, and give two examples of each.
2. Give the comparative and superlative form of the following words: (a) soon, (b) hard, (c) fast, (d) early, (e) beautiful.
3. Change the five sentences in the past perfect practice above to the past perfect tense.
4. Write an essay on the title ‘My Future Ambition’.

Assignment

Exam Focus, p. 103, Revision Exercises A and B.