📖 ReadingGrade 2Lesson 5
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Prefixes and Suffixes — un-, re-, -ful, -less

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What you will learn

  • 1Recognize the prefixes un- and re- at the front of a word
  • 2Recognize the suffixes -ful and -less at the end of a word
  • 3Use the meaning of each word part to work out what a new word means
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Mini Lesson

Some words have extra parts attached to a root word — the base word you already know. These extra parts are called prefixes (they go at the front) and suffixes (they go at the end). Knowing what each part means helps you read and understand thousands of new words!

Prefixes — added at the front

  • un- means "not" or "the opposite of."
  • Example: unhappy = not happy · unlock = the opposite of lock
  • re- means "again."
  • Example: rebuild = build again · reread = read again

Suffixes — added at the end

  • -ful means "full of."
  • Example: hopeful = full of hope · careful = full of care
  • -less means "without."
  • Example: hopeless = without hope · careless = without care

How to use these parts

  • Spot the prefix or suffix — cover it and read the root word first.
  • Then add the meaning of the prefix or suffix to work out the whole word.

Words to know

Root word

The base word that you already know — the part left after you take off a prefix or suffix

e.g. happy is the root in unhappy, hope is the root in hopeful

Prefix

A word part added to the front of a root word to change its meaning

e.g. un- in unhappy, re- in rebuild

Suffix

A word part added to the end of a root word to change its meaning

e.g. -ful in hopeful, -less in fearless

un-

A prefix meaning "not" or "the opposite of"

e.g. unhappy = not happy

re-

A prefix meaning "again"

e.g. refill = fill again

-ful

A suffix meaning "full of"

e.g. careful = full of care

-less

A suffix meaning "without"

e.g. fearless = without fear

Prefix and Suffix Meanings ChartA chart showing four word parts and their meanings: un- means not, re- means again, -ful means full of, and -less means without, with an example word for each.Prefixes & Suffixesun-= "not"unhappy · unlock · unkindre-= "again"rebuild · reread · refill-ful= "full of"hopeful · careful · cheerful-less= "without"hopeless · careless · endless
Four word parts — un-, re-, -ful, and -less — with their meanings and example words.
Word Building with Prefixes and SuffixesFour word-building examples: un plus happy equals unhappy, re plus fill equals refill, care plus ful equals careful, and pain plus less equals painless.Build new words!un+happy=unhappyre+fill=refillcare+ful=carefulpain+less=painless
Four word-building examples — un+happy, re+fill, care+ful, and pain+less.
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Ask yourself: "Do I see un-, re-, -ful, or -less? What is the root word? What does the extra part add to its meaning?"

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← Lesson 4: Multi-Syllabic Word Strategies — Chunking and the VCCV PatternLesson 6: Use Context Clues to Work Out Word Meanings →