Download NOTE TO TEACHERS: The following is not meant as a handout for

The following is not meant as a handout for your students! It is meant solely as an
educational resource for teachers needing to review this particular grammar topic before teaching their lessons!
NOTE TO TEACHERS:
The four main parts of speech are:
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Nouns - depicts a person, place, or thing
Verbs - depicts an action
Adjectives - describes a noun
Adverbs - describes a verb
We can change the meaning or part of speech of a word by adding prefixes or suffixes.
Example:
Adding the prefix “in-”or “un-” to a word can make the word negative.
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Positive - She is happy.
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Negative - She is unhappy.
Example:
Adding the suffix “–ful” to the verb "play" changes it to the adjective "playful."
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The girls play.

The girls are playful.
The following is a list of prefixes & suffixes that are commonly used to create the four main parts of
speech.
Part of Speech
Prefixes
-ion, -ment, -ance, -ness, -er
Noun
Verb
Suffixes
en-, be-, de-
-ify, -en, -ate, -ize
Adjective
-ing, -ous, -y, -ful, -fic, -ic, -ate, -ish, -ary, -ive, -able
Adverb
-ly, -wise, -ward
Not every Prefix and/or Suffix can be added to every word!
Example:
Adding the suffix “-ful” to a verb can make it an adjective, but this is not true for all verbs.

You can add “-ful” to the verb "thank" to make it the adjective "thankful”.
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You can’t add “-ful” to the verb "talk" to make it the adjective "talkful”.
From the paper, “THE FORM CLASSES”, by Sherri Byrd, located at: http://www.uncp.edu/home/canada/work/caneng/formclas.htm.
Fifteen Common Prefixes
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The following tables and tip are adopted from Grammar and Composition by Mary Beth Bauer, et al.
Prefix
ad-
Meaning
to, toward
circum-
around, about
com-
with, together
de-
away from, off
dis-
away, apart
ex-
from, out
in-
not
in-
in, into
inter-
between
mis-
wrong
post-
after
re-
back, again
sub-
beneath, under
trans-
across
un-
not
Ten Common Suffixes
Suffix
-able (-ible)
Meaning
capable of being
-ance (-ence)
the act of
-ate
making or applying
-ful
full of
-ity
the state of being
-less
without
-ly
in a certain way
-ment
the result of being
-ness
the state of being
-tion (-ion, -sion)
the act of or the state of being
From the paper, “THE FORM CLASSES”, by Sherri Byrd, located at: http://www.uncp.edu/home/canada/work/caneng/formclas.htm.