List of Prefixes -- American English -- Page 1

This is a list of popular American prefixes. As a passing interest I also looked in the dictionary to see how many words had those beginnings and endings. I then added the number to the right of each so you can see how much that prefix is used. It surprised me as well. I give this list to my students and we go over some selected ones to show them how it works. I start with "tele" which means "at a distance." We then move to "scope" which means "an instrument for seeing" and thus we get from telescope "an instrument for seeing at a distance."

Light bulbs begin to go off in the class as they begin to get the connections. We then look at others such as "er" and "or" which means "one who does." After examining the examples given we go around the room and each student gives an example of how that one works, such as shipper, worker, laborer, reader, etc. With this tool their vocabulary has suddenly and dramatically increased. We then look at a long word such as "teleconference." "Tele" meaning "at a distance," "confer" meaning to discuss or talk, and "ence" meaning, "act of doing." Thus we have a "doing discussion at a distance."