Affixation

Types of Affixation

To begin, let's look at the different types of affixes that we can add to a base word. The two main types of affixation are suffixes and prefixes, and the third, less common, are circumfixes. We have compiled some examples of affixation and their types for you to check out below!

Prefixes

Prefixes are affixes that go at the beginning of a base word. Prefixes are very common in the English language, and thousands of English words contain a prefix. Common English prefixes include in-, im-, un-, non-, and re-.

Prefixes are commonly used to make based words negative/positive (e.g., unhelpful) and to express relations of time (e.g., prehistoric), manner (e.g., underdeveloped), and place (e.g., extraterrestrial).

Suffixes

Whereas prefixes go at the beginning of a base word, suffixes go at the end. Common suffixes include -full, -less, -ed, -ing, -s, and -en.

When we add suffixes to base words, the affixation process is either derivational or inflectional. So, what exactly does that mean?

When the word's meaning or the word class (e.g., noun, adjective, verb, etc.) completely changes, the process is derivational. For example, adding '-er' to the end of the based word 'teach' changes the verb (teach) to a noun (teacher).

Derivational affixes are one the most common ways new words are formed in English!

Fig. 2 - Suffixes can change word classes, such as a verb to a noun

On the other hand, inflectional suffixes show a grammatical change within a word class - this means the word class always remains the same. For example, adding the suffix '-ed' to the verb 'talk' to create the verb 'talked' shows us that the action happened in the past.

Circumfixes

In affixation, circumfixes are less common than prefixes and affixes and typically involve adding affixes to both the beginning and the end of a base word.

Examples of Affixation

Here are several useful tables outlining examples of affixation, with some of English's most common prefixes and suffixes:

Prefixes

Derivational Suffixes Forming Nouns

Derivational Suffixes Forming Adjectives

Derivational Suffixes Forming Adverbs

Derivational Suffixes Forming verbs

Rules for Affixation

There aren't any rules for which words can go through the affixation process. Language is an ever-evolving and developing thing created by the people, and, as we previously mentioned, adding affixes is one of the most common ways new words enter the English dictionary.

However, there are few rules regarding the affixation process. Let's take a look at some examples of affixation rules now.

The Affixation Process

What is the affixation process? When we add affixes to a base word, there are a few guidelines regarding spelling that should be followed. Most of these rules and examples of affixes apply to adding suffixes and making plurals (a type of suffix).

Suffixes

• Double the final constant when it comes after and before a vowel, e.g., running, hopped, funny.

• Drop the 'e' at the end of the base word if the suffix begins with a vowel, e.g., closable, using, adorable

• Change a 'y' to an 'i' before adding the suffix if a consonant comes before the 'y', e.g., happy --> happiness.

• Change 'ie' to 'y' when the suffix is '-ing,' e.g., lie --> lying.

The most common way to show the plurality of nouns is to add the suffix '-s'; however, we add '-es' when the base word ends in -s, -ss, -z, -ch, -sh, and -x, e.g., foxes, buses, lunches.

Why not have a go at affixation yourself? You never know; your new word could end up in The Oxford English Dictionary one day.