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You have connected family words through a root. Now help a museum move a box. Trans- means across, and port means carry.
What does transport the box mean?
به انگلیسی
Greek and Latin roots for word meaning
Use knowledge of Greek and Latin affixes (prefixes and suffixes) and roots as clues to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words, building a bank of common roots and their meanings
What a learner can do afterwards
- Identify common Greek and Latin roots in unfamiliar words and use root meaning to infer word meaning, e.g. 'aqua' (water) in aquarium/aquatic, 'dict' (say) in predict/dictionary
- Break a multi-morpheme word into prefix + root + suffix to determine meaning, e.g. un- (not) + believe + -able = not able to be believed
- Use knowledge of Greek-origin prefixes (auto-, tele-, micro-) and Latin-origin prefixes (inter-, trans-, sub-) to decode and define unfamiliar vocabulary in context
1 · Read
Many English words contain parts from Greek or Latin. A root carries a main idea. A prefix goes before a root; a suffix goes after it. Some roots cannot stand alone as words. Find parts you know, combine their meanings, and check whether your guess fits the sentence.
Aqua means water, as in aquarium and aquatic. Dict means say or speak; find it in dictionary and dictate. Bio means life. The ending -ology means study of. Micro- means small. A question may give a setting or describe what something does. Use those clues with the word parts to choose a meaning.
Try it together
Unbreakable has un- meaning not, break, and -able meaning able to be. Together they mean not able to be broken. Endings can change spelling: believe loses its final e before -able in believable. Adding un- makes unbelievable, meaning not able to be believed.
Tele- means far. Vis means see, as in vision. Scope gives a viewing clue in tool names. Phon means sound and may appear as phone. Graph means write. Bio means life. Combine the clues you know, then read the sentence. Word parts do not tell you every detail of a tool's job.
Auto- means self. Mobile means able to move. An automobile uses its own engine power instead of being pulled by an animal. Self does not mean it needs no driver. Graph means write. Auto- and graph give a self-writing clue in autograph, a person's own signature.
Inter- means between or among, trans- means across, and sub- means under or below. Act means do; inter- with act suggests doing things with one another. Port means carry. Port with -able means able to be carried; port with -er names a person who carries. A prefix can also join a familiar word, as sub- joins zero.
Use roots and affixes as clues. Combine their meanings with the sentence, and check a dictionary when the meaning is still uncertain.
Original lesson, questions and flashcards written for this dataset.
Five original readings about roots, spelling and checking word meanings, written for this dataset.
More to read
Roots that work inside words
A root need not stand alone. Port gives a carry clue in transport and portable, even though you would not use port by itself to mean carry in an ordinary sentence.
Learn a root with its meaning and an example. Then check what the other parts contribute. A familiar string of letters is useful only when it represents the root and meaning that fit the word.
Choose the meaning that fits
A dictionary can list several meanings for one word. Read the definitions and compare them with the sentence you are reading. Your first word-part guess may need changing.
A thesaurus suggests words with similar meanings. Those words may differ in tone or use. If you are unsure about a suggestion, check its dictionary entry before using it. Similar meanings are not always interchangeable.
Keep examples with root meanings
Form gives a shape clue in transform and deform. Transform can mean change the form; deform can mean spoil or distort a shape. The shared root connects the words without making their full meanings identical.
In a word-part notebook, record the part, its meaning and an example sentence. The sentence helps you remember how the whole word is used. Add another example when you meet the part in a different word.
Track a spelling change
Readable means able to be read. Unreadable adds un-, meaning not. The meaning changes, but the connection to read remains.
Other endings change spelling too. Believe loses its final e in believable. The root still contributes its meaning.
When you split a word, name the source parts and explain any spelling change. Do not invent a new root because the letters have changed. A dictionary can help check a formation you have not met before.
A part gives only part of the answer
Micro- gives the clue small in microchip and microbiology. Small alone does not tell you whether the word names a computer part or a subject of study. Other parts and the sentence supply more information.
When you recognise one part, keep reading. Find other parts you know and look for a description of the thing or action. Use the clues to make a likely guess. Check the full meaning when details remain uncertain.
2 · Watch
به انگلیسی3 · Play
به انگلیسی
Take it off screen
Print a worksheetA4 with an answer key page for grown-ups. No screen, no internet.
Where it sits
Learn first
Optional connections
This opens up
Where this leads
Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.
Then practise
24 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.