Prefixes and suffixes · seed 1 · A4, ink-friendly. The answer key prints on its own page for grown-ups.

Finding the root word inside big words

English · Phonics & Word Reading · ages 7-9
Name ______________________   Date ____________

  1. Which word has the prefix 'pre-'?

    • slowly
    • preschool
    • hopeless

  2. What is the root word inside 'rebuild'?

    • build
    • re
    • reb

  3. In the word 'darkness', the part '-ness' is a suffix.

    Circle one:   True   False

  4. Which word has the prefix 're-'?

    • rewrite
    • happy
    • careless

  5. What is the root word hiding inside 'celebration'?

    • celebr
    • ation
    • celebrate

  6. Leo says the root word in 'misplace' is 'mis'. What should you tell him?

    • He is right, 'mis' carries the main meaning
    • There is no root word in 'misplace'
    • 'place' is the root word and 'mis-' is the prefix

  7. What is the root word hiding inside 'unhappiness'?

    unhappyness
    • happi
    • happy
    • ness

  8. Which word means 'to appear again'?

    • reappear
    • disappear
    • appearing

  9. Tara joins 'dis-' and 'connect' and writes 'disconect'. What went wrong?

    • Nothing went wrong, that is the right spelling
    • She dropped an 'n', it should be 'disconnect'
    • She should use the prefix 're-' instead

  10. Sam adds '-ness' to the adjective 'dark'. What does the new word 'darkness' become?

    • a noun, the name of a thing or state
    • a verb, an action word
    • an adjective, just like 'dark'
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Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

Finding the root word inside big words W1-mt_HrgDjxcWvf-s1

  1. preschool · 'preschool' is 'pre-' plus the root word 'school'. The other two words have suffixes added at the end instead.
  2. build · 'build' is the root word. 're-' was added to the front, so 'rebuild' means to build again.
  3. True · '-ness' was added to the end of the root word 'dark'. A part added to the end of a root word is a suffix.
  4. rewrite · 'rewrite' is 're-' plus the root word 'write'. It means to write again.
  5. celebrate · Take away the suffix '-ation' and you see 'celebr', which is really the word 'celebrate'. The root word is 'celebrate'.
  6. 'place' is the root word and 'mis-' is the prefix · 'mis-' is the prefix added to the front. The root word hiding inside is 'place'.
  7. happy · The root word is 'happy'. Its spelling shifts slightly when '-ness' is added, but the root is still 'happy'.
  8. reappear · 're-' means 'again', so 'reappear' means to appear again. 'dis-' would mean the opposite, and 'appearing' just adds an ending you already know.
  9. She dropped an 'n', it should be 'disconnect' · 'dis-' plus 'connect' makes 'disconnect'. The root word keeps both of its n's when the prefix joins it.
  10. a noun, the name of a thing or state · 'dark' describes something, so it is an adjective. 'darkness' names a thing or state, so it is a noun. The suffix changed the word's job.
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