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Vocabulary and Language Use
Quick questions on Word formation and roots explained: O-Level English
3short Q&A pairs drawn directly from our worked dot-point answer. For full context and worked exam questions, read the parent dot-point page.
What is roots carry the core meaning?Show answer
A root is the part of the word that holds its central idea. Many English roots come from Latin and Greek and recur across dozens of words. Knowing a handful unlocks a whole family. For example, the root "port" (to carry) appears in "transport", "export", "import" and "portable"; the root "spect" (to look) appears in "inspect", "spectator", "spectacle" and "respect".
What is prefixes change the meaning?Show answer
A prefix is added to the front of a root and adjusts its meaning, very often by reversing or intensifying it:
What is suffixes fix the part of speech?Show answer
A suffix is added to the end and usually decides whether the word is a noun, verb, adjective or adverb. This is the part most tested in word-form questions:
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