EXERCISES – ROOTS, AFFIXES, BASES, STEMS

Exercise 1: Underline the roots in these words.

1 womanly 5 enlighten 9 prewar 13 cigarette lighter

2 endear 86 friendship 10 subway 14 irreplaceable

3 failure 7 befriend 11 falsify

4 infamous 8 unlikely 12 supernatural

Exercise2: Write the meaning of the italicized bound roots.

1 audience, audible, audition: hear 5 mortuary, mortal, moribund: death

2 suicide, patricide, infanticide: someone or 6 corpse, corporation, corporeal: body

something that kills a particular person or
thing, or the act of killing 7 tenable, tenant, tenacious: hold

3 oral, oration, oracle : by the mouth speak 8 pendulum, pendant, suspenders hang weigh

4 aquaplane, aquatic, aquarium : water 9 manual, manicure, manuscript: hand

10 eject, inject, projectile: throw

Exercise 3: Write the meaning of the roots. Then write another English word that contains the same
bound root.

1 revise see vision 7 inspect see spectator 11 portable carry import

2 contradict say predict 8 oppose put, place expose 12 rupture burst ( phun ra )
eruption
3 regress step progress 9 inspire breathe expire: to
“breathe” out one’s last 13 annual year anniversary
4 intervene
“breath” (n.b. an x=ks)
14 carnal meat carnationpink
5 comprehend seize
10 rodent chew, eat away or pinkish
apprehend
erode
15 bigamy
6 recur

Exercise 4: Below you're given a list of prefixes and another of bound roots, all from Latin. For each, the
area of meaning is roughly indicated. Combine each base with the prefixes to form words. In some cases
you have to add the suffix as well. Prefixes ending with a consonant tend to assimilate to the first
phoneme of the root. These assimilated forms are given in parentheses. (Bài tập này các bạn có thể tự
ghép prefix vào bound roots và check lại từ trong từ điển. Do đó, sẽ không sửa trên lớp.)

Prefixes Bound bases (roots)

ad- (ac-, at-): to, toward 1 -tain: hold

com- (con-): with, together with, in 2 -ceive/ -cept/ -ceit: take

de-: from, down, away 3 -fer: carry, bear

dis- (dif-): apart 4 -clude: shut, close

ex- (e-): from, out from, out of 5 -port: carry

in- (im-): in(to), toward

inter-: between, among

per-: through, thoroughly

pre-: before, in advance

pro-: forward, before, forth

re-: back, again

sub- (sup-): under

trans-: across, beyond, through

Exercise 5: Write the meaning of the prefixes in the following words. Then find another word containing
the same prefix with same meaning. Number 3, 10, 11 and 14 contain variants of a prefix morpheme.

1 antidote opposite 8 disunion apart not disband 16 postwar

antibiotic
9 disagreeable 17 proceed
2 circumvent around about
10 insecure / imperfect / 18 retroactive
3 copilot / collect / compact / illegible / irreverent
19 semiprofessional
convene / corrode
11 inspire / imbibe
20 subway
4 contradict against contrary
12 intervene
21 superabundant
5 revitalise
13 intramural
22 unlikely
6 delouse
14 obstruct / oppose
23 undress
7 devalue
15 prewar

Exercise 6: In these words the root is italicised. After each word write the number of suffixes it contains.

1 organist __ist 1____ 6 contradictorily_____dic ly or _

2 personalities ____2 al ity_es_ 7 trusteeship ____ee ship __

3 flirtatiously __ous ly ____ 8 greasier _____y er_

4 atomizers ____ize er s __ 9 countrified __fy ed__ify__

5 friendliest ___ly est ___ 10 responsibilities _____able ity es_

Exercise 7: Identify the following suffixes whether they are DS (derivational suffixes), IS (inflectional
suffixes) or A (Ambiguous).

Red for IS, Blue for DS green for A

1 princes IS 7 cleaner A 13 brotherly DS 19 droppings IS

2 princess DS 8 satirize ds 14 respectable DS 20 sunny

3 findings IS 9 springy DS 15 younger IS DS

4 friendlier DS IS 10 brighten DS 16 cleanly DS

5 shows IS 11 quickly DS 17 glimmer IS

6 weaver DS 12 rectify ds 18 grievance DS

Exercise 8: The left-hand column contains 10 words. The right-hand column contains some derivational
suffixes used to make nouns and having the general meaning of “state, condition, quality, or act of”.

. (Bài tập này các bạn có thể tự ghép suffix vào các từ có sẵn và check lại từ trong từ điển. Do đó, sẽ
không sửa trên lớp.)

Words Noun-forming derivational suffixes

1 happy -hood -ance

2 friend -acy -th

3 girl -ism -ure

4 compose -ness

5 shrink -ment

6 active -age

7 supreme -y

8 true -ation

9 pagan -ship

10 discover -ity

Exercise 9: Add the derivational suffix to each of these words, which already end in a derivational suffix.

1 reasonable reasonably 3 organise organisation 5 purist

2 formal formally 4 purify purification Purism

Exercise 10: Add an inflectional suffix to each of these words, which end in derivational suffixes.

1 kindness 3 quarterly 6 pressure 8 orientate

kindnesses pressures orientated
4 popularize
2 beautify popularized 7 extend extended 9 friendly
beautified friendlier
5 depth depths
Exercise 11: For each of the following words, identify the root, inflectional suffixes, derivational affixes,
bases, and stems.

WORD ROOT IS DA STEM BASE

manliness man Ness Man Manly Man
lighters light S er Light lighter light
cigarettes cigar es Ette Cigarette Cigarette
localized (adj) loc ed ize Local localize Local

hopefully hope Ful ly Hope Hopeful Hope

Exercise 12: Draw IC division diagrams for the following words.

1. embodiment
embody ment
2. insufferably

insufferable ly

in sufferable

suffer able

3. reimbursements
reimbursement s
reimburse ment

4. refertilize

Re fertilize

Fertile ize

5. lifelessness

lifeless ness

life less

6. infertility

Infertile ity

In fertile

7. remarried

Remarry ed

Re marry