Identifying Affixes

Now that you know the two parts of language that can create an affix, let’s see if you can find them while you read a passage from A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs. First, skim the passage to see if you can find affixes and then read the passage to see if you guessed the right meaning. The following is a reading strategy to try if you come across a word that you don’t know:

Image of girl looking through magnifying glass.

Source: Eye Spy, KayVee.INC, Flickr

  1. Read the rest of the words in the sentence.
  2. Look for any parts of the word you recognize such as the prefix or suffix.
  3. Divide the stem into chunks that you can pronounce to see if the word sounds familiar and ask yourself if the word makes sense with the rest of the sentence.

After reading through the passage once, go back and click on the affixes that you find. If you choose correctly, the words will highlight. Hint: there are 12 affixes.

icon for interactive exercise

Now that you know what affixes are present in the passage, check your understanding of the words. Keep the context of the paragraph in mind. Respond to each question below by checking the correct box. The first question contains a hint to help get you started. You may use a dictionary to find the meaning of the prefix or suffix if it is unfamiliar.

  1. In the second sentence, possibly means—
    (Hint: Reread the sentence that comes before the affix; the narrator does not know how old he is, so he has to guess. The -ly means “in the manner of.” What word below would mean that the narrator might be using “a manner of” guessing?)

    2. a. perhaps.
    Correct.
    b. certainly.
    Incorrect.



  2. In the second sentence, childhood means—
    (Hint: In this instance, the affix -hood means “time” or “period.”)

    3. a. a time when he was a child.
    Correct.
    b. to forget.
    Incorrect.



  3. In the third sentence, recollect means—

    4. a. to forget.
    Incorrect.
    b. to bring to mind again.
    Correct.



  4. In the fourth sentence, resurrection* means—

    5. a. to bring to life again.
    Correct.
    b. to build something.
    Incorrect.



  5. In the fifth sentence, convinced means—

    6. a. unsure.
    Incorrect.
    b. certain.
    Correct.



  6. In the fifth sentence, mortality refers to—

    7. a. life.
    Incorrect.
    b. death.
    Correct.



*Although this word contains re-, resurrect is actually the base word, and -ion is the affix.