Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
Objectives
• Use knowledge of root words as well as context
clues and glossaries to understand specialized
vocabulary in the content areas during reading.
• Use these words accurately in speaking and
writing.
• Describe the origins and meanings of common,
learned and foreign words used frequently in
English language writing and literature.
• Identify new words that have been added to the
English language over time using prefixes.
How many words are in the English
Language?
• The Second Edition of the Oxford English
Dictionary contains full entries for 171,476 words in
current use, and 47,156 obsolete words.
• To this may be added around 9,500 derivative
words included as subentries.
• Over half of these words are nouns, about a quarter
adjectives, and about a seventh verbs; the rest is
made up of interjections, conjunctions, prepositions,
suffixes, etc.
• These figures take no account of entries with senses
for different parts of speech (such as noun and
adjective).
Shrinking Vocabulary
The average sixth grade student knows approximately
25,000 words.
The average high school graduate knows
approximately 50,000 words.
• Number Prefixes
▫ These prefixes indicate number value in a word:
▫ Bi-
▫ Tri-
• Not Prefixes :These prefixes indicate the word
not:
▫ il—illegal—not legal
▫ Im—impossible—not possible
▫ In—inactive—not active
▫ Ir—irregular—not regular
▫ Non—nonsense—no sense
▫ Un—unable—not able
You Try
• Write a word that uses each prefix, then write a
definition for the word:
▫ il—
▫ Im—
▫ In—
▫ Ir—
▫ Non—
▫ Un—
• Direction Prefixes:
▫ De—lower—descend-move to a lower place
▫ Mid—middle—midway—middle of the way
▫ In—in/into—inhale—breath in Im—in/into—
import—bring into
▫ Re—back—re curve—a backwards bend
▫ Sub—under—submarine—underwater
▫ Super—above—superimpose—place above
You Try
• Write a word that uses each prefix, then write a
definition for the word:
▫ De—
▫ Mid—
▫ In—
▫ Im—
▫ Re—
▫ Sub—
▫ Super—
• Time Prefixes:
▫ Fore—ahead of time—forewarn—warn ahead of
time
▫ Pre—before—prefix—before the word
▫ Re—again—redo—do again
You Try
• Write a word that uses each prefix, then write a
definition for the word:
▫ Fore—
▫ Pre—
▫ Re—
• Behavior Prefixes:
▫ Mis—wrongly—misunderstand—wrongly
understand
▫ Mis—badly—misbehave—badly behave
You Try
• Write a word that uses each prefix, then write a
definition for the word:
▫ Mis—
▫ Mis—
• Combining Prefixes:
▫ Com—together—compact—packed together
▫ Con—with—contact—communicate with
You Try
• Write a word that uses each prefix, then write a
definition for the word:
▫ Com—
▫ Con—
Suffixes
• -ment action or process movement, bewilderment,
government
• -ness state of, condition of kindness, ruthlessness
• -able, -ible can be done comfortable, capable,
visible
• -ful full of, having some or much useful, hopeful
• -or -er -ar a person connected with (changes
verb to noun) actor, runner, beggar –
• ous -eous -ious possessing the quality of
courteous, delicious, religious