GrammarPhile Blog

As you may already know, a prefix is that string of coherent letters that we add (or “affix”) to the beginning of a word, and suffixes are letters that we add to the end of a word. However, they have a lot of usage rules and grammatical quirks to master. And although they’re small, they yield a lot of grammatical power, as they can significantly alter the entire meaning of a word or sentence (which is in fact their sole purpose most of the time). Spelling them can be challenging sometimes, too.

So where do you begin when considering suffixes and prefixes? Here are the basics, as you consider when and how to use and spell them.

Identifying and understanding prefixes and suffixes of a word on their own may not be that difficult, but knowing where to put hyphens when you’re trying to write a uniquely arranged word or compound word isn’t always easy. Luckily, there are some general rules of thumb and tips to remember that everyone can follow to ensure that others at least understand what you’re trying to communicate. But first, let’s quickly recap what prefixes and suffixes are, and how they function.

Prefixes

Prefixes are added to the beginning of an existing word to create a new word with a different meaning. Prefixes don’t always have hyphens when they’re used, but they do change the grammatical function of a word in a sentence.