Here's why:
* Affixes are morphemes (meaningful units of language) that are added to the beginning (prefix) or end (suffix) of a word to change its meaning or grammatical function. Examples: *un-* (prefix) in *unhappy*, *-ing* (suffix) in *walking*.
* Lexical relations describe the relationships between words based on their meaning and sound.
Here's a breakdown of the three lexical relations you mentioned:
* Antonyms: Words with opposite meanings (e.g., hot/cold, happy/sad).
* Synonyms: Words with similar meanings (e.g., happy/joyful, big/large).
* Homophones: Words that sound the same but have different spellings and meanings (e.g., to/too/two, there/their/they're).
So, while affixes focus on how words are formed, lexical relations focus on how words relate to each other in terms of meaning and sound.