There are two main types of lexical affixes:
1. Prefixes: These are added to the beginning of a word.
- Example: "un-" in "unhappy", "pre-" in "premature".
- They often change the meaning of the word by adding a negative, intensifying it, or indicating location or time.
2. Suffixes: These are added to the end of a word.
- Example: "-ness" in "happiness", "-ly" in "slowly".
- They often change the grammatical function of the word, converting it from a noun to an adjective, or from an adjective to an adverb, etc.
Here's the key difference between lexical affixes and grammatical affixes:
* Lexical affixes change the meaning of the word. For example, adding the prefix "un-" to the word "happy" changes its meaning to the opposite, "unhappy".
* Grammatical affixes change the grammatical function of the word. For example, adding the suffix "-ing" to the verb "walk" creates the present participle "walking".
Here are some examples of lexical affixes and their effects on the base words:
| Affix | Base Word | New Word | Meaning Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| "un-" | happy | unhappy | Negative |
| "re-" | build | rebuild | Repetition or renewal |
| "-er" | teach | teacher | Noun formation (agent/doer) |
| "-ness" | happy | happiness | Noun formation (quality/state) |
| "-ly" | slow | slowly | Adverb formation |
In short, lexical affixes are powerful tools that allow us to create new words and express complex meanings by modifying existing words.