1. Changing the meaning of a word:
* Prefixes:
* un-: negate the original meaning (happy -> unhappy)
* re-: repeat the original action (read -> reread)
* pre-: before the original action (war -> prewar)
* Suffixes:
* -er: person who does the action (teach -> teacher)
* -ness: quality of the original word (happy -> happiness)
* -ful: full of the original word (hope -> hopeful)
2. Changing the grammatical function of a word:
* Suffixes:
* -ing: present participle (walk -> walking)
* -ed: past participle (walk -> walked)
* -ly: adverb (slow -> slowly)
3. Creating new words:
* Compounding: Combining two or more words (sunrise, wallpaper)
* Conversion: Changing the grammatical function of a word without adding affixes (run [verb] -> run [noun])
4. Specifying details:
* Prefixes:
* semi-: half (circle -> semicircle)
* super-: above/beyond (man -> superman)
* micro-: extremely small (scope -> microscope)
* Suffixes:
* -let: small version (book -> booklet)
* -ism: system/doctrine/belief (capital -> capitalism)
* -ship: state/condition (friend -> friendship)
5. Adding nuances of meaning:
* Prefixes:
* mis-: wrong/bad (understand -> misunderstand)
* over-: excessively (do -> overdo)
* under-: less than/below (estimate -> underestimate)
* Suffixes:
* -ish: somewhat/approximation (red -> reddish)
* -like: resembling/similar to (child -> childlike)
* -ward: direction (home -> homeward)
6. Enhancing language:
* Affixes make language more concise and efficient.
* They allow for greater precision in expressing complex ideas.
* They make it possible to create new words to reflect new concepts.
Overall, affixes play a vital role in language by providing a flexible and dynamic way to modify existing words and create new ones. They are essential for understanding and using language effectively.