Which term describes the parts added to words to change meaning, including prefixes and suffixes?

Prepare for the MTTC Literacy (122) exam for Upper Elementary grades. Use flashcards and multiple choice questions to study, each with hints and explanations. Ace your exam with confidence!

Multiple Choice

Which term describes the parts added to words to change meaning, including prefixes and suffixes?

Affixes are the parts added to a word to change its meaning, including prefixes at the front and suffixes at the end. Prefixes like un- at the start of unhappy shift the meaning, while suffixes like -ed or -ly at the end change tense or form (walked, quickly). The base part that carries the core meaning is the root, and affixes attach to it to create new words or grammatical forms. Phonics deals with how sounds map to letters, and onset is the initial consonant sound of a syllable—both are about sound, not about changing a word’s meaning. So the term for the pieces that modify meaning by attaching to a word is affixes.

Affixes are the parts added to a word to change its meaning, including prefixes at the front and suffixes at the end. Prefixes like un- at the start of unhappy shift the meaning, while suffixes like -ed or -ly at the end change tense or form (walked, quickly). The base part that carries the core meaning is the root, and affixes attach to it to create new words or grammatical forms. Phonics deals with how sounds map to letters, and onset is the initial consonant sound of a syllable—both are about sound, not about changing a word’s meaning. So the term for the pieces that modify meaning by attaching to a word is affixes.

More practice questions