M is for Monkey

This Squirrel Monkey watches visitors at the Peterborough Zoo.

Suffixes

—mania creates a noun that denotes a mental illness or an enthusiasm.

bibliomania, megalomania

—maniac creates an adjective from the noun, meaning affected by mania.

nymphomaniac

—manship creates a noun denoting a skill.

craftsmanship, horsemanship, workmanship

—mycin denotes an antibiotic made from fungi or mould.

erythromycin, streptomycin

—ment creates a noun that expresses an action, whether the means, the product, or the result of an action.

astonishment, fragment, treatment

—ment creates a noun from an adjective to express a state of being.

astonishment, resentment

—meter creates a noun denoting something that measures.

barometer, odometer, thermometer

—metric creates an adjective relating to measurement.

barometric, geometric

—metry creates a noun to describe the procedures or science of measuring.

geometry, trigonometry

Consonant — vowel combinations

ma       mass                                         am       ram

me       met                                           em       embrace

mi        mine                                         im        him

mo       more                                        om       come

mu       must                                         um       yum

my       mynah                                      ym       symbol

Exercises

1. Define the words in the list of suffixes.
2. Make a list of prefixes starting with the letter M.
3. Think of four new words with a suffix or a prefix starting with M, and make a sentence with them.
4. Make your own list of words for each Consonant–Vowel Combination. Which combination is the most difficult? 

Special reading assignment

1. My mother matched most of the Meissen porcelain with melamine dishes.
2. Amusing monsters marched merrily in the musical.
3. Most monkeys are long-tailed primates that live in trees. Apes, by contrast, do not have tails.

 

This blog entry is an excerpt from an upcoming book, English Manual: Letter by Letter, to be published soon.

Note: If you like monkeys and history, you may like to read the e-book, Edwardian Annotated Pets and How to Keep Them. This book, written in 1907, Edwardian England includes information on 17 different monkey species popular as pets.

 

Name(required)

Email(required)

Website

Comment(required)

Submit

Δ

I is for Ichneumon Wasp

Ichneumon wasps come in all sizes and a variety of colours. The long “tail” is an ovipositor.

 Prefixes

il— means before

ileum

ill— means not

illegible, illusion 

im— means before

impulse, improve

in— also means not

inability, inconsistent

in— or it could mean into

income, influx, ingrain, invite

infra— below

infrared, infrastructure 

inter— among, between

interchange, interfere, interlude

irr— means not

irregular, irresistible

iso— same

isomer, isosceles

Exercises

1. Look at the list of examples of prefixes. Can you add a suffix onto any of them to create different words?
2. Can you think of suffixes that start with the letter I?

Special reading assignment

1. His interest is in iconography.
2. Going into the interior, his instrument indicated that a new installation is important.

Name(required)

Email(required)

Website

Comment(required)

Submit

Δ

F is for Fish

These hungry carp were spotted near a bridge over a little river at the Toronto Zoo.

Prefixes

fibro— meaning fibres.

fibroid, fibrous

for— meaning away, apart, prohibited, or neglected.

forget, forbid, forgo, forlorn 

fore— in front of, beforehand, in advance, anticipatory.

forearm, forecast, foreclose, foregone, foreground

Suffixes

—ful has various meanings and functions:

As a suffix to change a noun to an adjective, means “full of” or “having qualities”:

beauty, beautiful

master, masterful

As a suffix on an adjective to make another adjective, retains the sense of the original:

skilled, skillful

tasty, tasteful

As a suffix to change a verb to an adjective, means “able to”, “apt to”, or “accustomed to”:

forget, forgetful

mourn, mournful

use, useful

As a suffix on a noun to indicate an amount:

handful (plural, handsful or handfuls)

spoonful (plural, spoonsful or spoonfuls)

Exercises

1.      Define the words in the Prefixes section.

2.      Think of some more words using —ful as a suffix. How does the suffix change the meaning of the word?

Special reading assignment

1.  Four foreigners followed five forks from Finland.

2. Puffer fish for Friday.

 

A is for Another Ape

It’s time for a snack at the Toronto Zoo.

Suffixes

There are many suffixes that begin with the letter a. This table provides the meaning of each suffix and some examples.

─a  usually indicates a Latin noun in the singular.

agenda, diploma

─able creates an adjective, fit for doing or able to be.

adorable, capable, valuable

─ably creates an adverb, fit for doing or able to be.

adorably, inevitably, probably

—aceae used to form the names of plant families.

Aceraceae [maples]

─ade  creates a noun describing action done, something produced.

parade, blockade, lemonade

─ae  at the end of a scientific name, signals the taxonomic level, Family.

Falconidae [falcons], Picidae [woodpeckers]

─ae  at the end of a Latin noun: feminine, plural.

alumnae, algae

─al or  ─ally  creates an adjective or descriptor.

formal, formally

─an or ─ane  creates an adjective or descriptor.

reptilian, Anglican, urbane

─ance  creates a noun describing a quality, state, instance, or action.

arrogance, chance, trance

─ang  the past tense of verbs ending in ─ing.

ring, rang; sing, sang

—ant  creates an adjective that attributes an action or state.

expectant, flippant, pendant

—ant  creates a noun describing an agent of action.

assistant, deodorant

—arch  denotes a kind of ruler.

matriarch, monarch

─ate  resembling, having (or with) characteristics.

laminate, pontificate

—ative  of, relating to, or associated with.

talkative, narrative, sedative

Exercises

1. Are you able to think of how to use any of these suffixes as prefixes? Try to think of some words, e.g., anterior.