Saturday, November 17, 2012

What is the function of the prefix in "impossible?"

A prefix is a word part in front of a base or root word. 
The purpose of the prefix, “im--”, is to negate the meaning of the root or base word,
“possible.”  The true definition of im—is “not”.  Other prefixes that mean “not” are
un--, in--, il--, ir--, and dis--.  These prefixes give adjectives, nouns, and verbs a
negative meaning. 


Memorizing the meaning of prefixes and
suffixes is really handy when you are confronted by a word you don’t know.  Breaking the
word into its parts will help you discover the meaning when you know what the prefix or
suffix means.  The memorization of the meanings of prefixes and suffixes will help you
build your vocabulary and increase your reading comprehension. 

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