On a recent program, we explained that knowing just a few root words in English can help you understand the meaning of hundreds more words.
在最近的一个节目中，我们解释说，仅了解几个英语词根就可以帮助您理解数百个单词的含义。
To refresh your memory, a root word is the simplest form of a word. For example, two forms of the root for the word “see” are vis- and vid- such as in the words "television" and "video."
为了刷新您的记忆，词根是单词最简单的形式。例如，单词“see”的词根的两种形式是 vis- 和 vid-，例如单词“television”和“video”。
Today, we will tell you about prefixes and suffixes – groups of letters that appear at the beginnings and endings of words.
今天，我们将向您介绍前缀和后缀——出现在单词开头和结尾的字母组。
Learning the meanings of common prefixes and suffixes can help you understand unknown English words you come across. It can also help you become better at spelling words.
学习常见前缀和后缀的含义可以帮助您理解遇到的未知英语单词。它还可以帮助您更好地拼写单词。
Let's start with prefixes.
让我们从前缀开始。
A prefix is a letter or a group of letters that we add to the beginning of a word. Prefixes change the meanings of words. For example, the prefix un- ( or u-n) can mean "not," "remove," or "opposite." Adding un- to the word "happy" gives you the word "unhappy," which means not happy.
前缀是我们添加到单词开头的一个字母或一组字母。前缀改变单词的含义。例如，前缀 un-（或 u-n）可以表示“不”、“删除”或“相反”。在“happy”这个词上加上un-就得到了“unhappy”这个词，意思是不高兴。
U-n and r-e ( or re - ) are the two most common prefixes in the English language. Re- means "again" or "back," such as in the words "rethink" "redo" and "repay."
U-n 和 r-e （或 re - ）是英语中两个最常见的前缀。 Re- 的意思是“再次”或“返回”，例如“重新思考”、“重做”和“偿还”等词。
Here are a few things to remember when learning prefixes:
学习前缀时需要记住以下几点：
Different prefixes in English can have similar meanings, such as un-, in- and non- all of which mean "not" or "opposite of." Also, the prefixes mis- and ir- mean "wrong," "wrongly," or "incorrectly." Notice that double letters are possible. For example, when you add the prefix im- to words that begin with the letter "m," you get two "m"s as in "immeasurable." That's also true when you add un- to words that begin with the letter "n," as in "unnoticeable." The same is true for many other prefixes. When adding a prefix to a word, the spelling of the base word never changes. For example, the prefix un- did not change the spelling of the word "happy." And, the prefix re- would not change the spelling of the word "live" in "relive." Watch out for "lookalikes" – words that look like they contain prefixes but, in fact, do not. For example, the un- in the word "uncle" is not a prefix, nor is the re- in the words "reach" or "real."
英语中不同的前缀可以具有相似的含义，例如 un-、in- 和 non- 都表示“不”或“相反”。此外，前缀mis-和ir-的意思是“错误”、“错误地”或“不正确地”。请注意，双字母是可能的。例如，当您将前缀 im- 添加到以字母“m”开头的单词时，您会得到两个“m”，如“immeasurable”中的那样。当您将 un- 添加到以字母“n”开头的单词（例如“unnoticeable”）时，情况也是如此。许多其他前缀也是如此。向单词添加前缀时，基本单词的拼写永远不会改变。例如，前缀 un- 并没有改变单词“happy”的拼写。并且，前缀 re- 不会改变“relive”中“live”一词的拼写。留意“相似词”——看起来包含前缀但实际上不包含前缀的单词。例如，单词“uncle”中的 un- 不是前缀，单词“reach”或“real”中的 re- 也不是前缀。
Now, let's turn to suffixes.
现在，让我们转向后缀。
A suffix is a letter or group of letters added to the end of a word. Suffixes are commonly used to show the part of speech of a word. For example, adding "ion" to the verb "act" gives us "action," the noun form of the word. Suffixes also tell us the verb tense of words or whether the words are plural or singular.
后缀是添加到单词末尾的一个字母或一组字母。后缀通常用于显示单词的词性。例如，将“ion”添加到动词“act”后，就得到了“action”，即该词的名词形式。后缀还告诉我们单词的动词时态或者单词是复数还是单数。
Some common suffixes are -er, -s, -es, - ed, -ing and - ly .
一些常见的后缀是 -er、-s、-es、-ed、-ing 和 -ly 。
Here are a few things to remember when learning suffixes:
学习后缀时需要记住以下几点：
Some suffixes have more than one meaning. For example, the suffix -er may suggest a person who performs an action, like a teach er . But "er" is also commonly added to the ends of adjectives and adverbs. They compare two things and show that one is "more" than the other, such as in "faster" and "stronger." The spelling of a base word can change when a suffix is added. This is true of most base words ending in the letter "y." For instance, when we add the suffix -ness to the word "crazy" to make "craziness," we replace the "y" with an "i." This rule is also true of many base words ending in a silent "e" when the suffix begins with a vowel . For example, in the words "write," "make" and "manage," we drop the "e" in the words when we add -ing to make: "writing," "making" and "managing." We also often drop the silent "e" before the suffix -able such as in "usable." Be careful, though, because with some words, we keep the "e," such as in "changeable" and "loveable."
有些后缀有不止一种含义。例如，后缀 -er 可能表示执行某个动作的人，例如老师 er 。但“er”也通常添加到形容词和副词的末尾。他们比较两种事物并表明其中一种比另一种“更多”，例如“更快”和“更强”。添加后缀后，基本单词的拼写可能会发生变化。大多数以字母“y”结尾的基本单词都是如此。例如，当我们将后缀 -ness 添加到单词“crazy”以构成“craziness”时，我们将“y”替换为“i”。当后缀以元音开头时，许多以不发音的“e”结尾的基本单词也适用此规则。例如，在单词“write”、“make”和“manage”中，当我们添加-ing到make时，我们会删除单词中的“e”：“writing”、“making”和“managing”。我们还经常在后缀 -able 之前删除不发音的“e”，例如“usable”。但要小心，因为对于某些单词，我们会保留“e”，例如“changeable”和“loveable”。
There are additional suffix rules, but they deal with spelling and can be learned with time and practice .
还有其他后缀规则，但它们涉及拼写，可以通过时间和练习来学习。
A thing to keep in mind about both prefixes and suffixes is that some are only used with some words. For example, we add the suffix -ful to some nouns to mean "full of," such as in the words "beautiful" or "helpful." But, we cannot add -ful to just any noun. You could not, for example, say "loveful" to mean full of love.
关于前缀和后缀要记住的一点是，有些前缀和后缀仅与某些单词一起使用。例如，我们在某些名词上添加后缀 -ful 来表示“充满”，例如“美丽”或“有帮助”等词。但是，我们不能为任何名词添加 -ful。例如，你不能说“loveful”来表示充满爱。
So, what are some ways that you can practice common prefixes and suffixes?
那么，有哪些方法可以练习常见的前缀和后缀呢？
One way is to use online flashcards from websites like Quizlet . You can choose sets of cards that are already made or create and use your own sets. Or, you can make your own flashcards with pieces of paper.
一种方法是使用 Quizlet 等网站上的在线抽认卡。您可以选择已经制作的卡片组，也可以创建并使用您自己的卡片组。或者，您可以用纸制作自己的抽认卡。
Once you've spent time practicing, take a news story or page in a book and look for words that have the prefixes and suffixes you learned. Then, use what you know about the meaning of the root words to guess the meanings of those words.
一旦你花时间练习，就可以拿一个新闻故事或书中的一页来查找带有你学过的前缀和后缀的单词。然后，利用您对词根含义的了解来猜测这些词的含义。
Learning prefixes and suffixes will not only build your vocabulary but can make unfamiliar English words a lot less frightening.
学习前缀和后缀不仅可以增加你的词汇量，还可以让不熟悉的英语单词不再那么可怕。