Verbs are words that describe what people do, how they feel and how things are in general. We can make new verbs by adding prefixes and suffixes to words we already know.
Prefixes go at the beginning of words. We use prefixes to change the meaning of words, including verbs:
The most common verb prefixes and their meaning:
| Prefix | Meaning | Examples |
| re- | again or back | restructure, revisit, reappear, rebuild, refinance |
| dis- | reverses the meaning of the verb | disappear, disallow, disarm, disconnect, discontinue |
| over- | too much | overbook, oversleep, overwork |
| un- | reverses the meaning of the verb | unbend, uncouple, unfasten |
| mis- | badly or wrongly | mislead, misinform, misidentify |
| out- | more or better than others | outperform, outbid |
| co- | together | co-exist, co-operate, co-own |
| de- | do the opposite of | devalue, deselect |
| fore- | earlier, before | foreclose, foresee |
| inter- | between | interact, intermix, interface |
| pre- | before | pre-expose, prejudge, pretest |
| sub- | under/below | subcontract, subdivide |
| trans- | across, over | transform, transcribe, transplant |
| under- | not enough | underfund, undersell, undervalue, underdevelop |
| Note: You may see verbs with prefixes written with a hyphen (-). This happens when a verb is not commonly used with a prefix, such as: ‘re-submit’. This will also depend on the type of English (American or British). |
Suffixes go at the end of words. We use suffixes to change a word, like a noun or an adjective, to a different type of word, such as a verb.
‘Soft’ is an adjective, and it changes to a verb when we add ‘-en’.
Another example is ‘-ize’, which turns nouns to verbs.
The most common verb suffixes and their meaning:
| Suffix | Meaning | Examples |
| -en | To become | Soften, darken, widen, weaken, strengthen |
| -ise/-ize | To make or become | Sympathise, empathise, synthesize |
| -ate | To become | Activate, collaborate, create |
| -ify, -fy | To make or become | Justify, magnify, amplify, satisfy |
Thus, suffixes can determine the word’s part of speech. Certain suffixes make the base or root word a noun, a verb, an adjective, or even an adverb. For example, add ‘-ize’ to make it ‘realize’, which is a verb.
| Note: It is important to be able to identify the root word or base word. This will help you create new words, such as ‘justify – justice – justification – just – justly’. The root word is often the verb and then other words, like nouns, adjectives, and adverbs, are created with it, like ‘create – creative – creativity’. |
Check out this video from Daniel Byrnes showing how we can make new verbs adding suffixes:
Read more on this topic:
Noun Formation: Common Prefixes
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