1 WHAT IS MEDICINE?
Prefix Base word
anti bio
dis im in ir
mal septic chemistry
section balance
continent regular
function
micro biology out pre
patient mature
trans mission
ultra un
sound born
Meaning of prefix
against
related to human life
lack of not not not
bad / wrong very small exterior before
from one place to another
excessive not / opposite Language note
English is a lexemic language. In other words, the whole meaning of a word is usually contained within the word itself, rather than coming from a root meaning plus prefixes or suffixes (affixes). In most texts, written or spoken, there will only be a tiny number of words with affixes. However, these often add to a base meaning in a predictable way and it is important that students learn to detach affixes from a new word and see if they can find a recognizable base word.
Some words beginning with letters from prefixes are NOT in fact base + prefix, e.g., refuse. In other cases, the base word does not exist anymore in English and therefore will not help students, e.g., transfer, transit, although even in these cases the root meaning of the prefix may be a guide to the meaning of the whole word.
Exercise D Repeat the procedure from Exercise C.
Answers Model answers:
1 They all have a base word + extra letters at the end/suffixes.
2 See table (opposite). 3 Suffix. 4 See table. 5 See table.
Another word
anti-inflammatory biology
disability implant
insomnia
irreversible malformed microscope outbreak
pre-existing
transplant ultraviolet
unconscious
epidem function harm identi
improve lucid
mechan medic
palpitat physic
physiol practition
regul resist short
special ic
ing ful fy
Base word analy cardiolog
Suffix Effect/meaning of suffix
sis ist
noun
specialist in the study of
adjective noun
verb adjective make into
ment verb noun ity
ism noun al
ion ian
ogy er
ate adjective noun
noun adjective verb noun
related to person’s job title
study of
related to person’s job title
to make
ance verb noun ness ize
Language note
Note that with prefixes we rarely change the form of the base word. However, with suffixes, there are often changes to the base word, so students must: take off the suffix try to reconstruct the base word
Exercise E
Set for pairwork. Try to elicit more than just the words from this lesson. Students should describe the pictures as fully as they can at this stage.
Students may use the following words in their own discussion of each picture.
1 delivery room, delivering a baby 2 admissions, admit a patient 3 history of a patient, take the patient’s history
4 the operation is taking place in theatre, operating theatre
5 the leg is in a cast, a plaster cast 6 being on a drip 7 dressing for a wound 8 lens (of an eye) 9 the joint of a knee, knee joint
10 the valve helps the heart to function effectively, aortic valve
13
adjective noun to cause/to become
Another word dialysis
radiologist genetic
conditioning tasteful modify
treatment immunity organism chemical
investigation
paediatrician histology
carer procreate
acquaintance weakness hospitalize
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