ambiguous distort
coherent inadequate
connotation subtle
consequence unanimous
denotation uproarious
Extra Word(s) You Learned in This Lesson _______________________________________
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A N S W E R S
P ra c t i c e 2 : C re a t i n g M e a n i n g t h ro u g h C o n n o t a t i o n 1. After Hurricane Katrina, the city ran out of first aid supplies.
In the tragic wake of Hurricane Katrina, the city’s first aid supplies were found to be inadequate and drastically lacking.
Denotation:Factual report of lack of supplies.
New Connotation:Sentence blames the city for running out of supplies by using emotional words like tragic, inadequate, and drastically.
2. The reviews of the movie The Wizard of Ozvaried, but the audiences liked the movie.
The movie reviewers were ambiguous in their comments about The Wiz- ard of Oz, but the audiences loved the movie unanimously.
Denotation:Interesting but unexplained report that reviews of movie varied.
New Connotation:Sentence explains how popular movie was with audi- ences even though reviewers weren’t clear about what they thought.
3. Speaking after a coughing fit is hard.
Speaking coherently after a coughing fit is often more than a cold sufferer can manage.
Denotation:Sentence states a fact, but that’s all. No new information is provided.
New Connotation:Sentence communicates what it is like to have a bad cold and cough.
4. Cutting school can affect your future.
The consequences of cutting school repeatedly can have negative reper- cussions throughout your life.
Denotation:Sentence makes an unclear statement what the effect of cut- ting school will be.
New Connotation:Sentence is somewhat clearer by saying effect is nega- tive for a long time.
5. The newspaper reporter was accused of favoring one candidate over the other.
The newspaper reporter was said to be guilty of distorting the facts in order to damage one candidate’s reputation.
Denotation:Sentence is vague and doesn’t explain how the reporter favored the candidate.
New Connotation:Sentence more clearly says what the reporter did that was wrong and why he did it.
YOU PROBABLY HAVEN’Tthought much about how words are made up of parts, but did you know that you can often figure out the meaning of an unfa- miliar word by looking at its component parts? Remember that word compo- nent? You learned it in Lesson 3. Well, the parts are usually fairly easy to identify. In general, words are made up of three parts:
• Root.The main part of a word, to which prefixes and suffixes are added.
• Prefix. The syllable(s) attached to the beginning of a word to alter or add to its meaning.
• Suffix.The syllable(s) attached to the end of a word to alter or add to its meaning.
In this lesson, we’ll concentrate on prefixes and suffixes, and leave word roots for a later lesson. You’ve been using prefixes and suffixes all your life,
L E S S O N 5
understanding word parts
Let language be the divining rod that finds the sources of thought.
—KARLKRAUS, (1874–1936) AUSTRIAN WRITER AND JOURNALIST
This lesson helps build word power by providing practice in taking words apart.
Knowing common prefixes and suffixes and how they work, you’ll gain vocabu- lary fluency with unfamiliar words. And you’ll learn to expand and modify words you already know!
probably without even noticing them, and you no doubt already know most of them.
P R E F I X E S
The word prefix itself uses a prefix (pre-), which means before. The prefix changes the meaning of the word root, which is fix. Here’s how:
Fix:to place securely
Prefix:a syllable placed at the beginning of a word.
Knowing prefixes can help you figure out the meaning of an unfamiliar word (do you see the prefix on the word unfamiliar?) in the following ways:
• Prefixes help you know whether the word is positive or negative.
• Prefixes help you determine the meaning of a word through con- text.
• Prefixes help you figure out the meaning of a word by the mean- ing of the prefix.
S o m e C o m m o n P re f i xe s i n Wo rd s Yo u P ro b a b l y A l re a d y K n ow Here are some prefixes you probably use all the time, with examples of how they work.
anti, ant:opposite, against. Think of antibioticsand antiwar.
circ, circum:around, on all sides. Think of circumference.
co, com, con:with, together. Think of cooperateand connect.
dis:away from, reversal, not. Think of dismissand disrespect.
mis:bad, wrong, opposite. Think of misbehaveor misspell.
multi:many, multiple. Think of multimediaand multiplication.
pre:before. Think of precaution, prevent, and predict.
re:back, again. Think of replace, recall, and rewind.
super:above, over. Think of superintendentand superior.
S U F F I X E S
Suffixes may not be as easy to use to figure out the meaning of words. Suffixes most often just change a word’s part of speech. For example, the adjective equalbecomes a noun, equality, when you add the suffix -ity. The verb depend becomes the adjective dependable when you add the suffix -able. The noun beautybecomes the verb beautifywhen you add the suffix -ify. Obviously, there are way too many suffixes, and they’re too complicated for you to memorize them all. But don’t be discouraged. Instead, just be aware of how they work, and look for them when you try to figure out a word’s meaning.
S o m e C o m m o n S u f f i xe s i n Wo rd s Yo u P ro b a b l y A l re a d y K n ow -able, -ible:capable or worthy of. Think of remarkableand incredible.
-an, -ian:one who is, characteristic of. Think of politician.
-ish:having the character of. Think of childishand foolish.
-ive:performing an action. Think of cooperativeand defensive.
-ate:to make or become. Think of irritateor frustrate.
-ize:to cause to become. Think of colonizeand humanize.
TIP:Don’t be intimidated (scared or made to feel nervous) by prefixes and suffixes. Recognizing them can often help you figure out the meaning of an unfamiliar word and they build your word power when you use them to expand or modify words you already know.
P R AC T I C E : F I G U R I N G O U T N E W WO R D S F R O M P R E F I X A N D S U F F I X C L U E S
Circle the correct meaning for the italicized word in each sentence.
1. Antecedentmeans a.fighting against.
b.looking after c.coming before.
d.recent.
2. Multifacetedmeans a.two-faced.
b.many-sided.
c.cut into parts.
d.chaotic.
3. Consensusmeans
a.an individual’s opinion.
b.a counting of individuals.
c.separate and dissimilar.
d.general agreement by a group.
4. Dubiousmeans a.one who doubts.
b.to question.
c.doubtful, questionable.
d.to be uncertain.
5. Agrarianmeans
a.incapable of making a decision.
b.to cultivate.
c.to be out of date.
d.relating to the land or land ownership.
6. Metamorphosismeans a.to transform.
b.one who has changed.
c.a transformation.
d.capable of change.
7. To reconcilemeans to
a.reestablish a relationship.
b.move away from.
c.out do d.prioritize.
8. Subordinatemeans
a.under someone else’s authority.
b.organized according to rank.
c.something ordinary or average.
d.unrealistic, fantasy-like.
9. Docilemeans
a.one who rears animals.
b.one who manages domestic affairs.
c.willing to obey, easily managed.
d.to obey authority.
10. To subjugatemeans
a.to be the subject of a sentence.
b.to conquer, bring under control.
c.to be surrounded on all sides.
d.to drive away from the source.