Word Roots, Prefixes, and Suffixes

Understanding word roots, prefixes, and suffixes is like having a secret decoder ring for the CEM 11+ exam. When you meet an unfamiliar word, you can often work out its meaning by breaking it into parts. This lesson will teach you the most important word parts and how to use them under exam pressure.

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What Are Word Parts?

Every word is made up of building blocks:

Part	Where it goes	What it does	Example
Prefix	Beginning of a word	Changes or modifies the meaning	un- + kind = unkind
Root	Middle of a word	Carries the core meaning	vis = to see
Suffix	End of a word	Changes the word class or tense	hope + -ful = hopeful

When you break a word into these parts, you can often work out what it means — even if you have never seen the word before.

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Essential Latin and Greek Roots

Many English words come from Latin and Greek roots. Here are the ones that appear most often in CEM exams: