Reading: Vocabulary in Context: B1 Lesson 3: Recognizing Word Families
CEFR Level: B1 (Intermediate)
Target Reading Sub-skill: Vocabulary in Context
Specific Focus: Recognizing Word Families (e.g., beauty, beautiful, beautifully)
What You Will Learn
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:
- Understand what a "word family" is (words with the same root).
- Recognize common prefixes and suffixes that change a word's form and part of speech.
- Identify different words belonging to the same family.
- Use your knowledge of word families to understand new words and their roles in sentences.
Hello Cambodian Learners!
Many English words are related to each other, like members of a family! They often share a main part (the "root" word) and have different endings (suffixes) or beginnings (prefixes) that change their meaning or how they are used in a sentence. For example, from the word "beauty," we can get "beautiful" and "beautifully." Recognizing these word families can quickly expand your vocabulary and help you understand texts better, even if you see a word form you haven't learned before.
What are Word Families?
A word family is a group of words that share a common base or root word, and are related in meaning. Different prefixes (added to the beginning) or suffixes (added to the end) can change the word's part of speech (e.g., noun, verb, adjective, adverb) or slightly alter its meaning.
Example: Root word: act (to do something)
- actor (noun - a person who acts) Example: The actor was famous in Cambodia.
- action (noun - the process of doing something) Example: We need to take action to protect the environment.
- active (adjective - busy or doing things) Example: Children are usually very active.
- actively (adverb - in an active way) Example: She actively participates in class.
Practice Time!
Activity 1: Find the Family Member!
Read the root word. Then, click the word below that belongs to the same word family.
Activity 2: Complete the Sentence with the Correct Form
Read the sentence with a blank. Choose the correct form of the word from the word family to complete the sentence. Think about what kind of word is needed (noun, verb, adjective, adverb).
Quick Quiz!
Great Job!
You're learning to recognize word families! This skill is like having a key to unlock many new words and understand English texts more deeply.