Reading: Vocabulary in Context
B1 Lesson 3: Recognizing Word Families
One Word, Many Possibilities
Have you noticed that some English words look similar, like happy, unhappy, and happiness? These words all belong to the same Word Family1. They share the same base word2, but have different parts added to them.
Learning to recognize word families is a powerful skill. If you know one word, you can often understand the whole family.
Part 1: How Word Families Work
Word families are created by adding parts to the beginning or end of a base word.
- A Prefix3 is added to the beginning of a word to change its meaning. (e.g., the prefix `un-` means "not", so `unhappy` means "not happy").
- A Suffix4 is added to the end of a word. It often changes the word's type, or part of speech (e.g., adding `-ness` changes the adjective `happy` into the noun `happiness`).
Part 2: Let's Look at Some Word Families
Here are two common word families. Notice how the meaning and word type change.
Word Family: 'happy'
Word | Part of Speech | Meaning | Example Sentence |
---|---|---|---|
happy | adjective | feeling good | I am happy to live in Kampot. |
unhappy | adjective | sad; not happy | The rainy weather makes me feel unhappy. |
happiness | noun | the feeling of being happy | He found great happiness living by the sea. |
happily | adverb | in a happy way | The children played happily on the beach. |
Word Family: 'use'
Word | Part of Speech | Meaning | Example Sentence |
---|---|---|---|
use | verb | to do something with an object | Can I use your phone? |
useful | adjective | helpful, good for a purpose | A moto is very useful for getting around town. |
useless | adjective | not helpful; has no purpose | A broken pen is useless. |
user | noun | a person who uses something | Are you a regular Facebook user? |
Your Turn!
Practice Quiz
Use your knowledge of word families to choose the best word.
1. Knowing English is a very _______ skill for getting a good job in the tourism industry.
- A. useless
- B. user
- C. useful
Answer: C. useful. The sentence needs an adjective to describe the skill.
2. The suffix '-less' in the word 'useless' means:
- A. full of
- B. a person who
- C. without
Answer: C. without. 'Useless' means 'without a use'.
Vocabulary Glossary
-
Word Family (noun)
ភាសាខ្មែរ: គ្រួសារពាក្យ
A group of words that share the same base or root word (e.g., happy, happiness). ↩ back to text -
Base Word / Root Word (noun)
ភាសាខ្មែរ: ពាក្យដើម
The main part of a word that contains the core meaning. ↩ back to text -
Prefix (noun)
ភាសាខ្មែរ: បុព្វបទ
Letters added to the beginning of a base word to change its meaning (e.g., un-happy). ↩ back to text -
Suffix (noun)
ភាសាខ្មែរ: បច្ច័យ
Letters added to the end of a base word, often changing its part of speech (e.g., happi-ness). ↩ back to text
Homework Task
Explore a Word Family!
The base word is 'help' (a verb).
- The suffix `-ful` means "full of". What do you think the adjective `helpful` means? Write one sentence using `helpful`.
- The suffix `-less` means "without". What do you think the adjective `helpless` means? Write one sentence using `helpless`.