Understanding suffixes is key to mastering vocabulary. This flashcard tool will help you learn the most common suffixes and their meanings.
Studying suffixes is a crucial aspect of vocabulary building for the SAT. Suffixes are added to the end of a base word to change its meaning or its grammatical function.
For example, the suffix "-able" means "capable of being," which when added to a base word like "read," forms "readable," meaning "capable of being read."
By understanding common suffixes, you can quickly determine the meaning of unfamiliar words and understand how they function within a sentence. This trick is extremely useful on exams like the SAT, where students are put under time pressure to decipher the meaning of complex words.
Flashcards are an effective tool for learning and memorizing suffixes. Through the process of active recall, which flashcards promote, you strengthen your ability to remember and apply suffixes to various words.
By regularly reviewing suffixes and their meanings, you can build a strong vocabulary foundation that will most likely improve your Reading and Writing score on the SAT, and flashcards are one of the best methods to study suffixes.
To study most efficiently, try creating sentences with words that contain the suffixes you're studying, and test yourself by identifying the meaning and function of these suffixes in different contexts. Over time, this practice will improve your ability to recognize and use a wide range of words, making you a more proficient reader and writer.
Understanding suffixes is an essential step in building a strong vocabulary foundation, but it's only part of the equation. To fully master vocabulary, it’s also important to understand how suffixes interact with prefixes and root words to form complete words.
Prefixes, which appear at the beginning of a word, can modify the meaning of a root, often giving a word its direction, negation, or intensity. For instance, adding the prefix "un-" to the root "audible" creates "inaudible," meaning not able to be heard.
Root Words are another key part of word etymology and meaning. Many Greek and Latin-based words have common roots, and learning these roots can make learning new words significantly easier.
For more resources on building a strong vocabulary, check out our SAT Vocabulary List. Here you can find a list of over 400 SAT words that have shown up on previous exams and their meanings.