Prefixes, suffixes and roots for 11 plus English

Long words are built from parts. Prefixes go at the front: un and dis mean not, mis means wrongly, re means again, pre means before, trans means across. Suffixes go at the end: ful is full of, less is without, ness makes a noun, able is can be. Roots sit in the middle: port is carry, graph is write, aud is hear, vis is see. Split it, then check it.

Split it: trans, port, able. Across, carry, can be. Together: can be carried from place to place. Check it in the sentence. The shed comes in pieces, so it can be moved.

The trap is trusting a part over the sentence. Grandad's advice was invaluable; it saved us hours. In can mean not, but not valuable makes no sense here. It means too valuable to price. The sentence wins.

• 2.1Synonyms and antonymsSame or opposite? Underline it first
• 2.2One word, many meaningsSay what it means here, then match it
• 2.4Shades of meaning and formal wordsRight meaning, right strength, right setting
• 2.5IdiomsLearn the whole phrase, then use the clues

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