Which statement explains how knowledge of roots, prefixes, and suffixes helps readers determine new word meaning?

• A. English words often combine Latin and Greek elements; knowing these parts helps infer meaning
• B. Suffixes always indicate past tense
• C. Prefixes do not influence meaning
• D. Circumfixes only appear in technical terms

Answer: (A)

Grasping word parts helps you unlock meaning when you encounter unfamiliar terms. The root carries the main idea of a word, while prefixes add or alter meaning—often signaling things like negation, place, or time—and suffixes tweak meaning further, sometimes showing what part of speech a word is or adding nuances like “able,” “ful,” or “less.” English draws many words from Latin and Greek, so learning common roots, prefixes, and suffixes lets you spot their meanings across different words. For example, biology breaks down into bio- meaning life and -logy meaning the study of, so you can infer that biology is the study of life. Similarly, a word like unpredictable uses un- to mean not, and -able to mean capable of being, guiding you to the overall sense even if you’ve never seen it before. This approach is more accurate than thinking suffixes always mark past tense, or that prefixes don’t affect meaning, or that circumfixes only show up in technical terms, because real English relies on a mix of roots and affixes to build and signal meaning.