What are root words?
A root word is a word that has nothing added at the beginning or the end. It stands on its own as a word, it has a meaning. New words can be made from root words by adding beginnings (prefixes) and endings (suffixes).
A root word is a real word and you make new words from it by adding prefixes and suffixes.
For example, clear is a root word. By adding prefixes and suffixes you can make these new words:
unclear, clearly, cleared.
All of these words have grown from their root word. They share parts of the same spelling and they are linked in terms of meaning. They are known as a word family.
Root words are helpful because:
1. You can use a root word to help you with other spellings.
2. If you recognise the root of a word when you are reading it can help you to work out what the word is and what it means.
3. There are spelling rules for adding suffixes and prefixes to root words. To find out more visit the BBC Skillswise Suffixes and Prefixes pages by clicking here.
Your spelling test will be on the root words spellings. Enjoy.
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