Structural Analysis

• English
• Vocational Education

Structural Analysis

What is the definition of the following word:
SESQUICENTENNIAL

1. sequence
2. sixty
3. sixty-five
4. one hundred and fifty

SESQUICENTENNIAL

Word part	Affix or Root	Definition
sesqui (semis-que)	prefix	one and a half
cent (centum)	root	one hundred
-ial	suffix	related to

Structural Analysis of a word

Structural Analysis is a strategy to decode (break up) multisyllabic words into basic meaningful parts.

Structural analysis is a powerful vocabulary tool since knowledge of a few word parts can give you clues to the meanings of a large number of words

We can decode words into:

prefixes

suffixes

root words

Affixes

An affix is a bound morpheme that attaches to a root word to form either a new word or a new form of the same word. 

Note:

Morphemes (prefixes, suffixes and root words), are the smallest meaningful units of meaning. 

Morphemes can be either single words (free) or parts of words (bound).

Free morphemes: can stand alone as its own word: dog, gentle, gem

Bound morphemes: can only occur as part of a word: dogs, climbed, unhappy, teacher

The two types of affixes in English are the prefix & the suffix.

prefix	is attached to the front of a root word to change its meaning
suffix	is attached at the end of a root word usually to modify the part of speech

Root words

Roots/Base words are morphemes that form the base of a word, and usually carry its meaning.

Generally, base words are free morphemes, that can stand by themselves (e.g. cycle as in bicycle/cyclist, and form as in transform/formation).

Whereas root words are bound morphemes that cannot stand by themselves (e.g. -ject as in subject/reject, and -volve as in evolve/revolve).

Derivational or Inflectional

Affixes can be derivational or inflectional. 

• Derivational affixes help us to create new words out of root words. 

Example: act (root), actor (-or), react (re-), enact (en-)

• Inflectional affixes change what a word does in terms of grammar, but does not create a new word.

Example: skip (root), skipping (present progressive), skipped (past tense).

Example

word	prefix	root	suffix
bi cycl ist	bi- = two	cycle =wheel	-ist= the person who

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