Roots and Rules

1. Roots and Rules • am, amat: love amateur, amatory, amiable • ann, enn: year anniversary, superannuated, annuity • aqu: water aqueduct, aquiculture, subaqueous • ie Rule—“I” before “e”, except after c, or when it sounds like “a,” as in “neighbor” or “weigh” Examples: fiend, receive, conceit, reign Exceptions: leisure, weird, foreign, either, neither, seize, counterfeit, caffeine

2. Roots and Rules • aud, audit: hear audible, audiophile, audit • capit: head decapitate, capitol, per capita • cent: hundred cent, centenarian, centiliter • “y” to “i” Rule—If the “y” at the end of a word is preceded by a consonant, change the “y” to “I” before adding an ending (unless the ending begins with an “I”). Examples: replied, merriment, delayed Exceptions: paid, said, laid, daily

3. Quiz 1 Study for Quiz 1, make sure you know all words in the definitions.

4. Roots and Rules • cred, credit: believe; trust credible, accredit, credulity • dic, dict: say benediction, contradict, diction • duc, duct: lead conducive, ductility, induce • Adding Prefixes—the spelling of a word does not change when a prefix is added. Examples: unnecessary, misspell, dissatisfied

5. Roots and Rules • fid: faith; trust confide, fidelity, perfidy • frater: brother fraternity, fraternize, fratricide • greg: flock congregate, gregarious, egregious • Adding Suffixes to Words Ending in Silent “e”— • If the suffix begins with a vowel, drop the silent “e,” Come + ing=coming use+ able=usable • When the suffix begins with a consonant, keep the “e,” Care+ful=careful lone+ly=lonely • Words ending in “ce” or “ge” keep the “e” when followed by an “a” or “o” Courageous, peaceable, noticeable, advantageous Exceptions: argument, ninth, truly, judgment

6. Roots and Rules • litera: letter alliteration, literal, literate • loc: place allocate, locale, dislocate • loqu, locut: talk circumlocution, colloquial, eloquent • Doubling the Final consonant: If a suffix begins with a vowel, double the consonant at the end of the word IF a) the word ends in 1 vowel + 1 consonant AND b) the word is accented on the last syllable. Examples: runner, tapped, stopped, beginner, occurrence, opened, referred

7. Roots and Rules • mal: bad maladjusted, maladroit, malediction • man: hand manacle, mandate, manufacture • mater, matr, metr: mother maternal, matriarch, metronymic • Affect/Effect Affect is a verb, meaning “to influence” Think AV (affect verb) Effect is usually a noun meaning “the result”; occasionally it is a verb meaning “to bring about” or “to put into effect” Examples: The decision affects me. The effect of the decision is unknown. The changes will be effected next year.

8. Quiz 2 Study for Quiz 2, make sure you know all words in the definitions (some have two).

9. Roots and Rules • mit, miss: send emissary, intermittent, missive • mor, mort: death mortality, mortify, post-mortem • mov, mot, mob: move demote, remote, motivation • Comma with Compound Sentence (also called coordinated sentence) Use a comma before a conjunction like “and” or “but” ONLY IF there is a complete sentence on BOTH SIDES of the conjunction. Examples: They went to the party, but they left early. They went to the party but left early.

10. Roots and Rules • nov: new innovation, novel, novice • omni: all omniscient, omnivorous, omnipresent • ped: foot pedestrian, impediment, pedometer • Lay/Lie Lay—“put” lie—“rest Must have a direct object cannot have a direct object Present tense: lay lie Past tense: laid lay Participle: laid lain Laying lying Examples: Lay the book down. The cat lies on the rug. I laid the book down. The cat lay on the rug yesterday. I have laid the book down. The cat has lain on the rug all day. I am laying the book down. The cat is lying in the sun.

11. Roots and Rules • pos, posit: place composition, repository, juxtapose • port, portat: carry deport, portfolio, rapport • scrip, script: write circumscribe, nondescript, inscribe • Semicolon (part one) • A semicolon may be used to balance two independent clauses (sentences) of equal importance, especially if the second begins with a word like “however” or “therefore.” • Examples: She was intelligent; he was handsome. • They worked for three days on the project; therefore, the other work remained undone.

12. Roots and Rules • sign: sign assign, insignia, designate • spec, spect: look aspect, introspection, perspective • spir, spirat: breathe conspire, expire, inspire • Semicolon (part two) • A semicolon may be used to separate items in a list that already has commas. • Examples: We visited Chicago, Illinois; Miami, Florida; and Lima, Ohio. • They elected Selma, president; Fred, vice president; Zelda, treasurer; and Zeb, secretary.

13. Quiz 3 Study for Quiz 3, make sure you know all words in the definitions (some have two).

14. Roots and Rules • tempor: time extemporaneous, temporal, contemporary • terra: earth disinter, terrestrial, terrace • urb: city urban, suburban, interurban • Amount of/number of • Use “number” with things that are countable, if only in theory. Use “amount” with things that could never be counted. • Examples: Amount of knowledge, rain, money Number of people, calories, dollars

15. Roots and Rules • vid, vis: see vista, revise, providence • voc, vocat: call advocate, evoke, vociferous • ante: before antebellum, antedated, anterior • Go, went, gone • Be sure to use “gone” after the helpers “has” or “have.” • Examples: They have gone to the movies. He has gone to his grandmother’s house.

16. Roots and Rules • bi: two bicameral, bifocals, bipartisan • circum: around circumference, circumvent, circumlocution • contra, contro, counter: against contraband, contradiction, controvert • So. . .that • If the word “that” fits in a sentence logically somewhere after “so,” you must write in the “that.” • Examples: I was so tired after working all day that I couldn’t stand up. The reason she is so unhappy about the change in date is that she can no longer participate. There was a thunderstorm, so the meet was canceled.

17. Roots and Rules • inter: between interlinear, interregnum, intercultural • intra, intro: within intramuscular, intramurals, intrastate • multi: many multiplied, multivalent, multiparous • Commas and Periods with Quotation Marks • Commas and periods ALWAYS go BEFORE quotation marks. • Examples: We read “The Raven.” “Go home,” he said. Elmo said that the idea was “true genius.”

18. Quiz 4 Study for Quiz 4, make sure you know all words in the definitions (some have two).

19. Roots and Rules • post: after posthumously, posterity, post-mortem • pre: before precedence, prejudice, preamble • retro: back retrogressing, retro rocket, retroactive • Its/It’s • Use “it’s” to mean “it is.” Use “its” as a possessive word before a noun. • Examples: It’s my car. The dog lost its bone.

20. Roots and Rules • semi: half semilunar, semicentennials, semidiameter • sub: under subconscious, subcutaneous, subterranean • super: above; beyond supersensory, superstructure, supersonic • Raise/rise • Raise (to lift or grow) rise (to move up) • Present: raise rise • Past: raised rose • Participle: raised risen Raising rising • Examples: Raise the shades. I rise to speak. • I raised potatoes. The sun rose. • I have raised money. The star has risen. • We are raising our sights. Our hopes are rising.

21. Roots and Rules • trans: across transpolar, transversal, transgress • uni: one unicameral, unicorn, unique • ac, acr: sharp acrimony, acid • Commas with Introductory Dependent (Subordinate) Clauses • Use a comma after a dependent clause that starts a sentence. The clause begins with a subordinate conjunction (“danger word” in the sophomore text) like “because,” “since,” “although,” “if,” before,” or “unless.” • Examples: When we have finished here, we will leave. Because you are great, you win the prize. Since you did your reading, you earned a high grade.

22. Roots and Rules • aer: air aerial, aeronautics, aerodynamics • agr: field agrarian, agriculture • ali: another alias, alliance, alimentary • Center around • Things center on, never around. • Example: The problem centers around on money.

23. Quiz 5 Study for Quiz 5, make sure you know all words in the definitions (some have two).

24. Roots and Rules • alter, altr: change alternate, alternative • anim: spirit; life animosity, animation, animate • apt, ept: adjust aptitude, inept • Feel bad • Use “bad” after a form of “feel,” not “badly.” (Badly indicates a weak sense of touch.) • Examples: I feel bad about what happened. They felt bad after the game.

25. Roots and Rules • arm: arm; weapon armistice, armament, armada, armadillo • art: art; craft artificial, artifact, articulate • avi: bird aviary, aviator, aviation • Different from—things are different from (or from what) each other, not different than. • Examples: This is different than from what I expected. Your room is different than from mine.

26. Roots and Rules • bel, bell: war rebel, belligerent, rebellion • ben, bene: well benefit, benevolent • brev: short abbreviate, brevity • Titles (part one) • The titles of shorter works—essays, stories, chapters, songs, poems, articles—are put in quotation marks. These are works not published separately. • Examples: “The Raven” is a famous poem. We studied “The Lady and the Tiger.” The song is “The Victors.”

27. Roots and Rules • carn: flesh incarnate, carnal, carnage • cid, cis: kill; cut precise, incision, concise • civ: citizen civil, civic, civilian • Titles (part two) • The titles of longer works—books, plays, movies, magazines, newspapers—are underlined (or italicized). These are works published separately. • Examples: We studied The Canterbury Tales. Romeo and Juliet is a tragic play. I read it inthe Chelsea Standard.

28. Quiz 6 Study for Quiz 6, make sure you know all words in the definitions (some have two).

29. Roots and Rules • ego: I egotist, egoist, egocentric • err: wander error, erroneous, erratic • fin: end; limit define, finite, final, infinity • Colon to introduce a list • Use a colon to introduce a list only when the part of the sentence up to the colon sounds complete. You cannot place a colon between subject and object or subject and other kind of complement. • Example: Bring the following items: bread, milk, eggs. There are three reasons: time, money, and volunteers. • Incorrect: The three things are: time, money, and volunteers.

30. Roots and Rules • fort: strong fortify, fortress, fortitude • fus: pour effusive, fusion, fusible • gen: birth; race progeny, genocide, generation Agreement with Indefinite Pronouns The following pronouns are singular; therefore, all words that refer to them must be singular: everyone, anyone, someone, everybody, anybody, somebody, everything, anything, something, either, neither, each, every. Examples: Everyone does his or her work. Either of the answers is correct. Neither of them wants her own show.

31. Roots and Rules • grat: please; favor gratify, gratitude, grateful • grav: heavy gravity, grave • jac, jact, jec: throw eject, deject, reject Apostrophe to show possession To form the possessive of a singular noun, add an apostrophe and an s. Example: a poem’s rhyme To form the possessive of a plural noun ending in s, add only an apostrophe. Example: the swimmers’ times To form the possessive of an irregular plural noun not ending in s, add an apostrophe and an s. Example: the women’s books To form the possessive of any singular proper noun, add an apostrophe and an s. Example: Mr. Jones’s class To form the possessive of a plural proper noun, add only an apostrophe. Example: the Smiths’ house

32. Quiz 7 Study for Quiz 7, make sure you know all words in the definitions (some have two).

33. Roots and Rules • clam: shout exclaim, exclamation • claud, claus: close closet, claustrophobia • cogn: know incognito, cognition, cognate • Try to • Use “to” after “try,” not “and.” • Examples: Try and to be polite.

34. Roots and Rules • cord: heart cordial, accord • corp: body corpse, corporal, corporation • cruc: cross crux, crucify, crucible • The reason is because • Use “that” in a sentence after “reason,” not “because.” • Example: • The reason I’m unhappy is because that the dance was canceled. • I know the reason they are spending so much time on choosing the candidate is because that they are hoping to improve the council.

35. Roots and Rules • dent: tooth indent, dental, dentist • dign: worthy dignity, dignify, indignation • doc, doct: teach; prove doctor, document, docile • Irregardless • Not a word. Use “regardless.” Example: I won’t agree, irregardless of what you say.

36. Roots and Rules • dom: master domineer, dominant, dominion • don: bestow donate, donation • du: two duet, dual • Off of • Say “off,” not “off of.” Example: The dog fell off of the couch.

37. Quiz 8 Study for Quiz 8, make sure you know all words in the definitions (some have two).

38. Roots and Rules • junct: join adjunct, junction, conjunction • labor: work elaborate, belabor, laborious • leg: law legal, legislature, legality, legislation Comma with coordinate adjectives If you have two adjectives before a noun, separate the adjectives with a comma IF a) you can reverse the order of the adjectives OR b) you can say “and” between the adjectives. Examples: We had a long, difficult trip. Elmo is a loud, obnoxious person. We need a few good people.

39. Roots and Rules • lev: light; rise levity, levitate • lib: book libel, library • luc: light elucidate, lucid Apostrophe to form plurals of non-words • Do not use an apostrophe to form the plural of an abbreviation or a number. Examples: The PhDs don’t know how to work the VCRs. The practice was common in the 1990s.

40. Roots and Rules • magn: large magnify, magnitude • mar: sea mariner, marine, marinate • medi: middle medium, mediate • As far as • “As far as” must be followed by a verb, such as a form of “go” or “is” or “are” concerned. • Examples: As far as money [goes], we have enough. She is qualified as far as academic background [is concerned].

41. Roots and Rules • min: little; less minimum, minor, diminutive • mon, monit: warn premonition, admonish • mor: custom moral, amoral, immoral • Use of “however” • “However” is not a conjunction and therefore cannot be used to join sentences with just a comma. Use a semicolon before “However” when it joins two sentences. Do not use a semicolon if “however” is in the middle of a single sentence. • Examples: We were there; however, you were not. • The game they played, however, was phenomenal.

42. Quiz 9 Study for Quiz 9, make sure you know all words in the definitions (some have two).

43. Roots and Rules • mut: change mutation, mutant • nav: ship navigator, navigation, navel • nomen, nomin: name nominee, nominal • Farther, further • Use “farther” to refer to physical distance. Use “further” for everything else. • Examples: Detroit is farther than Ann Arbor. We should look into that further.

44. Roots and Rules • ocul: eye monocle, oculist, bifocal • par: equal parity, parallel, par • pater, patr: father patron, paternity, patriarch • Like/As • When making a comparison, use “like” when no verb follows. If a verb follows, use “as,” “as if,” or “as though.” • Examples: He looks like a walrus. You look like as if you’ve seen a ghost. It is like as though you’ve never been here before.

45. Roots and Rules • prim: first prime, primary, primitive • rat, ration: reason rational, ration • rect: right direct, rectify, correct • Then/Than • Use “then” when referring to time. Use “than” when making a comparison. • Examples: We went to the game. Then we went for food. This is harder than I thought.

46. Roots and Rules • rupt: break erupt, rupture, corrupt • sanct: holy sanction, sanctuary, sanctify, sanctimonious • seg, sect: cut bisect, segregate, segment, section • Who’s/Whose • Use “who” to mean “who is” or ”who has.” Use “whose” as a possessive if front of a noun. • Examples: Who’s been there before? Who’s here for food? I don’t know whose book this is.

47. Quiz 10 Study for Quiz 10, make sure you know all words in the definitions (some have two).

48. Roots and Rules • vac: empty vacant, vacate, vacuum • vert, vers: turn revert, convert, overt • vinc, vict: conquer victory, invincible, victim • Disinterested/uninterested • “Disinterested” means impartial or unbiased. “Uninterested means you’re not interested at all or have no financial interest. • Examples: We should ask a disinterested person to be the judge. People don’t attend if they are uninterested.

49. Roots and Rules • vit: life vital, vitality, vivid • vulg: common divulge, vulgar, vulgate • anthrop: man anthropocentric, anthropomorphism, misanthrope • Use of “only” • The word “only’ must be placed as close as possible to the word it modifies. • Examples: It only costs ten dollarsIt cost only ten dollars. She only brings her umbrella when it rainsShe brings her umbrella only when it rains.

50. Roots and Rules • astr: star asterisk, asteroid, astrodome • auto: self autobiography, autocrat, automation • bibli: book bible, bibliography, bibliophile • Imply/infer • “Imply” means to hint at without saying directly. “Infer” means to figure out from what someone else says or writes. • Examples: Her smile implied the outcome would be positive. I inferred from her smile that the outcome would be positive.