The View from SaturdayWriting and Grammar

PrefixesConfusing Verbs

•The traffic will be impossible in the morning.

•The prefix im- means “not”.

•“not possible.”

-im•I

controlled my voice so it would not quiver.

•The prefix con- appears in my words

•Prefixes are always a separate syllable.

-con

•The turtles would be incapable of getting back home.

•The suffix –in means “not”.

•“not capable”

-inDeco

din

g:

Wo

rds

beg

inn

ing

wit

h

im-,

in

-, c

on

-

Vo

cab

ula

ry:

Str

uctu

ral

An

aly

sis

; M

ore

Pre

fixes

sit/set, lie/lay, rise/raise• Sit means “to rest in one place”• Set means “to put”

• Lie means “to put yourself in a horizontal position”

• Lay means “to put something on something else”

• Rise means “to go up”• Raise means “to lift something up”

sitting sat sat

setting set set

lying lay lain

laying laid laid

rising rose risen

raising raised raised

lend/borrow, let/leave, teach/learn

• Lend means “to give temporarily”• Borrow means “to take temporarily”

• Let means “to allow”• Leave means “to go away”

• Teach means “to instruct”• Learn means “to gain knowledge”