Which statement best describes the relationship between a root word and a prefix?

• A. A root word carries core meaning, while a prefix modifies it.
• B. A root word is always longer than its prefixed form.
• C. A prefix always makes a word a noun.
• D. A prefix makes a word disappear.

Answer: (A)

The main idea here is how a prefix interacts with a root word. The root word carries the core meaning by itself, while a prefix adds information at the front to modify that meaning. Prefixes don’t replace the root; they attach to it and shift the sense of the word—often to indicate negation, repetition, number, place, or time. For example, cycle is a base concept referring to a wheel-like motion; adding uni- gives unicycle, pointing to one wheel; adding re- gives recycle, meaning to do the action again. With happy, adding un- yields unhappy, the opposite state. This shows a root and its prefix together form a new word whose meaning reflects the modification, not a completely separate idea. The other ideas—that prefixes always make a noun or make a word disappear—don’t hold up across common usages.