Vocabulary Basics for Business [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

Prefixes Expressing Time

Prefixes related to time tell you when something happened or will happen. You will learn to recognize prefixes related to before, after, and again and to use words containing these prefixes. How many words can you find in the following letter that have a prefix meaning "after" or "later"? Which have a prefix that means "before"? Which have a prefix meaning "again"? Circle the words with those prefixes. You will be surprised at how many English words use these prefixes.

Dear Mr. Johnson:
I am very pleased that our appointment was not postponed 
and that we will be able to meet Tuesday afternoon.
Foremost on our list of issues to discuss is the need 
to forewarn your employees about the firm's intention to 
renovate the building and that they should take 
precautions to protect their clothing before visiting 
any work area. A little foresight will help prevent any 
recurrence of the problems we had with building repairs 
last year. Our building committee chairwoman reiterated 
the importance of preparing everyone for the 
inconvenience.

Did you circle postponed, afternoon, foremost, forewarn, renovate, precautions, protect, foresight, prevent, recurrence, repairs, reiterated, and preparing?

post-, after-

Did you find postponed and afternoon? Post- indicates "later" or "after." A postscript is something added after a letter has been completed; to postdate a check or other document is to date it after the actual datethat is, some date in the future. After- is a common prefix. Afternoon means "sometime between noon and sunset"; an aftertaste is a taste that is sensed after something is swallowed; an afterthought is an idea that occurs after the main thinking, discussion, or event.

fore-, pre-, pro-, ante-

Did you find foremost, forewarn, foresight, and precautions? Both fore- and pre- indicate a time or occurrence before or first. Foremost means "first in importance" or "before others." To forewarn is to warn in advance; foresight is the ability to look forward. A precaution is something done beforehand to avoid harm; to prevent is also to do something before an occurrence in order to stop it; to prepare is to get something ready; and a prefix is attached (or "fixed") ahead of something, like a word root.

Two other prefixes that indicate "before" are pro- and ante-. Pro- is seen in words such as prologue, an introductory statement, or prognosis, a prediction of the course of an illness. To protect means "to defend from possible (future) harm," or literally, "to cover beforehand." Ante- is the prefix in antedate, which means "precede" or "date something before the actual date." An anteroom is a waiting room. Antecedent means "something prior or preceding": Her bad attitude was antecedent to (before) the termination of her job.

re-

The sample letter also contained words with the prefix re-, meaning "again." Renovate means "make new again or renew"; reiterate means "state again." What does the context of the letter and analysis of the word recurrence tell you about its meaning?