Explain the concept of affixes and their relationship to word roots.

Explain the concept of affixes and their relationship to word roots.

Affixes are morphemes that are added to the beginning (prefixes) or end (suffixes) of a word root to create new words or modify the meaning of existing words. They are attached to word roots to change the word's grammatical function, tense, number, or to add a specific meaning. Affixes can also alter the word's part of speech or indicate negation, possession, or comparison. The relationship between affixes and word roots is symbiotic, as affixes rely on word roots for their meaning and word roots rely on affixes to expand their meaning and create new words.