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English prefixes are affixes (i.e., bound morphemes that provide lexical meaning) that are added before either simple roots or complex ''bases'' (or ''operands'') consisting of (a) a root and other affixes, (b) multiple roots, or (c) multiple roots and other affixes. Examples of these follow: * ''undo'' (consisting of prefix ''un-'' and root ''do'') * ''untouchable'' (consisting of prefix ''un-'', root ''touch'', and suffix ''-able'') * ''non-childproof'' (consisting of prefix ''non-'', root ''child'', and root ''proof'') * ''non-childproofable'' (consisting of prefix ''non-'', root ''child'', root ''proof'', and suffix ''-able'') English words may consist of multiple prefixes: ''anti-pseudo-classicism'' (containing both an ''anti-'' prefix and a ''pseudo-'' prefix). In English, all prefixes are derivational. This contrasts with English suffixes, which may be either derivational or inflectional. == Selectional restrictions == As is often the case with derivational morphology, many English prefixes can only be added to bases of particular lexical categories (or "parts of speech"). For example, the prefix ''re-'' meaning "again, back" is only added to verb bases as in ''rebuild'', ''reclaim'', ''reuse'', ''resell'', ''re-evaluate'', ''resettle''. It cannot be added to bases of other lexical categories. Thus, examples of ''re-'' plus a noun base (such as the ungrammatical '' *rehusband'', '' *remonopoly'') or ''re-'' plus an adjective base ('' *renatural'', '' *rewise'') are virtually unattested.〔Occasionally, these selectional restrictions are violated for stylist effect, as in the coinage of the word ''Uncola'' in Seven-Up soft drink advertisements. The prefix ''un-'' meaning "not" is typically added to adjectives, thus adding it to a noun ''cola'' makes the word more noticeable.〕 These selectional restrictions on what base a prefix can be attached to can be used to distinguish between otherwise identical-sounding prefixes. For instance, there are two different ''un-'' prefixes in English: one meaning "not, opposite of", the other meaning "reverse action, deprive of, release from". The first prefix ''un-'' "not" is attached to adjective and participle bases while the second prefix ''un-'' "reverse action" is attached to either verb or noun bases. Thus, English can have two words that are pronounced and spelled the same and have the same lexical category but have different meanings, different prefixes, a different internal morphological structure, and different internal bases that the prefixes are attached to: * ''unlockable'' "not able to be locked" * ''unlockable'' "able to be unlocked" In the first ''unlockable'' "not able to be locked", the prefix ''un-'' "not" is attached to an adjective base ''lockable'' (which, in turn, is composed of ''lock'' + ''-able''). This word has the following internal structure: : adj ]adj In the second ''unlockable'' "able to be unlocked", the prefix ''un-'' "reverse action" is attached to a verb base ''lock'', resulting in the derived verb ''unlock''. Subsequently, the ''-able'' suffix is added after the newly created ''unlock'' adjective base deriving the adjective ''unlockable''. This word has the following internal structure: : verb ''able'' ]adj Only certain verbs or nouns can be used to form a new verb having the opposite meaning. In particular, using verbs describing an irreversible action produces words often considered nonsense, e.g. ''unkill, unspend, unlose, unring''. These words may nevertheless be in occasional use for humorous or other effect. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「English prefix」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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