In English, we have 3 kinds of affixes, or word parts:

• Prefixes come before a root

• Roots come either in the beginning of a word (if there is no prefix) or in the middle of a word

• Suffixes follow a root

English borrows from other languages

• English takes affixes from Greek and Latin

• When we recognize those affixes, we can figure out the meanings of difficult new words.

The root 'port-'

• comes from Latin

• means 'to carry'

• is used in words like transportation, export, and portable

The root 'phobia'

• comes from Greek

• means 'irrational fear of or hatred'

• is used in words like aquaphobia, claustrophobic, and agoraphobia

The root 'rupt'

• comes from Latin

• means 'break/burst'

• is used in words like disruptive, bankrupt, and eruption