English vocabulary has a variety of ranges.  Short words include articles (a, an, the) and conjunctions (and, but, also).  Base words are words that can not be broken down into smaller parts and can stand alone as a word, such as light and dark.  Long words, such as malpractice and predestined, are often comprised of base or root words with affixes attached to them.  Affixes are word parts that can be added to base and root words to produce more complex vocabulary.

The meaning of a word's parts help create its overall definition.  To comprehend the meaning of an unfamiliar word, follow a three-step plan:

1. break the word down into its parts (using syllables)
2. think about the meaning of each part
3. combine the meanings to learn the word's definition

There are two categories of word parts:

 roots: word part from another language (Greek or Latin)

 affixes: attached to a root or base to create a new word

Affixes can be divided into two categories: prefixes and suffixes.  Learning roots and affixes helps to expand one's vocabulary and increase reading comprehension.

A dictionary gives the meaning, pronunciation, word origins and/or history.  Use a dictionary to determine precise meanings of root and base words when uncertain.