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Myriora English › Words › Chapter 1: Building words: prefixes, suffixes and roots

Greek and Latin roots

Ages 9–11Chapter 1 · Lesson 7

In this lesson

Your turn

An aquatic animal lives where?

Show the answer

Aqua means water, so an aquatic animal lives in water, like a dolphin or a turtle.

The common mistake

Here's a common mistake. Bi and bio look almost the same. But bi means two, and bio means life. A bicycle has two wheels. But biology is about living things, not two of anything!

Try it at home

Root hunt: look for tele, port, aqua, bio and graph in books, signs and packaging. Each time, say what the word means using the root.

Read the whole lesson

Hello, and welcome to Myriora English! Lots of long English words are built from old Greek and Latin parts, called roots. Learn a few roots, and you can work out words you've never seen before.

Tele means far. A telescope helps you see things far away, and a telephone carries your voice far. Port means carry. Something portable is easy to carry, and transport carries people and things from place to place.

Aqua means water. An aquarium is a tank of water for fish. Bio means life. Biology is the study of living things.

Graph means write, or draw. Your autograph is your name, written by you. And a biography is the story of someone's life, written down. That's two roots in one word: life, written!

Let's try one together. Port means carry. So what do you think a porter does? Say it out loud!

A porter carries things, like bags at a hotel or a railway station. Well done if you said that!

Here's a common mistake. Bi and bio look almost the same. But bi means two, and bio means life. A bicycle has two wheels. But biology is about living things, not two of anything!

Your turn! An aquatic animal lives where? Pick the right card. You've got eight seconds, or pause the video. Go!

Time's up! Aqua means water, so an aquatic animal lives in water, like a dolphin or a turtle.

Quick review. Tele means far, and port means carry. Aqua means water, and bio means life. And graph means write. See you next time!