Number Prefixes
📋 What it is
A prefix goes in front of a root and changes its meaning. Number prefixes count: uni/mono = 1, bi/di = 2, tri = 3, multi/poly = many, semi = half.
🗣️ Coach says
Number prefixes are a secret counting code. A unicycle has ONE wheel, a bicycle TWO, a tricycle THREE. Spot the number-part and you already know the amount.
🧠 Memory hook
uni/mono = 1 · bi = 2 · tri = 3 · multi/poly = many · semi = half.
😂 Giggle
What do you call a word part that lives at the front?
A pre-fix, of course!
😲 Whoa!
"October" once meant the EIGHTH month (oct = 8) — it shifted to tenth when two months were added to the calendar, but the number-part stayed.
✅ Quick check: "Tri" means three. What is a "triangle"?
Say your answer out loud first — then reveal.
A three-angle shape — a figure with three angles (and three sides).
A number prefix tells you the quantity before you even reach the root.
🧪 Try it! (2 minutes)
Match uni/bi/tri to unicycle, bicycle, tricycle, then invent a "quad-" word.