Question

Common prefixes such as anti-, bi, co, counter, de, macro, micro, mid, mini, multi, non, post, pre, pro, semi, re, and others like them are generally printed solid, whether or not a vowel or consonant is doubled. True or False?

Answer 1

The statement is false; while many prefixes are typically written solid, there are exceptions, notably when there are double letters or to improve clarity. Prefix usage can depend on the word, readability, pronunciation, and specific style guides, and the conventions for scientific prefixes are different.

Step-by-step explanation:

The statement is false. While many prefixes are typically written solid (without a hyphen) regardless of the following letter, there are exceptions, especially when double letters are involved. In English, whether a prefix is printed solid or with a hyphen can sometimes depend on the specific word, readability, pronunciation, and style guidelines.

Prefixes like anti-, bi-, co-, and others often attach to base words without a hyphen, but not always. For example, we write coexist but also co-author. Double letters can result in variations; for instance, re- is generally solid as in reenter, but can be hyphenated as in re-elect if it aids in clarity or follows a particular style guide.

It is important to note that affixes in other contexts, such as scientific units, follow different conventions. For instance, in science, prefixes like micro and mega are used as powers of ten and their symbols are case-sensitive (e.g., 'm' for milli and 'M' for mega).