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Question

Difficulty: MediumWord Formation: Prefixes, Suffixes, and Roots

Which word, formed by attaching the appropriate negative prefix and suffix to the base verb 'replace', correctly completes the sentence below?

Answer:The historic artifacts destroyed during the warehouse fire were deemed completely 【irreplaceable】 by the museum curators.

Answer

irreplaceable
The word 'irreplaceable' is correctly formed by applying the adjectival suffix '-able' to the root verb 'replace', followed by the negative prefix 'ir-'. The prefix 'ir-' is a phonetic variant of 'in-' that assimilates specifically before root words beginning with the consonant 'r'.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the required part of speech for the blank.
The position following the adverb 'completely' and modifying the noun 'artifacts' requires an adjective.
Syntactic context determines that an adjectival form derived from the verb 'replace' is necessary.
2
Derive the adjective form and attach the correct negative prefix.
Adding the suffix '-able' to the base verb 'replace' creates 'replaceable'. Attaching the assimilating prefix 'ir-' (used before roots starting with 'r') forms 'irreplaceable'.
The prefix 'in-' assimilates to 'ir-' before words starting with the liquid consonant /r/ to express negation ('cannot be replaced').

Key Concept

Prefix assimilation and adjectival suffixation
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Topics

Word Formation: Prefixes, Suffixes, and Roots

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