Suffix and prefix are both groups of letters that are placed in front or at the end of each word. The suffix is the one that is placed at the end while the prefix is the one that is placed in front. The base word is usually simple and the addition of the suffix and the prefix will change the meaning of the word.
For example, the base word is happy. If you would say unhappy, this means that something or someone is not happy. The person is feeling the opposite of happy. When you say happiness, this is already the noun form of the word happy which is an adjective.
Suffix and prefix are words that are added to the root word to change its meaning or to modify the entire word. The use of suffix and prefix is something that is very common in English language. When suffix and prefix are added to any root word, they can change the tense and part of speech of the root word. However, there are differences between suffix and prefix. Suffixes are one or more letters that are added to the end a root word to modify its meaning.
For example: if 'ed' is added to the word 'work' to give 'worked', this shows that, the tense of the root word has been changed from present to past tense. Prefix, on the other hand, is a word that is added to the beginning of the root word to modify its meaning. For example: if you add 'un' to the word 'opposed', it becomes unopposed, a new word entirely. Prefix can be one or more letters and even syllables.