What are the reasons for double consonants in these words:
illegal
illegible
immature
irregular
irresponsible
2007-03-04 11:45:51 · 4 answers · asked by shiny 1 in Education & Reference ➔ Primary & Secondary Education
The reason all of these words have double consonants is because there is both an affix and a root word in each of these examples. Il + legal = illegal. For example. since legal is the original word, another L has to be used so that it will be pronounced properly.
An easy example of this is the word roommate. The two words combining are obviously room and mate, with one beginning with an m and one ending with an m. So, when they combine, both Ms are still needed to make the pronunciation correct.
2007-03-04 11:53:17 · answer #1 · answered by Miss D 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Here is the explanation: il, im, and ir are all prefixes which mean "not". The root words are positive: legal, legible, mature, regular, responsible. Using the prefixes with the matching consonants causes the new words to be more easily pronounced and less cumbersome than they would be if "non" or "un" were to be substituted, although either could be to convey the identical negative meanings.
2007-03-04 12:07:33 · answer #2 · answered by Lynci 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Those are prefixes added on to other words.
Prefixes have specific meanings. If they have a letter in common, that is just the way it works.
The website below is a wonderful resource for discovering the wonderful world of words.
2007-03-04 11:55:12 · answer #3 · answered by ? 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
geez...
2007-03-04 11:49:01 · answer #4 · answered by Fido 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋