By Jacqueline Schaalje

Ian D. Keating

Check out this infographic to learn these words with pater and mater, and then try the quiz!

Pater and mater or pa and ma are used in some English words as prefixes (a prefix is a little (part of a) word that comes at the beginning of another word and changes its meaning.)

Quiz

Do this quiz online here and check your answers.

Fill in: matrimony, paternal, maternal, alma mater, patriot, patron, maternity, matriarch, patricide, patriarchs

1 The old ____________ was looking on with stern look while her children and grandchildren sang her happy birthday.

2 He is working as lecturer at his old _____________.

3 ___________ is a popular theme in literature. In the epic Mahabharata we find Babruvahana killing his father Arjun. But the most famous example is Oedipus, who also (unknowingly) marries his mother.

4 The bride and the groom wanted to go to church to be united in holy ____________, witnessed by a priest and two witnesses.

5 Are you a ___________ when you know the words to your national anthem?

6 I went to visit my friend and her new baby in the ____________ ward of the hospital.

7 His father was killed in a road accident when he was only 5, so he had to do without ____________ love.

8 My mother is my ___________ grandparents’ only child.

9 The typical _____________ of this pub is between 20 and 40, educated, and fond of boutique beer.

10 We don’t know whether any of the ____________ from the Bible such as Moses, Abraham or Noah actually lived.