Important Suffixes

There are some letters or short words that change the meaning of other words once they are attached to them. Such words are called affixes. There are three types of affixes. 

1. Prefix 
2. Infix 
3. Suffix 

Prefixes are a combination of letters that are attached at the beginning of the word to form a new word. They change a verb to a noun or an adjective. For example (like-dislike, able-unable)

Infixes are not found in English, but they are found in other languages. Infixes are added in the middles of the word. 

Suffixes are a combination of letters or mini words that are attached at the end of the word to form a new word. They change the grammatical function of the word.  

In this lesson, we are going to learn the essential suffixes used in English. 

Suffix meanings and spelling rules. 

Most of the times, when we add a suffix to a word, it changes the meaning of the original word, then such a word is called a derivative word. To understand the meanings of the derivative words, it is of utmost preference to know the meaning of the suffix.  

Also, remember that one suffix may have two meanings. For example, the suffix -er in adjectives gives the sense of 'more' ( longer, shorter, kinder, taller). But in nouns -er conveys the meaning ‘someone who performs a particular action’ such as worker, trainer, teacher, etc. 

Most of the times, the spelling of the root verb is changed when a suffix is added to it.  

• For example, if we add suffix with the words ending in -y ( beauty, ugly), the -y can change into -i ( beautiful, ugliness).
• If a word ends in -e ( adore, use ), and we add a suffix that begins with a vowel to such a word then the -e in them will drop ( usage, adorable). 
• There is an exception that you cannot add any suffix to any word. Every word takes some specific suffix. For example, the adjective careful is formed by adding the suffix -'ful' to the noun care and the adjective ugliness is created by combining the suffix '-ness' to the adjective ugly. 

Essential Suffixes in English. 

There are many essential suffixes in English. Some of them are noun suffixes, some are adjective suffixes, and some of them are verb suffixes.   The meaning of the words changes with the context. Always remember that to understand the meaning of a word, try to read the context in which it is used.

Common Noun suffixes 

1. -er/ -or / - ar 

Meaning: One who performs some particular action 

Example: teacher, director, tutor, lecturer, driver, advertiser, scholar, writer, worker, founder, barrister, janitor, doctor. 

1. -ion 

Meaning: the process of 

Example: motion, celebration, revision, differentiation

1. -Age

Meaning: action, state or process

Example: baggage, orphanage, marriage, package, passage, luggage,  footage, postage, storage, advantage, savage, damage. 

1. -ment

Meaning: the state or condition of.

Example: government, parliament,  punishment, argument, endorsement, appointment, tournament, judgement. 

1. -al

Meaning:  act or process of 

Example: refusal, denial, proposal, arrival, approval, burial, deferral, removal, revival, ritual.

1. -ent or -ant

meaning: people doing some activity

Example: student, assistant, respondent, participant, consultant, servant, applicant, superintendent.

1. -ship

Meaning: position held 

Example: fellowship, relationship, ownership, worship, hardship, chairmanship, partnership, township, friendship.

1. -ty

Meaning: quality of 

Example:  cruelty, safety, plenty, capacity, charity, casualty, difficulty.

1. -ness 

Meaning: a state, quality, condition.

Example: happiness, sadness, readiness, rudeness, tiredness, heaviness, testiness, usefulness 

1. -ery/ -ry

Meaning: a business or trade, a condition, a behaviour 

Example: bakery, slavery, robbery, bribery, misery, refinery, ministry, fishery, weaponry.

Common Adjective Suffixes 

1. -full

Meaning: full of 

Example: beautiful, careful, awful, wonderful, awful, successful, skillful, grateful, fanciful, doubtful.

1. -Less 

Meaning: without 

Example: powerless, useless, homeless, friendless, worthless, penniless, careless, thoughtless, endless.

1. -able, -ible

Meaning:  capable of being

Example: culpable, flammable, countable, uncountable, drinkable, eatable, avoidable, preventable, credible, adaptable, discernible.

1. -ish 

Meaning: nature or origin 

Example: foolish, childish, Spanish, British, selfish, pinkish, blackish, polish.

1. -ous 

Meaning: quality or nature 

Example: poisonous, mysterious, nervous, victorious, dangerous, famous, prosperous, continuous.

1. -ant, -ent

Meaning: performing or being 

Example: important, independent, different, dependent, excellent, brilliant, reliant.

1. -ic

Meaning: relating to or having the nature of.

Example: iconic, poetic, heroic, organic, inorganic, photographic, basic, scientific, historic, athletic.

1. -ly 

Meaning: like 

Example: friendly, daily, costly, monthly, cowardly, yearly.

1. -ive 

Meaning: having the nature of 

Example: active,  sensitive, cooperative, motive, supportive, decisive, divisive. 

Common verb suffix

1. -ate 

Meaning: become 

Example: repudiate, fabricate, differentiate, exterminate, captivate, annihilate. 

1. -ise (British), ize(American) 

Meaning: to cause or to become. 

Example: humanize, socialize, organize, advertise, legalize, authorize, commercialize, modernise, specialize. 

1. -fy or -ify

Meaning: make 

Example: specify, classify, simplify, beautify, clarify, identify.

1. -en 

Meaning: become 

Example: harden, soften, shorten, fasten, lengthen, strengthen.

Conclusion

Suffix offer us a variety of words. They act as an extension to vocabulary. Be careful with the suffix spelling rules because many people make mistakes while adding a suffix to the base verb. There are many more suffixes, but the common and important ones are mentioned in this lesson.

Exercise:

Choose the correct answer:

1. The suffix of ‘enjoy’ is:
2. Ful
3. Able 
4. Ness 
5. -ed 
6. The suffix of ‘agree’ is 
7. Ness 
8. Able 
9. Ful 
10. Ly
11. Zainab had no aware___ of the event. 
12. Ness 
13. Ment 
14. Ing 
15. -ed 
16. What is the root form of the adjective ‘creative’?
17. Creativity
18. Creative
19. Create
20. Create
21. which of the following is the suffix of ‘imagine’?
22. able 
23. -ed
24. -ary
25. -ly

Answer key:

1. B 
2. B 
3. A 
4. D
5. C