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A List of 26 Common Suffixes in English

The document discusses suffixes, which are letters or groups of letters added to the end of words to form new words or change the part of speech. It provides examples of common suffixes used to create nouns, verbs, and adjectives in English and explains how they modify the meaning or function of base words. The document also notes exceptions to suffix rules and cases where a single suffix can have multiple meanings depending on context.

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Anastasia Savchuk
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162 views3 pages

A List of 26 Common Suffixes in English

The document discusses suffixes, which are letters or groups of letters added to the end of words to form new words or change the part of speech. It provides examples of common suffixes used to create nouns, verbs, and adjectives in English and explains how they modify the meaning or function of base words. The document also notes exceptions to suffix rules and cases where a single suffix can have multiple meanings depending on context.

Uploaded by

Anastasia Savchuk
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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A 

suffix is a letter or a group of letters attached to the end of a word to form a new
word or to change the grammatical function (or part of speech) of the word. For
example, the verb read is made into the noun reader by adding the suffix -
er. Similarly, read is made into the adjective readable by adding the suffix -able.

Understanding Suffix Meanings


Understanding the meanings of the common suffixes can help you figure out the
meanings of new words you encounter. In some cases, the spelling of a root or base
word changes when a suffix is added. For example, in words ending in y preceded
by a consonant (such as the noun beauty and the adjective ugly), the y may change
to an i when a suffix is added (as in the adjective beautiful and the noun ugliness).
In words ending in silent -e (such as use and adore), the final -e may be dropped
when the suffix that's added begins with a vowel (as in usable and adorable). 

As with all spelling rules, there are exceptions. Not all suffixes can be added to all
roots. For example, the adjective beautiful is formed by adding the suffix -ful to the
noun beauty, and the noun ugliness is formed by adding the suffix -ness to the
adjective ugly.

Also note that a suffix may have more than one meaning. With adjectives and
adverbs, for instance, the -er suffix usually conveys the comparative meaning of
"more" (as in the adjectives kinder and longer). But in some cases, the -er ending
can also refer to someone who performs a particular action (such as
a dancer or builder) or to someone who lives in a particular place (such as a New
Yorker or a Dubliner).

Common Suffixes in English


Think of the 26 common suffixes that follow as clues to the meanings of words,
however, bear in mind that the meanings of words are best determined by studying
the contexts in which they are used as well as the construction of the words
themselves. 

Noun Suffixes:

Suffix Meaning Example


-acy state or quality privacy, fallacy, delicacy
-al act or process of refusal, recital, rebuttal
-ance, -encestate or quality of maintenance, eminence, assurance
-dom place or state of beingfreedom, kingdom, boredom
-er, -or one who trainer, protector, narrator
-ism doctrine, belief communism, narcissism, skepticism
-ist one who chemist, narcissist, plagiarist
-ity, -ty quality of inactivity, veracity, parity, serenity
-ment condition of argument, endorsement, punishment
-ness state of being heaviness, sadness, rudeness, testiness
-ship position held fellowship, ownership, kinship, internship
-sion, -tion state of being concession, transition, abbreviation

Verb Suffixes:

Suffix Meaning Example


-ate become regulate, eradicate, enunciate, repudiate
-en become enlighten, awaken, strengthen
-ify, -fy make or becometerrify, satisfy, rectify, exemplify
-ize, -ise*become civilize, humanize, socialize, valorize

Adjective Suffixes:

Suffix Meaning Example


-able, -iblecapable of being edible, presentable, abominable, credible
-al pertaining to regional, grammatical, emotional, coastal
-esque reminiscent of picturesque, statuesque, burlesque
-ful notable for fanciful, resentful, woeful, doubtful
-ic, -ical pertaining to musical, mythic, domestic, chiastic
-ious, -ous characterized by nutritious, portentous, studious
-ish having the quality offiendish, childish, snobbish
-ive having the nature of creative, punitive, divisive, decisive
-less without endless, ageless, lawless, effortless
-y characterized by sleazy, hasty, greasy, nerdy, smelly

In American English, verbs end with -ize, versus British English, in which the


spelling changes to -ise.

 American English: finalize, realize, emphasize, standardize


 British English: finalise, realise, emphasise, standardise

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