ADJECTIVE SUFFIXES I Dr. Ehab Fouda

#english #adjectivesinenglishgrammar #adjective #englishlearning #education #suffixes
A suffix is a letter or group of letters added at the end of a word which makes a new word.

words

suffix

new words

forget, use

-ful

forgetful, useful

state, govern

-ment

statement, government

complicate, create

-ion

complication, creation

The new word is most often a different word class from the original word. In the table above, the suffix -ful has changed verbs to adjectives, -ment, and -ion have changed verbs to nouns. If you see a word ending in -ment, for example, it is likely to be a noun (e.g. commitment, contentment).

Suffixes: spelling
Often, the suffix causes a spelling change to the original word. In the table above, the -e ending of complicate and create disappears when the -ion suffix is added. Other examples of spelling changes include:

beauty, duty + -ful → beautiful, dutiful (-y changes to i)

heavy, ready + -ness → heaviness, readiness (-y changes to i)

able, possible + -ity → ability, possibility (-le changes to il)

permit, omit + -ion → permission, omission (-t changes to ss)

A good learner’s dictionary will give you information on the correct spelling of words with suffixes.

See also:

Spelling

Common suffixes and examples
Noun suffixes
suffix

examples of nouns

-age

baggage, village, postage

-al

arrival, burial, deferral

-ance/-ence

reliance, defence, insistence

-dom

boredom, freedom, kingdom

-ee

employee, payee, trainee

-er/-or

driver, writer, director

-hood

brotherhood, childhood, neighbourhood

-ism

capitalism, Marxism, socialism (philosophies)

-ist

capitalist, Marxist, socialist (followers of philosophies)

-ity/-ty

brutality, equality, cruelty

-ment

amazement, disappointment, parliament

-ness

happiness, kindness, usefulness

-ry

entry, ministry, robbery

-ship

friendship, membership, workmanship

-sion/-tion/-xion

expression, population, complexion

Adjective suffixes
suffix

examples of adjectives

-able/-ible

drinkable, portable, flexible

-al

brutal, formal, postal

-en

broken, golden, wooden

-ese

Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese

-ful

forgetful, helpful, useful

-i

Iraqi, Pakistani, Yemeni

-ic

classic, Islamic, poetic

-ish

British, childish, Spanish

-ive

active, passive, productive

-ian

Canadian, Malaysian, Peruvian

-less

homeless, hopeless, useless

-ly

daily, monthly, yearly

-ous

cautious, famous, nervous

-y

cloudy, rainy, windy

Verb suffixes
suffix

examples of verbs

-ate

complicate, dominate, irritate

-en

harden, soften, shorten

-ify

beautify, clarify, identify

-ise/-ize

economise, realise, industrialize (-ise is most common in British English; -ize is most common in American English)