All about suffixes in English: rules of use, functions, types, practical understanding

One of the key components of learning any language is understanding its structure and structure. In the English language, suffixes play an important role in expanding vocabulary and giving new meanings to words. In this article, we will consider in detail the concept of suffixes, their varieties and examples of application.

Suffixes: Definition and Functions

A suffix is an ending that is added to the base of a word in order to change its meaning or grammatical role. In English, suffixes are added to the root of a word and can indicate various aspects such as number forms, genders, degrees of comparison, relationships between words, etc.

Let’s take a closer look at it to understand how it works, especially for those who are just starting to learn English.

Definition of suffixes: A suffix is a small fragment of letters or sounds that is added to the end of a word. It has properties that can change the meaning of a word or its grammatical role.

Functions of suffixes

1. Change of meaning: Suffixes can change the meaning of a word, add new nuances, or indicate specific characteristics. For example, adding the suffix “-ful” to the word “care,” we get “careful.”
2. Formation of new words: Suffixes help to form new words from existing words. For example, by adding the suffix “-er” to the word “teach,” we get the new word “teacher.”
3. Changing Grammatical Role: Suffixes can transform a word from one part of speech to another. For example, by adding the suffix “-ing” to the infinitive “read,” we get the verb “reading,” which indicates an action or process.
4. Formation of forms: Some suffixes are used to form different forms of a word such as plural, possessive forms etc. For example, the suffix “-‘s” is added to nouns to express ownership, as in “John’s book”.
5. Adverb formation: Some suffixes can turn adjectives or nouns into adverbs. For example, the suffix “-ly” is added to adjectives to form adverbs, as in “quickly” from “quick”.

Examples of the use of suffixes

• Adjective suffix: “careful” from “care”
• Verb suffix: “teach” becomes “teacher”
• Noun suffix: “happy” becomes “happiness”
• Possessive suffix: “cat” becomes “cat’s” in the possessive form
• Adverb suffix: “quick” becomes “quickly”

Understanding the use of suffixes will help you expand your vocabulary, improve your grammar skills and become more expressive in your speech.

Types of suffixes and their examples

Suffixes can give words of different parts of the language new meanings and functions. In general, there are four main types of suffixes that are used to form new words in the English language. These types include adjective, verb, noun, and adverbial suffixes. Each of them has its own role in changing the meaning and structure of words. However, it is worth noting that in the English language there are other types of suffixes that also affect word formation. Some of them indicate assignment, diminution, numerical values, professional affiliation and other characteristics. These additional suffixes expand our ability to be expressive and precise when using language. Therefore, studying various types of suffixes will help you better understand the structure of English words and use them effectively for communication and expressiveness. Let’s look at the main types of suffixes and their examples to better understand how they work and how they help form new words in the English language.

Adjective suffixes

Adjective suffixes (-ful, -less, -able, -ous): These suffixes are added to adjectives and give a new meaning. For example, “beautiful”, “endless”, “comfortable”, “famous”.

Suffixes	Meaning	Examples
-able, -ible	possible	capable, visible
-ian, -ean	associated with, characteristic of	Canadian, European
-al	associated with	natural, musical
-ic	characteristic of, relating to	artistic, athletic
-ant	characteristic of, performer of	vigilant, important
-ar	associated with	regular, polar
-ary, -ory	associated with	ordinary, exploratory
-ate	performer of	compassionate, delicate
-ed	past tense, state	interested, excited
-en	state	broken, wooden
-ent	performer of	dependent, confident
-ern	associated with	modern, eastern
-ese	associated with	Japanese, Chinese
-ful	full of	careful, grateful
-ish	resembling, characteristic of	childish, stylish
-ive	characterized by, promotes	active, sensitive
-less	lack of	fearless, useless
-en	state	wooden, golden
-like	resembling	childlike, lifelike
-ly	manner, degree	quickly, softly
-ant	performer of	pleasant, vibrant
-ous	characteristic of, full of	dangerous, famous
-y	characteristic of, relating to	sunny, icy

Verb suffixes

Verb suffixes (-ing, -ed, -ize): These suffixes are used to form verb forms that indicate an action, state, or manner of doing. For example, “walking”, “interested”, “organize”.

Suffixes	Meaning	Examples
-ate	perform an action	communicate, activate
-en	perform an action, make a state	strengthen, enlighten
-er	performer of an action	teacher, painter
-ify, -efy	make, change into an action	simplify, beautify
-ise, -ize	make, change into an action	organise, customize
-ish	characterize an action	diminish, establish
-yse, -yze	make, change into an action	analyse, centralize

Noun suffixes

Noun suffixes (-tion, -ment, -ness): These turn adjectives and verbs into nouns and indicate a state, process, or property. For example, “information”, “movement”, “happiness”.

Suffixes	Meaning	Examples
-acy	state, quality	democracy, accuracy
-ese	state, quality	Japanese, Chinese
-age	collection, action, state	language, storage
-ess	state, quality	happiness, kindness
-al	characterize an action, quality	approval, arrival
-hood	state	childhood, brotherhood
-an, -ian	state, quality	citizen, historian
-ing	action, state	painting, building
-ance, -ence	action, state, process	entrance, existence
-ism	doctrine, ideology, state	capitalism, criticism
-ancy, -ency	quality, action	occupancy, dependency
-ist	performer, profession	artist, scientist
-ant, -ent	performer, state, person	assistant, student
-ity, -ty	state, quality	ability, responsibility
-ard, -art	quality, means	wizard, chart
-ment	action, state, process	movement, development
-ary, -ory, -ery, -ry	quality	library, victory
-ness	state, quality	happiness, kindness
-dom	state, quality	kingdom, freedom
-ship	state, quality	leadership, friendship
-ee	person performing an action	employee, trainee
-tion, -sion, -cion	action, state, process	creation, decision
-eer	person performing a task	engineer, volunteer
-ure	state, process	failure, closure
-er, -or, -ar	performer, instrument	teacher, actor, scholar

Adverbial suffixes

Adverbial suffixes (-ly, -ily, -ward(s): These suffixes are added to adjectives or nouns to form adverbs. For example, “quickly” from “quick”, “carefully” from ” careful”.

Suffixes	Meaning	Examples
-ily	manner, degree	quickly, gently
-ly	manner, degree	softly, nicely
-ward(s)	direction, toward	forward(s), homeward(s)
-wise, -way(s)	manner, direction	clockwise, anyway(s)

Possessive suffixes

Possessive suffixes (-‘s, -s’): Added to nouns to express ownership. For example, “John’s car” (John’s car), “cats'” (cats) – for the plural.

Suffixes	Meaning	Examples
-‘s, -s’	belonging, origin	John’s, cats’

Suffixes of manner and measure

Manner and measure suffixes (-ly): These suffixes are added to verbs and adjectives to form adverbs. For example, “quickly” from “quick”, “softly” from “soft”.

Suffixes	Meaning	Examples
-ly	way, measure	quickly, softly

Numeral suffixes

Numeral suffixes (-teen, -ty, -th): They indicate numerical quantity or order. For example, “seventeen”, “twenty”, “fifth”.

Suffixes	Meaning	Examples
-teen, -ty	numerical value	fourteen, twenty

Diminutive suffixes

Diminutive suffixes (-let, -ette, -ling): These are used to form words that indicate smaller size, marital status, or a certain quality. For example, “booklet”, “kitchenette”, “duckling”.

Suffixes	Meaning	Examples
-let, -ette, -ling	reduced quantity, marital status, quality	booklet, kitchenette, duckling

Application of suffixes in practice

Understanding the varieties of suffixes can greatly improve your ability to analyze and understand unfamiliar words and help you form new words. Knowing suffixes also helps in constructing grammatically correct sentences and expressions.

For example, if you understand suffixes, you can easily form words like “playful” from the adjective “play”, “happiness” from the adjective “happy”, “quickly”  from the adjective “quick”.

Here are some practical ways you can use suffixes effectively:

1. Vocabulary expansion: Learning different suffixes will allow you to create new words based on already known ones. For example, by adding the suffix “-ness” to the word “kind,” you get “kindness.” In this way, you will be able to use more words to accurately express your thoughts and ideas.
2. Improving writing: Using suffixes can make your text more varied and understandable. You will be able to describe specific characteristics of objects or ideas, which will help make your texts more imaginative and lively.
3. Formulating precise sentences: Adding suffixes can help you express your thoughts more precisely. For example, you can use adjective suffixes to describe a person’s mood (“cheerful” “anxious”) or noun suffixes to name specific phenomena (“pollution”,  “discovery”).
4. Learning Grammar: Understanding and using different suffixes helps you understand the grammatical rules of the English language. You will gain a better understanding of how words are formed and how their grammatical functions can change with the help of suffixes.
5. Strengthening speaking skills: By using different suffixes, you will be able to express your thoughts more clearly and convincingly. For example, you can describe a quality or characteristic of an object using adjectival suffixes (“beautiful”, “comfortable”) to create an expression that better fits your idea.

Suffixes are an important part of any language, including English. Studying suffixes will help you expand your vocabulary, understand the meaning of unknown words and expressions, and improve your sentence construction skills. Learning suffixes is a step towards a deeper and richer command of the English language.

Task: Fantastic Word-making Adventures

Remember or come up with a few basic words (for example: “cloud,” “magic,” “sun,” “grow,” “friend”). Your task is to use different suffixes to create new words with a meaning that expands or changes the original one.

1. Adjectives:
   • Add the suffix “-y” to “sun.” Answer: “sunny”
   • Use the “-ish” suffix for “cloud.” Answer: “cloudish”
2. Verb:
   • Add the suffix “-ing” to “magic.” Answer: “magicing”
   • Use the “-ed” suffix for “grow.” Answer: “grown”
3. Noun:
   • Add the suffix “-ness” to “friend.” Answer: “friendship”
   • Use the “-tion” suffix for “sun.” Answer: “suntion”
4. Possessive:
   • Add the suffix “-‘s” to “cloud.” Answer: “cloud’s”
   • Use the suffix “-s'” for “friend.” Answer: “friends'”
5. Diminutive:
   • Add the suffix “-ling” to “magic.” Answer: “magicling”
   • Use the suffix “-ette” for “sun.” Answer: “sunette”
6. Numerical suffixes:
   • Add the suffix “-ty” to “friend.” Answer: “friendy”
   • Use the “-teen” suffix for “cloud.” Answer: “cloudteen”
7. Adverbial:
   • Add the suffix “-ly” to “grow.” Answer: “growly”
   • Use the “-ly” suffix for “magic.” Answer: “magically”
8. Suffixes of manner and measure:
   • Add the suffix “-ly” to “sun.” Answer: “sunny”
   • Use the suffix “-ward(s)” for “cloud.” Answer: “cloudwards”

This activity will help you practice applying different suffixes to base words, thereby expanding your matching to new word formation. Feel free to experiment and discover the many interesting possibilities that the use of suffixes provides.