Suffixes

Now, let's turn to suffixes.

A suffix is a letter or group of letters added to the end of a word. Suffixes are
commonly used to show the part of speech of a word. For example, adding
"ion" to the verb "act" gives us "action," the noun form of the word. Suffixes
also tell us the verb tense of words or whether the words are plural or singular.

Some common suffixes are -er, -s, -es, -ed, -ing and -ly.

Here are a few things to remember when learning suffixes:

1. Some suffixes have more than one meaning. For example, the suffix -er may
suggest a person who performs an action, like a teacher. But "er" is also
commonly added to the ends of adjectives and adverbs. They compare two
things and show that one is "more" than the other, such as in "faster" and
"stronger."
2. The spelling of a base word can change when a suffix is added. This is true of
most base words ending in the letter "y." For instance, when we add the
suffix -ness to the word "crazy" to make "craziness," we replace the "y" with an
"i." This rule is also true of many base words ending in a silent "e" when the
suffix begins with a vowel. For example, in the words "write," "make" and
"manage," we drop the "e" in the words when we add -ing to make: "writing,"
"making" and "managing." We also often drop the silent "e" before the suffix -
able such as in "usable." Be careful, though, because with some words, we
keep the "e," such as in "changeable" and "loveable."
There are additional suffix rules, but they deal with spelling and can be
learned with time and practice.

A thing to keep in mind about both prefixes and suffixes is that some are only
used with some words. For example, we add the suffix -ful to some nouns to
mean "full of," such as in the words "beautiful" or "helpful." But, we cannot
add -ful to just any noun. You could not, for example, say "loveful" to mean
full of love.

So, what are some ways that you can practice common prefixes and suffixes?

One way is to use online flashcards from websites like Quizlet. You can
choose sets of cards that are already made or create and use your own sets. Or,
you can make your own flashcards with pieces of paper.

Once you've spent time practicing, take a news story or page in a book and
look for words that have the prefixes and suffixes you learned. Then, use what
you know about the meaning of the root words to guess the meanings of those
words.

Learning prefixes and suffixes will not only build your vocabulary but can
make unfamiliar English words a lot less frightening.
I'm Phil Dierking. And I'm Alice Bryant.

Alice Bryant wrote this story for Learning English. George Grow was the
editor.

_____________________________________________________
__________

Words in This Story

spell – v. to say, write, or print the letters of a word (gerund: spelling)

practice – n. to do something again and again in order to become better at it

vowel – n. one of the letters a, e, i, o, u and sometimes y

flashcard – n. a card that has words, numbers, or pictures on it and that is

used to help students learn about a subject