Suffixes
A suffix
goes at the end of a word. A prefix
goes at the beginning.
A suffix
is a group of letters placed at the end of a word to make a new
word. A suffix can make a new word in one of two ways:
- inflectional (grammatical): for example, changing singular to plural (dog > dogs), or changing present tense to past tense (walk > walked). In this case, the basic meaning of the word does not change.
- derivational (the new word has a new meaning, "derived" from the original word): for example, teach > teacher or care > careful
Inflectional suffixes
Inflectional suffixes do not change the meaning
of the original word. So in "Every day I walk to school" and
"Yesterday I walked to school", the words walk and walked
have the same basic meaning. In "I have one car" and "I have two
cars", the basic meaning of the words car and cars
is exactly the same. In these cases, the suffix is added simply for grammatical
"correctness". Look at these examples:
suffix
|
grammatical
change
|
example
original word |
example
suffixed word |
-s
|
Plural
|
Dog
|
dogs
|
-en
|
plural (irregular)
|
Ox
|
oxen
|
-s
|
3rd person singular present
|
Like
|
he likes
|
-ed
|
past tense
past participle |
Work
|
he worked
he has worked |
-en
|
past participle (irregular)
|
Eat
|
he has eaten
|
-ing
|
continuous/progressive
|
Sleep
|
he is sleeping
|
-er
|
Comparative
|
Big
|
bigger
|
-est
|
Superlative
|
Big
|
the biggest
|
Derivational suffixes
With derivational suffixes, the new word has a new
meaning, and is usually a different part of speech.
But the new meaning is related to the old meaning - it is "derived"
from the old meaning.
We can add more than one suffix, as in this
example:
derive (verb)
+ tion = derivation (noun) + al = derivational (adjective)
There are several hundred derivational suffixes. Here are some of the more
common ones:
suffix
|
making
|
example
original word |
example
suffixed word |
-ation
|
nouns
|
explore
hesitate |
exploration
hesitation |
-sion
|
persuade
divide |
persuasion
division |
|
-er
|
teach
|
Teacher
|
|
-cian
|
music
|
Musician
|
|
-ess
|
god
|
Goddess
|
|
-ness
|
sad
|
Sadness
|
|
-al
|
arrive
|
Arrival
|
|
-ary
|
diction
|
Dictionary
|
|
-ment
|
treat
|
Treatment
|
|
-y
|
jealous
victor |
jealousy
victory |
|
-al
|
adjectives
|
accident
|
Accidental
|
-ary
|
imagine
|
Imaginary
|
|
-able
|
tax
|
Taxable
|
|
-ly
|
brother
|
Brotherly
|
|
-y
|
ease
|
Easy
|
|
-ful
|
sorrow
forget |
sorrowful
forgetful |
|
-ly
|
adverbs
|
helpful
|
Helpfully
|
-ize
|
verbs
|
terror
private |
terrorize
privatize |
-ate
|
hyphen
|
hyphenate
|
Note: that the suffix -er
can convert almost any verb into the person or thing performing the action of
the verb. For example: a teacher is a person who teaches, a lover loves, a
killer kills, an observer observes, a walker walks, a runner runs; a sprinkler
is a thing that sprinkles, a copier copies, a shredder shreds.
A prefix is placed at the beginning of a word to modify or change its meaning. This is a list of the most common prefixes in English, together with their basic meaning and some examples. You can find more detail or precision for each prefix in any good dictionary.
A prefix goes
at the beginning of a word. A suffix
goes at the end of a word.
The origins of words are extremely complicated. You should use this list as
a guide only, to help you understand possible meanings. But be very careful,
because often what appears to be a prefix is not a prefix at all. Note also
that this list does not include elements like "auto-" or "
bio-", because these are "combining forms", not prefixes.
Prefix
|
Meaning
|
Examples
|
|
a-
|
also an-
|
not, without
|
atheist, anaemic
|
a-
|
to, towards
|
aside, aback
|
|
in the process of, in a particular state
|
a-hunting, aglow
|
||
a-
|
of
|
anew
|
|
completely
|
abashed
|
||
ab-
|
also abs-
|
away, from
|
abdicate, abstract
|
ad-
|
also a-, ac-, af-, ag- al-, an-, ap-, at- as-, at-
|
movement to, change into, addition or increase
|
advance, adulterate, adjunct, ascend, affiliate, affirm, aggravate,
alleviate, annotate, apprehend, arrive, assemble, attend
|
ante-
|
before, preceding
|
antecedent, ante-room
|
|
anti-
|
also ant-
|
opposing, against, the opposite
|
anti-aircraft, antibiotic, anticlimax, Antarctic
|
be-
|
all over, all around
|
bespatter, beset
|
|
completely
|
bewitch, bemuse
|
||
having, covered with
|
bejewelled
|
||
affect with (added to nouns)
|
befog
|
||
cause to be (added to adjectives)
|
becalm
|
||
com-
|
also co-, col-, con-, cor-
|
with, jointly, completely
|
combat, codriver, collude, confide, corrode
|
contra-
|
against, opposite
|
contraceptive
|
|
counter-
|
opposition, opposite direction
|
counter-attack, counteract
|
|
de-
|
down, away
|
descend, despair, depend, deduct
|
|
completely
|
denude, denigrate
|
||
removal, reversal
|
de-ice, decamp
|
||
dia-
|
also di-
|
through, across
|
diagonal
|
dis-
|
also di-
|
negation, removal, expulsion
|
disadvantage, dismount, disbud, disbar
|
en-
|
also em-
|
put into or on
|
engulf, enmesh
|
bring into the condition of
|
enlighten, embitter
|
||
intensification
|
entangle, enrage
|
||
ex-
|
also e-, ef-
|
out
|
exit, exclude, expand
|
upward
|
exalt, extol
|
||
completely
|
excruciate, exasperate
|
||
previous
|
ex-wife
|
||
extra-
|
outside, beyond
|
extracurricular
|
|
hemi-
|
half
|
hemisphere
|
|
hyper-
|
beyond, more than, more than normal
|
hypersonic, hyperactive
|
|
hypo-
|
under
|
hypodermic, hypothermia
|
|
in-
|
also il-, im-
|
not, without
|
infertile, inappropriate, impossible
|
also il-, im-, ir-
|
in, into, towards, inside
|
influence, influx, imbibe
|
|
infra-
|
below
|
infrared, infrastructure
|
|
inter-
|
between, among
|
interact, interchange
|
|
intra-
|
inside, within
|
intramural, intravenous
|
|
non-
|
absence, negation
|
non-smoker, non-alcoholic
|
|
ob-
|
also oc-, of-, op-
|
blocking, against, concealing
|
obstruct, occult, offend, oppose
|
out-
|
surpassing, exceeding
|
outperform
|
|
external, away from
|
outbuilding, outboard
|
||
over-
|
excessively, completely
|
overconfident, overburdened, overjoyed
|
|
upper, outer, over, above
|
overcoat, overcast
|
||
peri-
|
round, about
|
perimeter
|
|
post-
|
after in time or order
|
postpone
|
|
pre-
|
before in time, place, order or importance
|
pre-adolescent, prelude, precondition
|
|
pro-
|
favouring, in support of
|
pro-African
|
|
acting for
|
proconsul
|
||
motion forwards or away
|
propulsion
|
||
before in time, place or order
|
prologue
|
||
re-
|
again
|
repaint, reappraise, reawake
|
|
semi-
|
half, partly
|
semicircle, semi-conscious
|
|
sub-
|
also suc-, suf-, sug-, sup-, sur-, sus-
|
at a lower position
|
submarine, subsoil
|
lower in rank
|
sub-lieutenant
|
||
nearly, approximately
|
sub-tropical
|
||
syn-
|
also sym-
|
in union, acting together
|
synchronize, symmetry
|
trans-
|
across, beyond
|
transnational, transatlantic
|
|
into a different state
|
translate
|
||
ultra-
|
beyond
|
ultraviolet, ultrasonic
|
|
extreme
|
ultramicroscopic
|
||
un-
|
not
|
unacceptable, unreal, unhappy, unmanned
|
|
reversal or cancellation of action or state
|
unplug, unmask
|
||
under-
|
beneath, below
|
underarm, undercarriage
|
|
lower in rank
|
undersecretary
|
||
not enough
|
underdeveloped
|
A suffix is a letter or a group of letters attached to the end of a
word to form a new word or to alter the grammatical function of the original
word. For example, the verb read can be made into the noun reader
by adding the suffix -er; read can be made into the adjective readable
by adding the suffix -able.
Understanding
the meanings of the common suffixes can help us deduce the meanings of new
words that we encounter. The table below defines and illustrates 26 common
suffixes.
Common Suffixes
Noun
Suffixes
|
||
Suffix
|
Meaning
|
Example
|
-acy
|
state or quality
|
privacy
|
-al
|
act or process of
|
refusal
|
-ance, -ence
|
state or quality of
|
maintenance, eminence
|
-dom
|
place or state of being
|
freedom, kingdom
|
-er, -or
|
one who
|
trainer, protector
|
-ism
|
doctrine, belief
|
communism
|
-ist
|
one who
|
chemist
|
-ity, -ty
|
quality of
|
veracity
|
-ment
|
condition of
|
argument
|
-ness
|
state of being
|
heaviness
|
-ship
|
position held
|
fellowship
|
-sion, -tion
|
state of being
|
concession, transition
|
Verb
Suffixes
|
||
-ate
|
become
|
eradicate
|
-en
|
become
|
enlighten
|
-ify, -fy
|
make or become
|
terrify
|
-ize, -ise
|
become
|
civilize
|
Adjective
Suffixes
|
||
-able, -ible
|
capable of being
|
edible, presentable
|
-al
|
pertaining to
|
regional
|
-esque
|
reminiscent of
|
picturesque
|
-ful
|
notable for
|
fanciful
|
-ic, -ical
|
pertaining to
|
musical, mythic
|
-ious, -ous
|
characterized by
|
nutritious, portentous
|
-ish
|
having the quality of
|
fiendish
|
-ive
|
having the nature of
|
creative
|
-less
|
without
|
endless
|
-y
|
characterized by
|
sleazy
|
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