English Works! Grammar: Suffixes to Know

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Suffixes to Know
From Working on Words
by John F. Canney, J. Philip Goldberg, and Diane D. O'Connor

Suffixes (word-endings) come at the end of a word. They show whether the word is a verb, noun, adjective, or adverb. Learning these word-endings can help you recognize a verb, noun, adjective, or adverb.

Noun Suffixes
These are common endings for nouns. If you see these endings on a word, then you know it must be a noun.

-dom wisdom(n) kingdom(n)	at the end of a word means state or condition domain, position, rank a group with position, office, or rank wise+dom means the state of understanding what is good, right and lasting king+dom means the domain or area belonging to a king.
-ity capability(n) flexibility(n)	at the end of a word means condition or quality of __________. capable+ity means the condition of being capable. flexible+ity means the quality of being flexible.
-ment contentment(n)	at the end of a word means act of __________; state of __________; result of __________. content+ment means the state of being satisfied (content).
-sion, -tion celebration (n)	at the end of a word means act of __________; state of __________. celebrate+tion means the act of celebrating
-ness toughness (n)	at the end of a word means state of __________. tough+ness means the state of being tough.
-ance, -ence assistance (n)	at the end of a word means act of __________; state of __________; quality of __________. assist+ance means act of giving help.
-er, -or fighter (n) actor (n)	at the end of a word means one who __________; that which __________. fight+er means one who fights act+or means one who acts.
-ist violinist (n)	at the end of a word also means one who __________; that which __________. violin+ist means one who plays the violin.

Adjective Suffixes

These are common word endings for adjectives. If you see these ending at the end of a word, you can be certain it is an adjective.

-ive extensive(adj) selective(adj)	at the end of a word means doing or tending toward doing some action extend+ive means doing something large in range or amount select+ive means tending to select.
-en wooden (adj)	at the end of a word means made of __________. wood+en means made of wood. Note: When the word is an adjective, the -en means made of __________. We have seen -en at the end of a verb. There it means to make __________.
-ic heroic (adj) poetic (adj)	at the end of a word means characteristic of__________; like __________. hero+ic means characteristic of a hero. poet+ic means characteristic of (or like) poets or poetry.
-al financial (adj) manual (adj)	sometimes makes an adjective; when it makes an adjective it means relating to __________. finance+al means relating to finance. (Finance means money.) manu+al means relating to the hand. (Manus means hand in Latin.)
-able portable (adj) pleasurable (adj)	at the end of a word means able __________; can __________; or giving __________. port+able means can be carried; able to be carried. pleasure+able means giving pleasure.
-y hairy (adj) rainy (adj)	at the end of a word means having __________. hair+y means having hair (a lot of hair). rain+y means having rain.
-ous mysterious (adj)	at the end of a word means full of __________; having __________. mystery+ous means full of mystery.
-ful hopeful (adj) beautiful (adj)	at the end of a word means full of __________; having __________. hope+ful means full of hope. beauty+ful means full of beauty. Note: The suffix -ful is always spelled with one l; the word full has two.
-less powerless (adj) homeless(adj)	at the end of a word means without __________. power+less means without power. home+less means without a home.

Verb Suffixes

These are common endings for verbs. If you see these endings on a word, then the word is most likely a verb.

-en brighten (v) soften (v)	at the end of a word means to make __________. bright+en means to make bright. soft+en means to make soft.
-ize publicize (v)	at the end of a word means to make __________. public+ize means to make public or to make the public aware of.
-ate activate(v) differentiate(v)	at then end of a word means to have or be characterized by __________. active+ate means to make active. different+ate means to make or show a difference.
-ify or -fy simplify(v)	at the end of a word means to cause to become or to make. simple+ify means to make simple or simpler.

Adverb Suffix

This is the most common ending for an adverb. If you see this ending on a word, you can be fairly certain that it is an adverb. However, keep in mind that not all adverbs end this way.

-ly

quickly (adv)

at the end of a word almost always makes an adverb; occasionally it will make an adjective.

quick+ly.