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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 noun, adjective, verb, or adverb.
| Noun Suffixes | Adjective Suffixes | Verb Suffixes | Adverb Suffixes |
These are common endings for nouns. If you see these endings on a word, then you know it must be a noun.
| -dom
|
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 |
| -ity
capability(n) |
at the end of a word
means condition or quality of __________.
capable+ity means the
condition of being capable. |
| -ment
|
at the end of a word
means act of __________; state of __________; result of __________.
content+ment means the state of being satisfied (content). |
| -sion,
-tion
|
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
|
at the end of a word
means act of __________; state of __________; quality of __________.
assist+ance means act of giving help. |
| -er,
-or
|
at the end of a word
means one who __________; that which __________.
fight+er means one who fights |
| -ist
|
at the end of a word
also means one who __________; that which __________.
violin+ist means one who plays the violin. |
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
|
at the end of a word
means doing or tending toward doing some action
extend+ive means doing
something large in range or amount |
| -en
wooden (adj) |
at the end of a word
means made of __________.
wood+en means made of
wood. |
| -ic
|
at the end of a word
means characteristic of__________; like __________.
hero+ic means characteristic
of a hero. |
| -al
|
sometimes makes an adjective;
when it makes an adjective it means relating to __________.
finance+al means relating
to finance. (Finance means money.) |
| -able
|
at the end of a word
means able __________; can __________; or giving __________.
port+able means can
be carried; able to be carried. |
| -y
hairy (adj) |
at the end of a word
means having __________.
hair+y means having
hair (a lot of hair). |
| -ous
|
at the end of a word
means full of __________; having __________.
mystery+ous means full of mystery. |
| -ful
|
at the end of a word
means full of __________; having __________.
hope+ful means full
of hope. |
| -less
powerless (adj) |
at the end of a word
means without __________.
power+less means without
power. |
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) |
at the end of a word
means to make __________.
bright+en means to make
bright. |
| -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
|
at then end of a word
means to have or be characterized by __________.
active+ate means to
make active. |
| -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. |
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
|
at the end of a word
almost always makes an adverb; occasionally it will make an adjective.
quick+ly. |