Word formation. Adjective suffixes in English

Word formation is the formation of new words using prefixes, suffixes, adding stems and other methods. If you know how word formation works in the English language, you understand the meaning of basic prefixes and suffixes, it will be much easier for you to expand your vocabulary, read, and understand English speech, because you will guess the meaning of a huge number of words without a dictionary.

By the way, if you are curious to know what your vocabulary is, I recommend reading this article: From it you will learn simple and interesting ways to determine your vocabulary.

There are several ways of word formation, the most important practical significance is the formation of words using suffixes and prefixes. We will dwell on it in more detail, and consider the remaining methods briefly.

Why do you need to know word formation?

The main benefit is that knowing the meanings of prefixes and suffixes significantly increases the number of words you recognize when reading and listening (especially when reading). In other words, passive vocabulary increases.

Let's take, for example, the verb to use- use. With the help of suffixes it is formed from:

Adjective useful- useful.
Adjective useless- useless.
Noun usage- usage.

Understanding the meaning of suffixes -ful, -less, -age, you can easily understand all three formed from to use words, even if they didn’t know their meaning.

-ful and -less indicate the presence or absence of quality: from the word care (care) careful- careful, careless– carefree.
-age forms nouns from verbs: leak(leak) – leakage(a leak), pass(pass) – passage(passage).

The effect will be especially noticeable when reading, because in the text suffixes and prefixes are easily noticeable, but in oral speech they can simply not be made out. In general, understanding oral speech differs from understanding text in that for listening comprehension it is not enough to know words and grammar - you need to have a developed, trained skill in listening comprehension. It is developed separately through listening, i.e. listening to live speech.

Why passive vocabulary, why not active? Prefixes and suffixes are good semantic clues, but the English vocabulary is structured in such a way (like Russian) that not every word can be attached with any affix.

A striking example is consoles in- And un-, having the meaning of negation: able– capable, unable– incapable, stable– stable, instable– unstable. The prefixes are completely the same in meaning, but when you need to “prefix” which one you need to remember. When reading, you will easily understand the meaning of words with in\un-, but you can make mistakes in your speech.

However, it's not that scary. I am sure that you will be understood if you say inable And unstable, mixing up the prefixes. Speaking Russian, we still make such mistakes!

How to study word formation in English

Prefixes and suffixes (together they are called “affixes”) are not the case when you need to sit down with textbooks, cram the rules, and do exercises one after another. It is quite enough to simply familiarize yourself with the meaning of the main prefixes and suffixes and look at examples.

The tables and mind maps (images-summaries) below will help you with this. The tables reveal the meaning of prefixes and suffixes (as far as possible), examples of words, and mind maps are a kind of summary, a cheat sheet made on the basis of the tables.

After looking through the materials, you will notice that many affixes are similar to Russian ones and even have similar meanings. It’s not surprising, because they came to English, Russian and other languages from Latin and Greek, especially for affixes with a scientific connotation: de activate – de activate, anti virus – anti virus, counter balance – against oats, ideal ism – ideal change. Thanks to these preserved connections between languages, word formation in English is given without any special problems.

There are different approaches to the classification of word formation methods; in Russian-language literature, two main methods are usually distinguished: word composition and word production.

Word production, in turn, is of four types: conversion, change of stress, alternation of sounds and affixation (prefixes and suffixes).

Compounding

Compounding is the combination of two words or stems into one word. The resulting words are written together or with a hyphen. The Russian language also has such a method and, by the way, the word “composition” itself is formed by compounding.

The verbs , (most often) are formed by compounding words.

Derivation

Derivation is the formation of one word from others. This can happen in four ways:

Conversion.
Changing the place of stress.
Alternation of sounds.
Affixation.

Conversion

Conversion is the transition of a word from one part of speech to another without changing the spelling or sound. It turns out that the word formally remains unchanged, but:

it turns into another part of speech,
its meaning changes.

Conversion is a method of word formation characteristic of the English language, thanks to which there are many words in English that do not differ in appearance or sound, but have the meaning of different parts of speech.

For example, nouns and verbs can match:

Noun	Verb
answer (answer)	to answer (answer)
hand (hand)	to hand (hand over)
place	to place
work (work)	to work (to work)

Or adjectives and verbs:

Changing the place of stress

In this case, the nouns have the same form as the verbs, but they have a different emphasis. Typically, a verb's stress falls on the second syllable, and a noun's stress falls on the first.

Alternation of sounds

In this case, verbs and nouns formed from the same root differ in the alternation of the last consonant sound. Usually it is voiced in a verb, and unvoiced in a noun.

For example:

Affixation

Very often words are formed using addition prefixes and suffixes(together they are called affixes).

Consoles(prefixes) change the meaning of words, but the word itself does not change into another part of speech. Knowing the most common prefixes, you will be able to guess the meaning of words formed with their help, if, of course, you know the source word.
Suffixes serve to form one part of speech from another. Knowing which suffixes are characteristic of which speech, you will easily understand which part of speech is in front of you, and accordingly this will make it easier to understand the word.

Prefixes in English

Prefixes can be divided into two groups: negative and all the rest.
The most common negative prefixes: un-, in-, dis-. There are no rules governing which of these prefixes is used to give a negative meaning to a word.

However, if we talk about passive vocabulary, about understanding text or speech, then this is not so important: if a word has one of the negative prefixes, then its meaning has been changed to negative or the opposite. The tables below give examples of words with these prefixes.

Prefix un-

comfortable - comfortable	uncomfortable - uncomfortable
equal - equal	unequal - unequal
expected - expected	unexpected - unexpected
happy - happy	unhappy - unhappy
important - important	unimportant - unimportant
known - famous	unknown - unknown
limited - limited	unlimited - unlimited
pleasant - pleasant	unpleasant - unpleasant

Also un- is attached to verbs to express the opposite action.

to dress - to dress	to undress - to undress
to lock - lock	to unlock - unlock
to pack – pack	to unpack - unpack

Prefix in-

No rules governing when to use un-, and when in-, although these prefixes do not differ in meaning. The important difference is that in- NOT used in verbs.

Examples:

Prefix in– modified in some cases:

before l turns into il-
before r turns into ir-
before m and p turns into im-

Prefix dis-

Dis- can express denial or the opposite action.

Negation:

Opposite action:

Other negative prefixes

Among other negative prefixes, there are many of international, Latin and Greek origin, which are also found in the Russian language.

a\ab– (without-, non-, a-): abnormal – abnormal, amoral – immoral.
anti-(anti-, anti-): antivirus - antivirus, antibiotic - antibiotic.
counter-(counter-, anti-): counterstrike - counter-strike, counter-clockwise - counterclockwise.
de-(deprive, delete): decode - decode, deformation - disbandment.
non-(negation, absence): non-stop - non-stop, non-alcoholic - non-alcoholic.

Prefixes with different meanings

Prefix re- (again, again, again)
to appear - appear	to reappear - appear again
to construct - build	to reconstruct - rebuild
to read - read	to reread - reread
to sell – sell	to resell - resell
Prefix mis- (incorrect, incorrect)
to hear – to hear	to mishear - to mishear, to hear incorrectly
to lead - to lead	to mislead - to mislead
to quote - quote	to misquote - to quote incorrectly
to understand – to understand	to misunderstand - misunderstand
Prefixes over- (over, excessively) and under- (under-, insufficient)
to estimate – estimate	to overestimate - to overestimate To underestimate - to underestimate
to pay - pay	to overpay - to overpay to underpay - underpay
Prefixes pre- (before, earlier) and post- (post-, after), often written with a hyphen
revolutionary - revolutionary	pre-revolutionary – pre-revolutionary post-revolutionary - post-revolutionary
war - war	pre-war - pre-war post-war - post-war
Prefix co- (cooperation, commonality of action), often written with a hyphen
author - author	co-author - co-author
existence - existence	co-existence - coexistence
operation - operation	co-operation – cooperation, assistance
Prefix inter- (between, among, mutually)
national - national	international - international
action - action	interaction
town - city	intertown - intercity
Prefix ex- (ex-, former), written with a hyphen
husband - husband	ex-husband - ex-husband
president - president	ex-president - ex-president
Prefix sub- (sub-, sub-)
marine - marine	submarine - underwater
section - section	subsection - subsection
Prefix ultra- (ultra-, super-), written with a hyphen
microscopic – microscopic	ultramicroscopic – ultramicroscopic
violet – purple	ultra-violet - ultraviolet
Prefix en- (to do something)
circle - circle	encircle – surround (make a circle)
large - big	enlarge – increase (do more)
slave - slave	enslave – to enslave (to make a slave)

Notes:

In modern English there are words with inseparable prefixes, they include the prefixes listed in the table above, but by separating them, we do not get an independent word. For example: reduce(to shorten), discuss(discuss), pre pare(prepare). In fact, these consoles are no longer consoles at all. Once upon a time they grew attached to the roots of words, now unused and modified, and gradually they themselves became part of the root of the word. For example, in the word prepare(prepare) pre- this is no longer a prefix, but part of the root of the word.
In colloquial speech the word is used "ex"– it exactly corresponds to our “ex, ex” and means “ex-husband/boyfriend, ex-wife/girlfriend”: My ex texted me – My ex wrote me an SMS.

Suffixes in English

Suffixes are indicators of parts of speech in the English language; accordingly, they can be divided into three groups: suffixes of nouns, adjectives and verbs. There is not much to say about adverbs; in most cases they are formed using only one suffix -ly(quick – quickly), there is a small note about them.

Noun suffixes

With the help of suffixes, nouns denoting persons and abstract nouns denoting broad or general concepts are formed.

Nouns denoting persons

Suffixes -er, -or – are added to verbs to denote the character
to buy – buy	buyer - buyer
to direct - to lead	director - head
to teach – to teach	teacher - teacher
to work - to work	worker - worker
The suffixes -ism and -ist correspond to the suffixes -ism and -ist in the Russian language, denoting ideologies, political or scientific movements and their adherents
idealist	idealist
terrorist	terrorist
materialism	materialism
The suffix -ee is used to indicate the person to whom the action is directed
to address - to address	addressee - addressee
to employ – hire	employee – worker (hired employee)
to pay - pay	payee – payee
The suffix -ian is used to denote nationality
Russian	Russian
Ukrainian	Ukrainian
Bulgarian	Bulgarian
Norwegian	Norwegian

Abstract nouns

The suffix -age usually forms nouns from verbs
to leak – to leak	leakage - leak
to marry – to marry, to get married	marriage - marriage
Suffixes -ance, -ence – with their help, nouns are formed from adjectives with suffixes -ant, -ent
important - important	importance - importance
different – different	difference - difference
resistant – resistant	resistance - resistance
The suffix -dom forms nouns from adjectives and other nouns
free - free	freedom - freedom
king - king	kingdom - kingdom
The suffix -hood usually forms nouns from other nouns
brother - brother	brotherhood - brotherhood
child - child	childhood - childhood
neighbor - neighbor	neighborhood - neighborhood
The suffixes -ion, -ation, -sion, -ssion form nouns from verbs, sometimes changing the pronunciation or spelling
to collect – collect	collection - collection
to combine - combine	combination - combination
to transmit - transmit	transmission - transmission
The suffix -ment forms nouns from verbs
to agree - agree	agreement - agreement
to develop – to develop	development - development
The suffix -ness forms nouns from adjectives
dark - dark	darkness - darkness
kind - kind	kindness - kindness
weak – weak	weakness - weakness
The suffix -ship forms nouns from other nouns
friend - friend	friendship - friendship
leader - leader	leadership - leadership
The suffix -ure forms nouns from verbs
to please – to give pleasure	pleasure - pleasure
to press – to press	pressure - pressure
to seize – to seize	seizure - capture

Adjective suffixes

The suffixes -able, -ible express the possibility of being subjected to action; in Russian there are similar “-able”, “-ivy”, “-obny”
to change - change	changable – changeable, changeable
to eat - eat	eatable - edible
to walk - go	walkable - passable
to convert – convert, transform	convertable - reversible, convertible
The suffix -al forms adjectives from nouns (cf. In Russian: -al)
center – center	central - central
culture - culture	cultural - cultural
form - form	formal – formal
The suffixes -ant, -ent form adjectives from verbs (these adjectives correspond to nouns with -ance, -ence)
to differ - to differ	different – different (difference – difference)
to resist – resist	resistant - resistant (resistance - resistance)
The suffixes -ful form adjectives from nouns and denote the presence of a quality. (opposite of -less)
beauty - beauty	beautiful – beautiful
doubt - doubt	doubtful - doubtful
use - benefit	useful - useful
The suffix -ish forms adjectives with the meanings: a) nationality, b) weak degree of quality (as in Russian -ovat, -evat)
scott - Scotsman	scottish - Scottish
swede - Swede	swedish - Swedish
red – red	reddish – reddish
brown - brown	brownish – brownish
The suffix -ive forms adjectives from verbs and nouns (as in Russian -ive, -ivny)
to act - to act	active - active
effect – effect, action	effective - valid
to talk - talk	talkative - talkative
The suffix -less forms adjectives from a noun and means lack of quality (the opposite of -ful)
hope - hope	hopeless - hopeless
use - benefit	useless - useless
home - house	homeless - homeless
The suffix -ous forms adjectives from nouns
courage - courage	courageous - brave
danger - danger	dangerous – dangerous
glory - glory	glorious - glorious
The suffix -y forms adjectives from nouns (mostly weather-related)
cloud – cloud	cloudy - cloudy
dirt - dirt	dirty - dirty
fog - fog	foggy - foggy
rain - rain	rainy - rainy
sun – sun	sunny – sunny

Verb suffixes

The suffix -en gives meanings: to do, to become, to become, forms verbs from adjectives and nouns
sharp - sharp	sharpen – sharpen
short - short	shorten – to shorten
strength - strength	strengthen – strengthen
wide – wide	widen - expand
The suffix -fy usually forms verbs from adjectives, less often from nouns
false - fake	to falsify – to falsify
glory - glory	to glorify – glorify
simple - simple	to simplify - to simplify
pure - pure	to purify – to cleanse
The suffix -ize usually forms verbs from nouns
character - character	to characterize – to characterize
crystal – crystal	to crystallize – crystallize
sympathy - sympathy	to sympathize - sympathize

Notes:

A few words need to be said about adverbs. Everything here is extremely simple: in the vast majority of cases, derived adverbs are formed from adjectives (sometimes from numerals and nouns) using a suffix -ly: wise(wise) - wisely(wisely) slow(slow) - slowly(slowly), etc. Suffixes are much less common -wise(clockwise - clockwise), -ward(s)(forward\backward – forward\back), -ways(sideways - sideways).
As with prefixes, the English language has words with permanent suffixes, but in fact these are not suffixes, but part of a root that was once formed from a suffix (during the process of historical changes in the language). These words are indivisible and are not recognized as words with suffixes, for example: courage(courage), station(station), document(document), loyal(devoted) possible(possible) and others.
As in the Russian language, English words can be formed not only by prefix and suffix, but also by a combined (prefix-suffix) method. For example: walk(walk) - walkable(passable) – unwalkable(impassable). In this case, the meaning of both the suffix and the prefix is added to the original word.

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Confusion may arise (both are often called word endings, “word endings”), and the English terminology in this matter is slightly different from Russian. So let's start with the basic concepts.

The ending is an inflectional morpheme. It changes the form of the word, but not its meaning, and at the same time carries a grammatical load:

pencil - pencil s(the ending indicates the plural)
work - work ed(the ending indicates past tense)

The suffix, in turn, is a word-forming morpheme. Suffixes in English create new words, either changing the meaning of the original one, or transforming one part of speech into another:

red-redd ish(red - reddish)
teach - teach er(teach - teacher)

There are very few endings in English - these are -s (-es), -ed and -ing. There are a huge number of suffixes in English. In this article we will consider only the most common ones.

Noun suffixes

Suffixes of professions and activities (-er, -ent, -ess)

The suffix -er is perhaps the most common and productive for denoting “doers.” With it you can form a noun from almost any verb.

write > writer - write > writer
bake > baker - oven > baker
paint > painter - draw > artist

Most modern words denoting the performer of an action are formed with its help. This also applies to inanimate objects.

printer - printer
scanner - scanner

Many have the suffix -or:

doctor - doctor
tailor - tailor
actor - actor

The suffix in English -ist often denotes activities related to science and medicine:

scientist - scientist
dentist - dentist
biologist - biologist

It also denotes an adherent of any views and beliefs:

pacifist - pacifist
communist - communist
realist - realist

Other suffixes in English for words of Latin and Greek origin:

Suffix -ian:

musician - musician
librarian - librarian
mathematician - mathematician

Suffix -ent:

student - student
resident - resident, resident
agent - agent

Suffix -ant:

informant - informant
assistant - assistant
confidant - trusted person

The suffix -ess is one of the few "feminine" suffixes in English:

waitress - waitress
actress - actress
princess - princess

Suffixes of process, action, phenomenon (-ment, -ion, -ism)

The suffix in English -ment is needed when forming verbal nouns and means an action or its result:

movement - movement
entertainment - entertainment
concealment - concealment

The suffix -ion also means an action, a process, or the result of that process:

revolution - revolution
isolation - isolation
restriction - restriction

The suffix -ism denotes a system of views and beliefs:

racism - racism
communism - communism
pacifism - pacifism

Suffixes of state, quality, property (-ance / -ence, -dom, -hood, -ity, -ness, -ship, -th)

The suffix -ance/-ence on a noun generally corresponds to the suffix -ant/-ent on an adjective:

different - difference (different - difference)
important - importance (important - importance)
independent - independence (independent - independence)

The suffixes in English -hood and -ship mean a person’s condition associated with his age, social relationships, and sometimes activities; or a group of people united by this condition.

childhood - childhood
motherhood - motherhood
priesthood - clergy
friendship - friendship
internship - internship, internship

The suffix -dom means states and properties of a broader meaning:

freedom - freedom
wisdom - wisdom
martyrdom - martyrdom

The suffix in English -ness means the possession of some quality and is used to form nouns from adjectives:

kindness - kindness
usefulness - usefulness
vastness - vastness

The suffix -th more often means physical properties:

strength - strength
length - length
warmth - warmth

The suffix -ity means property, quality, and is common for words of Latin origin:

brevity - brevity
velocity - speed
purity - purity

Adjective suffixes

The suffix in English -ful means having a quality (and is related to the adjective full - “full”):

beautiful - beautiful
useful - useful

The suffix -less is the opposite in meaning to the previous one and means lack of quality:

careless - carefree
harmless - harmless

The suffix -able, -ible characterizes the property or availability for any action:

edible - edible
portable - portable, portable
admirable - admirable

The suffixes -ic and -al mean “relating to, associated with something”:

heroic - heroic
mythic - mythical
cultural - cultural
musical - musical

The suffix -ous also carries the characteristic:

dangerous - dangerous
nutritious - nutritious

The suffix in English -ish has several meanings:

expresses similarity (in terms of appearance, behavior)

girlish - girlish
childich - childish, childish
foolish - stupid

weakens the meaning of the adjective

reddish - reddish
narrowish - narrowish

means nationality, language or belonging to a country

English - English
Swedish - Swedish

The suffix -ive means having a property, ability:

attractive - attractive
sedative - sedative

The English suffix -y is used to form many simple adjectives:

rainy - rainy
dirty - dirty
sunny - sunny

Verb suffixes

Verb suffixes are not so diverse and almost all have the meaning “to do something” or “to become something.”

What do words have in common? lovely, helpful, caring, painful? They all have the same suffix, when writing which a huge number of errors are made. This is understandable, because everyone is familiar with the word full, and accordingly, the suffix is written in the same way, with two l.

Indeed, the suffix -ful owes its origin to the adjective full, which translates as "full, filled, rich in something":

Full of water - full of water
full of love - full of love
full of pleasant memories - filled with pleasant impressions

An adjective is always written with two l's. By the way, it has other meanings:

I am not hungry I am full. - I'm not hungry, I'm full.

unabridged, in full form:

What is your full name? - What is your full name?

I was waiting for a full hour. - I've been waiting for him for an hour.

The suffix - ful (in which there is one l) tends to form adjectives when combined with verbs and nouns. -Ful emphasizes the presence of a certain characteristic.
Let's remember some adjectives with the suffix -ful, as well as the verbs and nouns from which they come:

Verb (verb)	Noun (noun)	Adjective (adjective)
	beauty (beauty)	beautiful (beautiful)
care (take care)	care	careful (caring)
cheer (to cheer)	cheer (encouragement)	cheerful (cheerful, cheerful)
color (paint)	color (color)	colourful
	delight (pleasure)	delightful (pleasant)
doubt (doubt)	doubt	doubtful (doubtful)
faith (to believe)	faith	faithful (faithful)
forget (to forget)		forgetful (forgetful)
	grace (gracefulness)	graceful (graceful)
harm (harm)		harmful (harmful)
help (help)	help (help)	helpful (ready to help)
hope (to hope)	hope	hopeful (full of hope)
	joy (fun)	joyful (joyful)
	law (law)	lawful (legal)
mean (mean)	meaning	meaningful
pain (to be sick)		painful
	plenty (many)	plentiful (numerous)
	power (strength)	powerful (strong)
respect (respect)	respect	respectful (respected)
	skill (skill, ability)	skillful (skillful)
stress (to depress)	stress	stressful
use (use)	use	useful (useful)
	thought (thought)	thoughtful (thoughtful)
taste (try)	taste (taste)	tasteful (delicious)

Some words that are shaped like adjectives with the suffix -ful are actually nouns. The suffix adds the meaning "full, filled". These are nouns: handful (handful), mouthful (full mouth), spoonful (full spoon), houseful (full house) and others.

Now many of you probably remember that you have come across the words beautiful or helpful with two l. Yes, this is possible! But only with education!
You and I know that most adverbs in English are formed using the suffix -ly. If this suffix is added to an adjective that already ends in l, then, of course, the consonant will be doubled:

Beautiful - beautifully
careful - carefully
hopeful - hopefully

Remember that only in adverbs with the suffix -ly is it possible to encounter a double -l.

You see how simple it is! Now you know the simple rules and will always confidently choose the correct spelling of words with the suffix --ful.

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I told you in the last message. According to their structure, adjectives are divided into: simple, derivative and complex. Derived adjectives form a very large group that cannot be easily learned unless you know the suffixes and prefixes. Therefore, we return again to the topic of word formation, only now we have suffixes of adjectives. Tested by practice - having a good understanding of suffixes and prefixes, you immediately increase your vocabulary many times over.

Examples and descriptions have already been written in previous messages, and you can write them out and teach them. Now let's talk about adjective suffixes.

Let's start with the suffixes “- LESS” and “- FUL”. Now, when you see these endings in a word, you will immediately understand that this is an adjective, and in addition, you can “calculate” the meaning of the root word.

Suffix –LESS= productive, originating from Old English. It means the absence of some quality. In many cases, the stem (that is, the root) of such adjectives are abstract nouns that indicate quality, although the stem may also be concrete nouns. For example:

hope(hope) + less - hopeless= hopeless;

aim(target) + less — aimless= aimless;

b reath(1.breath, sigh) + less – breathless= out of breath, out of breath

(2. breath) = windless, motionless (about air, water, etc.)

mercy(mercy) + less – merciless= unmerciful, merciless;

meaning(value) + less – meaningless= minor;

expression(expression) + less – expressionless= expressionless, indifferent;

help(help) + less – helpless= helpless;

home(house)+ less — homeless= homeless;

defense(protection, defense) + less – defenseless= defenseless, undefendable;

harm(harm) + less – harmless= harmless;

motion(movement)+ less – motionless= motionless;

effort(effort) + less – effortless= effortless, lightweight;

sound(sound) + less – soundless= silent;

use(benefit)+ less – useless= useless;

care(care, attention)+ less – careless= carefree, inattentive.

Words with the suffix “-LESS” are not always translated simply by one adjective; sometimes it is necessary to convey the meaning in a group of words with a noun, since there are simply no such adjectives in the Russian language. For example, such a combination “WINDOWLESS HOUSE” cannot be translated as a “windowless” house, but we translate “house without windows”. Some more examples of such words:

springless bed = bed without springs;

sleeveless dress = sleeveless dress;

hellless shoes = shoes without heels;

shoeless boy = boy without shoes, barefoot;

stockingless feet = legs without stockings.

Suffix –FUL= productive, comes from Old English. It means “fullness” of some quality, an excess of quality. In fact, this is the antonym of the suffix “-LESS”.

care(care, attention) + ful – careful= caring, attentive;

use(benefit) + ful – useful= useful;

pain(pain) + ful – painful= painful;

beauty(beauty) + ful – beautiful= beautiful, wonderful;

hope(hope) + ful – hopeful= reliable;

power(strength, power, authority) + ful – powerful= strong, powerful, domineering;

t hank(gratitude) + ful – thankful= grateful;

wonder(miracles) + ful – wonderful= wonderful;

law(law) + ful – lawful= legal;

grace(grace) + ful = graceful= graceful;

success(success) + ful – successful= successful;

thought(thought) + ful – t wishful= pensive;

meaning(meaning)+ ful – meaningful= significant;

force(strength) + ful – forceful= strong;

doubt(doubt) + ful = dobtful= doubtful.

Just like with the suffix “-LESS”, some words with the suffix “-FUL” cannot be translated with one adjective. For example:

event + ful – eventful = eventful

scorn + ful – scornful = full of contempt

There is also a group of words where the suffix “-FUL” goes to the suffixes of nouns. These words are also associated with filling, but some kind of containers. These containers can also be conditional. Here are some examples:

hand+ ful – handful= handful;

arm+ ful – a rmful= armful;

mouth+ ful – mouthful= a mouth full (of something, such as water);

spoon+ ful – spoonful= spoonful;

plate+ full = plateful= full plate;

pocket+ ful – p ocketful= pocket full;

cup+ ful – cupful= full cup.

The English sentence is like an impenetrable forest, we took a wrong turn, and now we are lost among unfamiliar words. How can you avoid getting into trouble and correctly determine which part of speech is in front of you? Suffixes to the rescue! We have prepared useful material especially for you, thanks to which you will distinguish these mysterious parts of speech. Understanding the meanings of common affixes will help you understand the meanings of new words you come across. Let's go

So, by suffix we mean a letter or group of letters that is typically found at the end of a word in English. Thanks to this element, amazing metamorphoses occur, so a completely new one is formed from the original word, and sometimes the part of speech changes. Let's look at an example, the verb to create (create), by adding the suffix - or we get the noun creat or(creator). Let's construct an adjective in a similar way, but this time we choose the suffix - ive:creat ive(creative).

Since practicing and creating vocabulary is a useful thing, we suggest paying attention to three important features:

First, sometimes adding a suffix changes the spelling of the root or stem. The word ends with a vowel -y, and is preceded by a consonant - y replace with - i. Here's an example:

verb to justify y(to justify) > adjective justif i able (justified);
adjective ugl y(ugly) > noun ugl i ness (ugliness).

Also, if by the way with a dumb word - e an affix is added at the end, then this vowel is simply falls out. For example:

verb to us e(use) > adjective usable(practical);
verb to adore e(adore) > adjective adorable(charming).

NOTA BENE: As with all rules of the English language, spelling, of course, has its exceptions. Therefore, if controversial questions arise, feel free to consult the dictionary.

Secondly, not all suffixes can be added to all roots, these are the owners of affixes, and there’s nothing you can do about it. For example:

beauty y(beauty) + - ful > beautiful(beautiful);
ugl y(ugly) + - ness > ugliness(ugliness).

But the words beauty or ugliful are not in the dictionary, since they do not exist in the language at all, period.

Thirdly, some suffixes have more than one meaning. How greedy! You all know the affix - er used comparatively: bright > bright er(brighter). However, the same suffix also means a person living in a specific place: London (London) > Londoner (resident of London).

Verb suffixes in English

An English verb, like any verb, means the state or action of an object or thing. The verb suffix is quite unpretentious and has the following meanings: happen, become, do or create.

NOTA BENE: Many verbs with the suffix - size, can also end with - ise. For example: real size& real ise(realize) or patron size& patron ise(take care). Two options occur, however, the verb suffix is ise will use British. While - size use more Americans.

TABLE: VERB SUFFIXES

SUFFIX	MEANING	EXAMPLES
ate	become take place	regulate ["regjəleɪt] - regulate eradicate [ɪ"rædɪkeɪt] - exterminate enunciate [ɪ"nʌn(t)sɪeɪt] - to expound repudiate - to reject evaporate [ɪ"væp(ə)reɪt] - evaporate
en	become take place	harden ["hɑ:d(ə)n] - harden soften ["sɔf(ə)n] - soften enlighten [ɪn"laɪt(ə)n] - to enlighten strengthen ["streŋθ(ə)n] - strengthen loosen ["lu:s(ə)n] - loosen
size / ise	become take place	civilise ["sɪv(ə)laɪz] - to civilize humanize ["hju:mənaɪz] - soften economise [ɪ"kɔnəmaɪz] - save utilize ["ju:tɪlaɪz] - spend valorize ["væl(ə)raɪz] - increase prices
ify/fy	do create become	satisfy ["sætɪsfaɪ] - to satisfy rectify ["rektɪfaɪ] - to correct terrify ["terɪfaɪ] - to terrify exemplify [ɪk"semplɪfaɪ] - illustrate clarify ["klærɪfaɪ] - clarify

Noun suffixes in English

A noun denotes some object or thing. The English noun suffix is distinguished by its diversity and includes the following elements: actor, quality or state, process or activity, etc.

NOTA BENE: If the verb ends in - ere, but the noun will have a suffix - ence: to interfere > interfere ence(interference). If on - ate, -y, -ure / -ear, then the affix - ance: to devi ate(deviate) > devi ance(deviation); to appl y(apply) > appli ance(device); to cl ear(clear) > clear ance(cleaning).

TABLE: NOUN SUFFIXES

SUFFIX	MEANING	EXAMPLES
ance / ence	state quality action	extravagance [ɪk"strævəgən(t)s] - quirk preference ["pref(ə)r(ə)n(t)s] - preference utterance ["ʌt(ə)r(ə)n(t)s] - pronunciation
acy	state quality	fallacy ["fæləsɪ] - cunning celibacy ["seləbəsɪ] - celibacy
ity/ty	quality characteristic	probity ["prəubətɪ] - honesty royalty ["rɔɪəltɪ] - greatness
ment	state means result	endorsement [ɪn"dɔ:smənt] - approval fragment ["frægmənt] - fragment excitement [ɪk"saɪtmənt] - excitement
al	action process	recital - transfer denial - refusal
dom	state status	boredom ["bɔ:dəm] - melancholy earldom ["ɜ:ldəm] - count's title
ness	state	preparedness - readiness wilderness ["wɪldənəs] - desert
xion / sion / tion	state action	fluxion ["flʌkʃ(ə)n] - change concession - recognition relation - relationship
hood	characteristic interest group Current state	womanhood ["wumənhud] - femininity brotherhood ["brʌðəhud] - brotherhood childhood ["tʃaɪldhud] - brotherhood
ship	Current state interest group
ship	Current state interest group	membership ["membəʃɪp] - membership friendship ["frendʃɪp] - friendship
ist	actor	narcissist ["nɑ:sɪsɪst] - “narcissist” novelist ["nɔv(ə)lɪst] - novelist
ee	actor	addressee [ædre"si:] - recipient employee [ɪmplɔɪ"i:] - employee
ess	female character	goddess ["gɔdes] - goddess waitress ["weɪtrəs] - waitress
ism	ideology action and result language features	hedonism ["hi:d(ə)nɪz(ə)m] - hedonism exorcism ["skeptɪsɪz(ə)m] - skepticism Americanism [ə"merɪkənɪz(ə)m] - Americanism

Adjective suffixes in English

An adjective is a part of speech that modifies a noun. The main meanings of the suffix include the following: absence or presence of quality, characteristic, ability, opportunity, etc.

TABLE: ADJECTIVE SUFFIXES

SUFFIX	MEANING	EXAMPLES
able / ible	capable possible important	payable ["peɪəbl] - payable edible ["edɪbl] - fit for food fashionable ["fæʃ(ə)nəbl] - secular
al	related to	autumnal [ɔ:"tʌmn(ə)l] - autumn accidental [æksɪ"dent(ə)l] - random
ic/ical	related to	metallic - metallic Finnic ["fɪnɪk] - Finnish
esque	related to style manner or image	arabesque [ærə"besk] - decorated picturesque - picturesque
ful	having quality characterizing	masterful ["mɑ:stəf(ə)l] - self-willed woeful ["wəuf(ə)l] - sorrowful
ious / ous	having quality characterizing	cautious ["kɔ:ʃəs] - careful nervous ["nɜ:vəs] - nervous
y	having quality characterizing	sticky ["stɪkɪ] - sticky nerdy ["nɜ:dɪ] - boring
ive	having quality characterizing	palliative ["pælɪətɪv] - softening corrective - corrective
ish	having quality characterizing in some ways	girlish ["gɜ:lɪʃ] - girlish snobbish ["snɔbɪʃ] - snobbish pinkish ["pɪŋkɪʃ] - pinkish
less	lack of quality without anything	skinless ["skɪnləs] - without skin childless ["tʃaɪldləs] - childless

Adverb suffixes in English

An adverb is an irreplaceable part of speech that conveys a sign of a state or action primarily of a verb. The adverb suffix is modest and has only three meanings: direction or direction, characteristic or attribute, relation of one to another.

Conclusion

So, we have looked at the most common suffixes of different parts of speech in the English language. Think of the affix as a clue to the meaning of words. As in any detective story, sometimes the clues are visible to the naked eye and are quite obvious. In other cases, they can be confusing or misleading.

In any case, keep in mind that the meanings of words are best determined by examining the context in which they are used. We hope that this article was useful and informative for you.

We wish you success and development in English!

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