The suffix method is the most productive in word formation. Let's consider this thesis using examples of adjective suffixes in English.

Theory

What is a suffix? This term refers to the significant part of the word that comes immediately after the root. Depending on the function, the following types of suffixes are distinguished:

• Form-building (used to form new grammatical forms):

  to play - played (play - played), big - bigger (big - more);

• Derivational (used to form single-root lexemes):

  child - childhood (child - childhood), to write - writer (write - writer), fame - famous (fame - famous).

There are five formative suffixes in the English language. And the most common are word-forming ones. They are involved in the formation of adjectives from nouns, verbs and simple adjectives.

Adjective suffixes

Adjective suffixes - these are significant parts of a word that are attached to a noun or verb, and thereby form new words. The most productive and popular are presented in the following table:

Suffix	Meaning	Examples
		Faith - faithful (faith - faithful)
		Humor - humorous (humor - humorous
	Lack of a certain quality	Aim - aimless (aim - aimless)
	A property characteristic of objects, persons and phenomena	Beast - beastly (animal - rough, animal); King - kingly (king - majestic, royal)
	Periodicity, repeatability in a certain period of time	Hour - hourly (hour - hourly); Day - daily (day - daily)
	The material from which the item is made	lead - leaden (lead - lead); silk - silken (silk - silk)
	Signs, properties characteristic of certain phenomena	Silk - silky (silk - silky); snow - snowy (snow - snowy)
		history - historic (history - historical); hero - heroic (hero - heroic)
		function - functional (function - functional); nature - natural (nature - natural, natural)
	Small, insignificant degree of property of an object	fool - foolish (fool - stupid); cat - cattish (cat - feline); red - reddish (red - reddish)
	Nationality	Scotland - Scottish (Scotland - Scottish)
	Possessing some kind of opportunity or ability	To avoid - avoidable (avoid - preventable, something that can be avoided); to recognize - recognizable (to recognize - recognizable); to extend - extensible (to extend - extensible, one that can extend)
	Quality obtained as a result of an action indicated by a verb	To observe - observant (observe - observant); to differ - different (to differentiate - different)
	The presence of a certain property, sign of an object	revolution - revolutionary (revolution - revolutionary); diet - dietary (diet - dietary); to obligate - obligatory (oblige - obligatory)
	Nationality or language	China - Chinese

When adding the suffixes -able, -ible to the stem of the verb, the final vowel -e is omitted, and the final vowel -y changes to -i: to reduce - reducible, to rely - reliable.

In this article from the “” series we will look at 10 main adjective suffixes in English: -ful, -less, -ous, -al, -y, -ic, -ish, -able, -ive, -ent (10), We will also devote significant time to practicing these suffixes. Word formation exercises will not only help you prepare for English language exams in the form of the OGE and the Unified State Exam, but will expand your vocabulary and contribute to the development of linguistic conjecture.

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Word formation of adjectives

1. Suffixes of adjectives formed from nouns

noun + Ʌ = adj

1. -ful (expresses the presence of quality; beautiful, colorful)
2. -less (expresses lack of quality: colourless, useless)
3. -ous (words of French origin, analogue of ful: courageous, famous)
4. -al (central, formal)
5. -y (cloudy, dirty)
6. -ic (poetic, domestic)
7. -ish (expresses nationality: Scottish, English, as well as a weak degree of quality: brownish - brownish, reddish - reddish)

The exception is the suffix -ly, since this suffix serves to form adverbs. However, there are a number of adjectives and quite common ones that are formed using this suffix, for example: friendly(friendly), lovely(charming), lively(active, active)

2. Suffixes of adjectives formed from verbs

verb + Ʌ = adj

1. -able /-ible (expresses the ability to undergo an action indicated by the verb: to change – changeable (change – changeable); to eat – eatable (eat – edible)
2. -ive (active, talkative)
3. -ent /-ant (different, important)

Note that the vowel in the adjective suffix is e nt/- a nt is the same as in the noun suffix - e nce/- a nce and vice versa, that is:

differ ent- differ ence
import ant-import ance

Adjective suffixes in English. Exercises

Exercise 1. Translate into Russian.

The suffix -ful means “be full of” e.g. beautiful means “be full of” beauty.

1. She was very grateful for our help.
2. She likes colorful clothes.
3. She is a very forgetful girl.
4. We are not sure that our team will win, but we are hopeful.
5. They lived a peaceful, happy life.
6. He was always as helpful as possible.

Exercise 2.1. Translate into Russian.

The suffix -less means "without" e.g. hopeless means “without” hope.

a moonless night, a cloudless sky, a noiseless machine, numberless heroes, a motherless girl, a heartless woman, a homeless cat, a leafless tree, a nameless author, a sunless room, a endless war, a lifeless body, a colorless liquid , a friendly child, a sleepless night, careless people, a doubtless victory

Exercise 2.2. Translate into English.

A cloudless sky, a helpless child, a silent car, countless heroes, a lifeless body, a carefree child, a heartless woman, a stray cat, a tree without leaves, a nameless author, a room without sun, an endless war, a colorless liquid. It was a moonless night. He looked tired after a sleepless night.

Exercise 3.

The suffix - ous means “full of” which comes from French e.g. danger + ous = dangerous

A. Form adjectives from nouns and translate them.

SAMPLE nerve + ous = nervous (nerve - nervous)

fame - ..., humor - ..., courage - ..., glory (y->i) - ..., poison - ..., space (i) - ...

IN. Use the words in the sentences.

1. We don’t know if these chemicals are ____________ to people.
2. She became ____________as a writer.
3. I like to read___________stories.
4. There are a lot of ________ snakes in the jungle.
5. It was a _________victory.
6. He was a ____________soldier.
7. They liked the _______________rooms in their new house.

Exercise 4. The suffix -y.

A. Translate into Russian.

windy day, sunny weather, cloudy sky, sleepy child, dreamy girl, icy wind, healthy food

B. Form adjectives from the nouns and translate them.

SAMPLE swamp - swampy (swamp - swampy)

sand - ... , rock - ... , juice - ... , grass - ... , star(r) - ... , bone - ... , skin(n) - ..., water- ... , fog (g) - ..., swamp - ...

C. Put the adjectives from B into this sentences to make them complete.

1. This … land is very good for farming. Cows and sheep can feed here all the year round.
2. Peter, eat some more roast beef. You should eat more: you have grown so… (2 options)!
3. On such … mornings it’s very difficult to drive, as you can’t see the road clearly.
4. These are... apples. I like them most of all.
5. My little brother never eats fish if it is….
6. Holidaymakers love the … beaches in the south of Australia.
7. Why does this coffee taste so... ?
8. The picture shows the … mountains of Scotland.
9. The sky is unusually… tonight.
10. … places have a lot of water in all seasons.

Exercise 5. Translate into Russian the adjectives, ending with the suffix — ic.

gigantic hound, scientific expedition, domestic animal, academic year, Olympic games, thematic collection, basic knowledge

Exercise 6. Make up adjectives with the help of suffix -al and translate them.

SAMPLE music – musical (music – musical)

industry – …, culture – …, region – …, tradition – …, nature – …, nation – …, agriculture – …, comic – …

Exercise 7. Nationality suffixes

SAMPLE Britain – British

Scotland - ..., Spain - ..., Sweden - ..., Finland - ..., Denmark - ..., Poland - ..., Turkey - ...

SAMPLE Russia – Russian

America — …, Australia — .., Canada — …, Hungary — …, Belgium — …, Egypt — …, Italy — …, Europe — …

SAMPLE Japan – Japanese

China - ... , Portugal - ...

Mind: Germany - German, France - French, Holland - Dutch, Greece - Greek

Exercise 8. The suffix – able.

Suffix able has the value "can": movable means can move - can be moved (movable)

A. Form the words with the suffix – able.

move — .., count — …, eat — …, drink — …, comfort — …, imagine — …, break — …, read — …, respect — …., forget — …, believe — …

B. Use the words in the sentences:

1. Though the cup is made of thin glass it is not……….(break).
2. She thought of all names………to guess the name of their new classmate. (imagine).
3. Everybody respects him. He is very …….. (respect).
4. I can't read the book. It is not……(read).
5. The nouns are divided into …………. and un…………… (count).

Exercise 9. Form the words with the suffix –ive.

create - ... , impress - ... , progress - ... , act - ... , mass - ... , impulse - ...

Exercise 10. Read the adjectives and spell the suffixes used in forming them.

SAMPLE changeable— The adjective changeabl e is formed with the help of the suffix -able.

successful, cloudless, collective, central, comic, satirical, dangerous, faultless, misty, courageous, aggressive, national, breakable

Exercise 11. Translate these combinations; say what words the adjectives are formed from.

a washable shirt, a skilful worker, democratic forces, the postal service, groundless suspicions, a humorous story, a gloomy scene, salty ham, professional interest, peaceful labour, a noiseless machine, a courageous soldier, a lucky ticket, a continental climate , a dusty road.

Exercise 12. Copy and translate all these adjectives. Learn them by heart

B. Listen to the adjectives and translate them by ear.

Word formation in English (repetition)

Noun suffixes. Repetition

Exercise 13. Form nouns from these adjectives using suffixes from the table.

able, near, distant, long, wide, strong, wise, kind, electric, short, white, probable, persistent, dependent, insistent, indifferent, unstable, patient, responsible, important, stupid, curious

That's all for now! I would be glad if my article is useful to you and you share the link on social networks!

Sources: exercises taken from various manuals, partially redone and modified. In particular, the textbooks “English language grades 5-11” by Afanasyeva O.V., Mikheeva I.V. were used.

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 task, 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 - here, 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 - relation
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!

Big and friendly EnglishDom family

A suffix is ​​a word-forming morpheme with the help of which new words are created, the meaning of the original one is changed, or one part of speech is transformed into another. Suffixes in English are more common and flexible than prefixes. Since practicing and forming vocabulary is an important matter in learning and improving a language, we suggest paying attention to the basic rules of word formation. Knowing them will help you in the future to guess the meaning of a huge number of words without a dictionary.

Two types of suffixes

In English, as in Russian, there are suffixes: word-forming and form-forming. The former form a new word with a new lexical meaning: write - writer, to write - writer, etc. The latter create a different form of the word without changing its lexical meaning: talk - spoke / to study - studied, etc.

There are 5 formative suffixes (in some sources they are often called endings) in the English language. We will talk about word-formative suffixes of such parts of speech as nouns and adjectives.

Noun suffixes

The table will help you better remember the suffixes of nouns in English and their use.

In English there is no clear system for forming new words using suffixes. Therefore, even having learned all the suffixes presented above, it is impossible to master the ability to form and use new words in speech. It is necessary to know the cognates of different parts of speech in order to know which suffix is ​​used to form certain words. And yet, the ability to understand the meanings of English suffixes will allow you to effectively use your vocabulary, expanding your active vocabulary at the expense of your passive one.

A little more about suffixes...

With the help of suffixes, you can form not only adjectives from nouns. The formation of a number of adverbs, verbs and numerals also occurs through the use of suffixes. Previously, we looked at suffixes of nouns and adjectives. Now let's look at how verbs, adverbs and numerals are formed.

Verb suffixes

Suffixes	Meaning	Examples
-ate	to subject to any influence, to transform	to originate (to arise) to vaccinate (vaccinate) to decorate (decorate)
-en	do something, use something	to shorten (shorten) to sweeten (sweeten) to heighten (raise)
-ify, -fy	do, implement, transform	to falsify (falsify) to modify (modify)
-ise, -ize	acquire quality or condition	to modernize (modernize) to oxidize (oxidize)
-ish	to carry out, to produce, to do something	to publish to punish (punish) to embellish (decorate)

Adverb suffixes

Suffixes	Meaning	Examples
-ly	in this way, in a way	rapid - rapidly (fast - quickly) clear - clearly (clear - clear) late - lately (late - late)
-wise	in the direction, in the style	step - stepwise (step - gradually) other - otherwise (other - otherwise) clock - clockwise (clock - clockwise)
-ward/wards	in the direction, in the style	after - afterward (after - subsequently) side - sidewards (side - at random, sideways) left - leftwards (left - left, left, left)

Numeral suffixes

Suffixes	Meaning	Examples
-teen	cardinal numbers from 13 to 19	five - fifteen (five - fifteen) eight - eighteen (eight - eighteen) nine - nineteen (nine - nineteen)
-ty	tens

It is not always possible to use a dictionary or simply quickly remember the appropriate word. In such situations (and not only in them), knowledge of suffixes and prefixes will help out. So, for example, it corresponds to the Russian prefixes without-, bes-, ne-. This is what you need when you need to form a negative word from one that you already know well.

The suffix less in English and its meaning

It is considered to be part of adjectives. If you look in the dictionary, less is “something insignificant or insignificant”, “a smaller amount”. Usually, less added to a noun (or verb) and thanks to this metamorphosis, an adjective with a negative meaning is formed. That is, the scheme is like this:

For example, you need to use the word in speech "carefree". You don't know the English equivalent, but remember the word “care” - “care”. It is a noun, that is, you can safely add it to care suffix with a negative value and you get what you need - "careless"(in translation "carefree"). Learn to use a suffix less in English, and you don’t have to look in the dictionary again.

English words with the suffix less. Examples

Please note the following English words with the suffix less. Many of them are used quite often in speech. For convenience, the first column contains nouns from which a new word is formed using less.

noun	adjective	translations
hope	hope less	hope - hopeless
	use less	useful - useless
help	help less	help - helpless
heart	heart less	heart - heartless
fear	fear less	fear - fearless
home	home less	house - homeless
brain	brain less	brain - brainless
harm	harm less	harm - harmless
	job less	job - unemployed
blame	blame less	guilt - innocent
shame	shame less	shame - shameless
doubt	doubt less	doubt - indisputable
love	love less	love - unloved
	aim less