What is a Suffix?
A suffix is a word element that is added to the end of a word to alter its meaning or create a new term. Suffixes are commonly used in English to create new words from existing ones, and they can indicate a grammatical function, such as tense or possession, or a part of speech, such as a noun or verb.
There are many different suffixes in English, and they can be classified according to their function. Some common examples of suffixes include:
- Noun suffixes: -ity, -ness, -ment, -ation
- Verb suffixes: -ate, -ize, -ify
- Adjective suffixes: -able, -ous, -ive, -al
- Adverb suffixes: -ly, -ward, -wise
For example, the suffix -ity can be added to the adjective “possible” to form the noun “possibility,” and the suffix -ly can be added to the adjective “quick” to form the adverb “quickly.”
By appending a suffix to the beginning or end of a word root, suffixes can be used to generate new words. The suffix -ology, for example, can be added to the root “bio-” (meaning “life”) to create the word “biology,” which is the study of living beings.
Understanding suffixes can be helpful for learning new words and for understanding the meanings and functions of words in a sentence.
When a word has a short vowel sound and only one consonant, we frequently double the final letter before adding a suffix. For example, ‘fit’ becomes ‘fitter’ when the -er suffix is added, while ‘drip’ becomes ‘dripping’ when the -ing suffix is added.
Another important criterion is that if a word ends in two consonants, we frequently leave the suffix alone. For example, we can append ‘er’ to the end of ‘walk’ to form ‘walker’ as the underlying word has two consonants at the end.
If a word ends in a consonant followed by a ‘y,’ we normally drop the ‘y’ and replace it with a ‘I’ before adding the suffix. When we add -er to words like ‘happy’ and silly,’ they become ‘happier’ and sillier,’ respectively.
Another key thing to remember is that when we add a suffix to a word that ends with a silent ‘e,’ we commonly drop the ‘e’. For example, ‘have’ becomes’having’.