Words formed by using Suffixes

According to the definition, a suffix is a set of letters that follows a word and changes its meaning and/or parts of speech. By part of speech, it is referring to the guidelines on how to use words and make grammatically correct sentences. For example, chair, boy and chocolate are all nouns as a noun is a name of a person, place or thing. On the contrary, words like sit, run, or walk are verbs as they refer to actions. Furthermore, a suffix can help the readers to understand the meanings of words clearly and even guess the parts of speech at times.

Some of the most commonly used suffixes:

Now since we have an idea about what exactly suffixes are, now let us move on to some of the most commonly used suffixes in the English language.

Use of the suffix ‘s.’

The suffix ‘s’ is used to change the meaning of any word from singular to plural. For Example, the word ‘flower,’ when used with the suffix ‘s’ ‘flowers,’ changes its meaning from a single flower to more than one or a bunch of flowers.

Bottle- bottles, chocolate- chocolates, dress-dresses, etc., are all examples of the use of suffixes ‘s’.

Use of the suffix ‘s’ and ‘ed.’

The suffix meaning, in this case, can be described as changing the tense of the verb. The suffix ‘s’ is used for the verb relating to the singular third person. For Example, she eats, he dances. Also, ‘ed’ can be used as a suffix with the verb to change its meaning to past tense. For Example, talk+ed= talked, danced, mixed, etc.

Classification of suffixes:

Some of the most commonly used suffixes are -s, -tion, -ate, -ing, -en, -ish, -ous, -less, -able, -ful, -or, -ic etc.

1. -tion: This suffix is used to describe a state or circumstance. The use of this suffix with nouns does not make them verbs. Rather they help describe the actions through nouns—for Example, illustration, motivation, inflection, etc.
2.  -ic: This suffix is used with a noun, and it changes the noun into an adjective with a dissimilar meaning. Let us understand this with some examples, hero and heroic. The dictionary meaning of the word hero would be someone who’s greatly admired and influences people, but with the addition of the suffix -ic, its meaning changes into courageous action. Some other common suffix examples are romance and romantic, electrons and electronic, system and systematic, etc.

Rules to remember while using suffixes

Suffixes are of two different types, and they can be classified as vowel and consonant suffixes, respectively. Joining accurate suffixes to words is quite challenging until you are not aware of the rules to remember while adding suffixes. Since adding suffixes to words can entirely change the meaning of the words.

Let us now learn about the basic rules that will help you use the correct suffix.

•   Double the consonant: The most basic rule to remember while adding a suffix to a word that ends with a consonant is to remember to use the last word twice before adding the suffix. For Example, to add -er to the word fat, you’ve to spell it as fatter and not fater. Similarly, muddy, flipped, etc.

Also, if a word is composed of many syllables and has ‘L’ as the last letter then the last letter ‘L’ has to be used twice before adding the suffix. For Example, controlled, fulfillment, etc.

This rule of doubling the last letter does not apply to words ending with w, x, or y.

•   Avoid the silent E: This rule of avoiding the silent E in any word is dependent on the initial alphabet of the suffix being a vowel or a consonant.

Vowel suffix: If the last letter of the word is a silent E, then you have to avoid rewriting the silent E if the initials of the suffix are a vowel. For Example, hoping, driving, etc.

•   Including the last E: Contrary to the above rule, this rule talks about the cases where you must keep the last E of the word. The following are some suffix examples:

• When the foundation word has “ce” or “ge” as the last letter, like advantageous, noticeable, etc.
•  Foundation words have “ee” or “ye” as the ending, like foreseeing, agreeing, etc.
•  It is mandatory to rewrite the last “e” when the suffix to be added is -ly. For Example, lovely, lately, etc.

•   Keeping the “y”: In certain cases, you will have to continue using the letter “Y” while adding a suffix. These are the cases:

•  If the base word ends with the letter “y” followed by a vowel. For Example, playing, buying, etc.
•  When the suffix begins with “I”. Example, supplying, marrying, etc.

•   Interchanging “Y” and “I”: At times, you will have to replace the last letter of the base word from “Y” to “I” to add a suffix.

• If the last letter of the base word is “Y” followed by a consonant. In this case, the “Y” will be replaced with “I”. For Example, beauty changes to beautiful.

•   Replacing “IE” with “Y”: While adding the suffix -ing to a word that ends with “IE”, you will need to replace the “IE” with a “Y”. For Example, untying, lying, etc. 

  Conclusion

  English is a language that helps groom your personality and enhances and boosts the self-confidence of individuals. But you can speak fluent English only when you are well aware of the grammatical portion of the English language. Adding suffixes or prefixes plays a crucial role in the grammar portion of English. Thus, adding body to your overall English. Therefore, you need to know all the basic grammar rules before beginning to learn English. It also helps in business communication and boosting your business.