walid 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
These are common endings for nouns. If you see these endings on a word, then you know it must be a noun.
| -dom
wisdom(n)
kingdom(n) |
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 |
| -itycapability(n) flexibility(n) |
at the end of a word means condition or quality of __________.capable+ity means the condition of being capable. flexible+ity means the quality of being flexible. |
| -ment contentment(n) |
at the end of a word means act of __________; state of __________; result of __________.content+ment means the state of being satisfied (content). |
| -sion, -tion celebration (n) |
at the end of a word means act of __________; state of __________.celebrate+tion means the act of celebrating |
| -nesstoughness (n) | at the end of a word means state of __________.tough+ness means the state of being tough. |
| -ance, -ence assistance (n) |
at the end of a word means act of __________; state of __________; quality of __________.assist+ance means act of giving help. |
| -er, -or fighter (n) actor (n) |
at the end of a word means one who __________; that which __________.fight+er means one who fights act+or means one who acts. |
| -ist violinist (n) |
at the end of a word also means one who __________; that which __________.violin+ist means one who plays the violin. |
Adjective Suffixes
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 extensive(adj) selective(adj) |
at the end of a word means doing or tending toward doing some actionextend+ive means doing something large in range or amount select+ive means tending to select. |
| -enwooden (adj) | at the end of a word means made of __________.wood+en means made of wood. Note: When the word is an adjective, the -en means made of __________. We have seen -en at the end of a verb. There it means to make __________. |
| -ic heroic (adj) poetic (adj) |
at the end of a word means characteristic of__________; like __________.hero+ic means characteristic of a hero. poet+ic means characteristic of (or like) poets or poetry. |
| -al financial (adj) manual (adj) |
sometimes makes an adjective; when it makes an adjective it means relating to __________.finance+al means relating to finance. (Finance means money.) manu+al means relating to the hand. (Manus means hand in Latin.) |
| -able portable (adj) pleasurable (adj) |
at the end of a word means able __________; can __________; or giving __________.port+able means can be carried; able to be carried. pleasure+able means giving pleasure. |
| -yhairy (adj) rainy (adj) |
at the end of a word means having __________.hair+y means having hair (a lot of hair). rain+y means having rain. |
| -ous mysterious (adj) |
at the end of a word means full of __________; having __________.mystery+ous means full of mystery. |
| -ful hopeful (adj) beautiful (adj) |
at the end of a word means full of __________; having __________.hope+ful means full of hope. beauty+ful means full of beauty. Note: The suffix -ful is always spelled with one l; the word full has two. |
| -lesspowerless (adj) homeless(adj) |
at the end of a word means without __________.power+less means without power. home+less means without a home. |
Verb Suffixes
These are common endings for verbs. If you see these endings on a word, then the word is most likely a verb.
| -enbrighten (v) soften (v) |
at the end of a word means to make __________.bright+en means to make bright. soft+en means to make soft. |
| -izepublicize (v) | at the end of a word means to make __________.public+ize means to make public or to make the public aware of. |
| -ate activate(v) differentiate(v) |
at then end of a word means to have or be characterized by __________.active+ate means to make active. different+ate means to make or show a difference. |
| -ify or -fysimplify(v) | at the end of a word means to cause to become or to make.simple+ify means to make simple or simpler. |
Adverb Suffixes
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 quickly (adv) |
at the end of a word almost always makes an adverb; occasionally it will make an adjective.quick+ly. |
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