Suffixes in English are an effective way to expand your vocabulary. Word formation. Adjective suffixes in English Forget adjective

What do words have in common? lovely, helpful, caring, painful? They all have the same suffix, when writing which a huge number of mistakes 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

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 look 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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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; we will 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 activatede activate, anti virusanti virus, counter balanceagainst 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:

  1. Conversion.
  2. Changing the place of stress.
  3. Alternation of sounds.
  4. Affixation.

Conversion

Conversion- This 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 coincide:

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 - convenient 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 - to 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 matches 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 - to 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) a 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 - acute 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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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
SUFFIXMEANINGEXAMPLES
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
SUFFIXMEANINGEXAMPLES
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
SUFFIXMEANINGEXAMPLES
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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It is no secret that one word can be the progenitor of a whole branch of related expressions. The formation of new lexemes is carried out in different ways: by adding new parts, conversion, that is, the transition of an unchanged base to another grammatical section, or by merging two words into one. Knowledge of these methods not only makes it easier to understand the context of an unfamiliar word, but also expands the capabilities of the student’s lexical vocabulary. Today we will study one of the methods, considering its application on a popular part of speech. So, the topic of the material is suffixes in adjectives in English. Let's look at ways to transform various parts of speech into definitions and give examples.

Suffixes in adjectives in English - table

Adjectives are designed to express characteristics, properties, qualities and characteristics, and in their duty most often accompany nouns. It is not surprising that many definitions owe their origin to cognate words of the class of nouns. Let us also note that verbs also have a small share of suffixal formation of adjectives, but the table below will tell you more about all this. In it we placed the suffixes of adjectives in the English language, according to their correspondence to the parts of speech that formed the new word. In addition, each suffix is ​​provided with a personal meaning and examples of word formation. Let's start studying.

Suffixes of English adjectives
Class Suffix Meaning Examples
Nouns.

The morphemes given in this section can only be attached to the specified part of speech.

-y Formation of qualitative characteristics from the original form of the word. cream – creamy;

cream - creamy;

health – healthy;

health - healthy;

dirt - dirty;

fun - funny;

wind - windy;

-al Passing a value as a characteristic. norm – normal;

norm -normal;

globe – global;

globe, world - global;

center – central;

center – central;

forma – formal;

form – formal;

emotion – emotional;

emotion - emotional;

-en Indication of material. wool - woolen;

wool - woolen;

silk – silken;

silk – silk;

lead – leaden;

lead - lead;

gold – golden;

gold – golden;

wood – wooden;

wood - wooden;

-ful Expression of completeness of qualities, perfection. skill – skilful;

skill – skillful;

beauty – beautiful;

beauty – beautiful;

help – helpful;

help – helping;

color – colorful;

color - colored;

success – successful;

success - successful;

-ous Similar to the previous ful, used only for words of French origin. fame – famous;

fame - famous;

mountain – mountainous;

mountain - mountain;

ambition – ambitious;

ambition - ambitious;

vigor – vigorous;

strength - strong;

victory – victorious;

victory - victorious;

less Denial of the presence of this quality. use – useless;

useful - useless;

doubt – doubtless;

doubt - undoubted;

color – colorless;

color – colorless;

job – jobless;

job - unemployed;

home – homeless;

house - homeless;

-an;

-ese;

-ian;

Formation of definitions from proper names, geographical names, designations of nationalities and languages, etc. Japan – Japanese;

Japan – Japanese;

America - American:

America – American;

Malaysia – Malaysian;

Malaysia – Malaysian;

Dickens - Dickensian;

Dickens – Dickensian;

Mexico - Mexican;

Mexico – Mexican;

China – Chinese;

China –Chinese (language);

-ic;

-ical;

-tic;

Derivative quality, characteristic. politics – political;

policy -political;

energy – energetic;

energy – energetic;

critic – critical;

criticism - critical;

romance – romantic;

romance - romantic;

geography – geographical;

geography – geographical;

patriot – patriotic;

patriot - patriotic;

electron – electronic

electronics – electronic;

-like Similarity, resemblance. child – childlike;

child -childish, childish;

wave – wavelike;

wave -wavy;

wife - wifelike;

wife - like a wife, wife's habits;

bird – bird-like;

bird -similaronbird;

-ite

-ate

A sign transferred to an object/person. fortuna – fortunate;

luck - lucky;

Israel – Israelite;

Israel – Israeli;

passion – passionate;

passion - passionate;

favor – favorite;

favor - loved one, singled out from everyone;

-ly Characteristics, quality. week – weekly;

week – weekly;

man - courageous;

friend – friendly;

friend - friendly;

mother – motherly;

mother - maternal;

life – lively;

life, action - active;

Verbs.

The suffixes in this section are exclusive to the category of verbs.

-ing;

A characteristic expressed by an active participle. to bloom – blooming;

bloom - blooming;

to drive – driving;

drive – driving a car;

to write – writing;

write – writer;

to interest – interesting;

be interested - interesting;

Adjectives.

Here are suffixes that help form degrees of comparison.

-er;

-est;

Comparison, superiority. clever – cleverer;

smart - smarter;

fast – faster;

fast - faster;

simple – the simplest;

simple - simplest;

happy – the happiest;

happy - the happiest;

Summary combinations.

This group presents suffixes in adjectives in English, which can relate to several parts of speech.

Ch. + noun

-ent;

-ant;

The presence of qualities transferred from the main word. to differ – different;

distinguish –distinguishable;

importance – important;

importance - important;

to please – pleasant;

please – pleasant;

intelligence – intelligent;

intelligentsia - intellectual;

-able;

-ible;

The attribute conveys the ability to perform an action; presence of qualities and properties. response – responsible;

responsibility - responsible;

to predict – predictable;

predict – predictable;

comfort – comfortable;

comfort - comfortable;

fashion – fashionable;

fashion – in keeping with fashion;

to convert – convertible;

convert – convertible;

Noun + adj. -ish; Nouns express belonging, and adjectives express a diminutive degree of qualities. child – childish;

child - childish;

yellow – yellowish;

yellow – yellowish;

Poland – Polish;

Poland – Polish;

fool – foolish;

stupid - stupid;

Verb + noun + adj.

-ary;

-ory;

Characteristic qualities. imagine – imaginary;

imagination - imaginary;

second – secondary;

second – secondary;

element – ​​elementary;

element –elementary;

-ed; The ability to perceive certain actions or properties (passive participle). to educate well – well-educated;

give a good education – well-educated;

bronze – bronzed;

bronze – bronze;

talent – ​​talented;

talent - talented;

-ive;

-ative;

The presence of a certain sign. to talk – talkative;

talk - talkative;

sport – sportive;

sport – sports;

impulse – impulsive;

impulse - impulsive;

We have studied all the possible suffixes in various adjectives in English! See you again!

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