Getting Started with Reading Skills
Suffixes are word roots and parts that are put at the end of the word. They usually change the meaning of the word as well as the part of speech. Learning them can help you guess new vocabulary in addition to helping improve your word choice when writing. Below are tables describing common suffixes, what they mean, and examples of words using these suffixes.
| adjective suffix | meaning | examples |
|---|---|---|
| -able/-ible | can, be able to – created with a verb | adorable, excusable, credible |
| -al | related to – created with a noun | emotional, ethical, logical |
| -ant/-ent | related to – created with a verb | defiant, different, confident |
| -ful | full of – created with a noun | colorful, wonderful, beautiful |
| -less | without – created with a noun | homeless, hopeless, worthless |
| -ic | similar to – created with a noun | athletic, empathetic |
| -ish | similar to – created with a noun | selfish, childish |
| -ive | has qualities of – created with a verb | imaginative, creative |
| -ous | full of – created with a noun | delicious, ferocious, furious |
| -y | full of – created with a noun | happy, lucky, sleepy |
| noun suffix | meaning | examples |
| -er/-or/-ar | person/thing that does (verb) | author, painter, teacher |
| -ist | person | dentist, artist, racist |
| -ance/-ence | the act of doing something | confidence, independence |
| -tion/-sion | the act of doing something | passion, dictation, action |
| -ment | the act of doing something | environment, discernment, agreement |
| -ness | the state of being (adjective) | happiness, kindness, darkness |
| -ity | the state of being (adjective) | charity, purity, clarity |
| -ship | the idea, quality of a group (noun) | kinship, sportsmanship, friendship |
| verb suffix | meaning | examples |
| -ate | to make | venerate, exonerate, relate |
| -ify | to make (from an adjective) | magnify, beautify, clarify |
| -ize | to make (from a noun or adjective) | familiarize, sympathize, fertilize |
It is great that we can usually predict the part of speech of a word using the suffix and sometimes guess the meaning. However, how does that help us improve our vocabulary in writing?
Unfortunately, you can’t just put together any noun and the suffix -al to make an adjective to fit in your sentence ( “tigeral” isn’t a word). Also, it doesn’t mean that all words that end in -al are adjectives (approval, for example).
In the following practice exercise is a chart with some general rules that you can use to build new words to use in writing, by adding more suffixes at the end or changing to a different suffix with a different part of speech. But be careful–sometimes it’s not possible to add or change the suffix. For example, I can’t put -al on “action” to make the adjective “actional”–it’s just not a word used in English. Please check a dictionary if you are unsure.
Practice 1:
In the chart below, add or change the suffix to create a new word.
| Q | suffix | add or change | will make | example |
| 1 | -less | -ness | adj. ➔ noun | homeless ➔ |
| 2 | -y | -iness | adj. ➔ noun | tasty ➔ |
| 3 | -ish | -ness | adj. ➔ noun | selfish ➔ |
| 4 | -able | -ity | adj. ➔ noun | stable ➔ |
| 5 | -ist | -ism | person ➔ idea | sexist ➔ |
| 6 | -tion | -al | noun ➔ adj. | function ➔ |
| 7 | -ance/-ence | -ant/-ent | noun ➔ adj. | defiance ➔ |
| 8 | ment | -al | noun ➔ adj. | element ➔ |
| 9 | -ic (noun) | -al | noun ➔ adj. | magic ➔ |
| 10 | -ive | -ity | adj. ➔ noun | passive ➔ |
| 11 | -ous | -ness | adj. ➔ noun | rebellious ➔ |
| 12 | -ate | -tion | verb ➔ noun | graduate ➔ |
| 13 | -ify | -ification | verb ➔ noun | personify ➔ |
| 14 | -ize | -ization | verb ➔ noun | organize ➔ |
| 15 | -de | -sion | verb ➔ noun | invade ➔ |
Practice 2:
Using the previous charts, make a new form of the word.
- NOUN of capitalize: _________________________________________
- NOUN of exclude: ___________________________________________
- NOUN of capable: ___________________________________________
- NOUN of levitate: ___________________________________________
- NOUN of simplify: ___________________________________________
- ADJ. of logic: ________________________________________________
- ADJ. of childishness: _________________________________________
- ADJ. of adaptability: ___________________________________________
- VERB of authorization: _______________________________________
- VERB of elevation: __________________________________________
- VERB of erosion: ___________________________________________
- IDEA of racist: _____________________________________________
- ADJ. of deviance: __________________________________________
