Suffixes

art 2: suffixes

We have already seen how prefixes can change the meaning of a word. Let us now consider some suffixes, their usual meanings, and how they change the meanings of English words:

Suffixes
Nouns	Verbs	Adjectives	Adverbs
-ance	-ize	-able	-ly
-ence	-ate	-ible
-or	-fy	-less
-er	-en	-ic
-ist	-ify	-ical
		-ish
		-ive

Study these tables. Try and find additional examples using your dictionary:

1. Noun-forming suffixes:
Suffix	Meaning	Examples
-ance	state	performance
-ence	quality of	independence
-er, -or	a person who a thing which	programmer, operator, biographer compiler, accumulator, processor, calculator
-ist, -yst	a person who	analyst, typist
-ian	pertaining to	electrician
-tion, -ation	the act of	compilation
-ness	condition of	readiness, cleanliness, happiness
-ion	action/state	conversion
-ing	activity	multiplexing
-ment	state, action	measurement, requirement
-ity	state, quality	electricity
-ism	condition/state	magnetism
-dom	domain/condition	freedom
-ship	condition/state	relationship, partnership

2. Verb-forming suffixes:
Suffix	Meaning	Examples
-ize/-ise	to make	computerize
-ate		automate, activate, calculate
-ify		simplify
-en		harden, widen, lengthen, shorten

3. Adverb-forming suffix:
Suffix	Meaning	Examples
-ly	in the manner of	electronically, logically, comparably, slowly, quickly, automatically, carefully

4. Adjective-forming suffixes:
Suffix	Meaning	Examples
-al	having the quality of	computational, logical
-ar		circular, rectangular, cellular, regular
-ic		magnetic, automatic
-ical		electrical
-able	capable of being	comparable
-ble		divisible
-ous	like, full of	dangerous, insiduous, miraculous
-ful	characterized by	helpful, careful
-less	without	careless, meaningless
-ish	like	yellowish
-ed	having the quality of	computed, processed
-ive		interactive

5. Words ending in -ing

Note that words ending in -ing are formed from verbs. The -ing form may be used as a noun, part of a noun phrase, or part of a verb

Programming is an interesting job (noun) Programming in C is interesting (part of a noun phrase) He is working as a programmer (part of a verb)