adjective and noun forming suffixes

Noun forming suffixes:

-hood: condition /for example: childhood-ness: quality /for example: goodness-ance, -ence: state, fact, act/for example: independence-ation, -ition,-tion: action or state/for example: celebration-ity, -ty: quality/for example: ability-ment: result or action/for example: employment

Number your paper from 1-10. Form nouns using the above suffixes ; then define the new words. Spelling changes will be necessary.

replacelikelyarticulateacceptintensemanfragileaspireimprovisefriendly

adjective forming suffixes:

-ish: like or suggesting /for example: foolish-able, -ible: able /for example: tolerable-ous: having the quality of /for example: religious-esque: like /for example: statuesque-some: like or tending to /for example: tiresome

Number your paper from 1-10. Form adjectives using the suffixes from the previous slide; then define the new words. Spelling changes will be necessary.

lonepictureharmonydevilgracebabyluxurydepend

meddleriot

WORD FORMATION

General notes

When your are reading you come across unfamiliar words. It is often possible to guess the meanings of these words if you understand the way words in English are generally formed.

 

An English word can be divided into three parts: a prefix, a stem and a suffix. Pre- means ‘before’; a prefix, therefore, is what comes before the stem. Consider as an example, the prefix de- (meaning ‘reduce’ or ‘reverse’) in a word like demagnetize (meaning ‘to deprive of magnetism’).

A suffix is what is attached to the end of the stem. Consider as an example the suffix -er (meaning ‘someone who’) in programmer (‘the person who programs’). Both prefixes and suffixes are referred to as affixes.

Prefixes usually change the meaning of the word; for example, un- changes a word to the negative. Unmagnetizable means ‘not capable of being magnetized’. Suffixes, on the other hand, changes the word from one part of speech to another. For example, -ly added to the adjective quick gives the adverb quickly. Let us now consider some suffixes and their usual meanings:

Noun-forming suffixes

SUFFIX MEANING EXAMPLES

-ance State Performance

-ence Quality of Independence

-er, -or

A person who

A thing which

Programmer, operator

Compiler, accumulator

-tion

-ationThe act of Execution, Application

-ist

-ystA person who Analyst, typist

-ness Condition of Definiteness

-ion Action/state Conversion

-ing Activity Multiplexing

-men State, action Measurement

-ity State, quality Electricity, Ability

-ian Pertaining to Electrician

-ism Condition/state Magnetism

-dom Domain/condition Freedom

-ship Condition/state Relationship

-ary   binary

 

Verb-forming suffixes

SUFFIX MEANING EXAMPLES

-izeTo make

Optimize

-ate

-fy

-en

Automate, activate

Simplify

Harden, widen

 

Adverb-forming suffix

SUFFIX MEANING EXAMPLES

-ly In the manner ofElectronically, logically, helpfully

 

Adjective-forming suffixes

SUFFIX MEANING EXAMPLES

-al

-ar

-ic

-ical

Have the quality of

Computational, logical

Circular

Magnetic, automatic

Electrical

-able

-ibleCapable of being

Comparable

Divisible

-ous

-iousLike, full of

Dangerous

Various

-ful Characterized by Helpful

-less Without Helpless

-ish Like Yellowish

-ed Having Computed, Typed

-ive Quality of Interactive

-ing To make or do Programming, coding

Exercise 1.

Study these tables and try to find additional examples. Use your dictionary if necessary.

Exercise 2.

Read the following sentences and underline all the suffixes. Then try to find out what parts of the speech the words are.

1. The systems analyst provides the programmer with the details of the data processing problems.

2. For each hard disk, this command specifies whether to record the date that files are last accessed.

3. The introduction of monitors replaced the use of punched cards.4. Binary arithmetic is based on two digits: 0 and 1.5. Specify a plus sign (+) to indicate that the last access date should be

maintained for files on the drive.

6. Computers are machines designed to process electronically the prepared pieces of information.

7. The computed results were output in a table form.8. It also requires a special mouse driver for Windows 98. 9. The upgraded BIOS provides additional functionality for the Windows

operating system.

 

10.

 

Negative and positive prefixes

Negative PREFIX MEANING EXAMPLES

Un-

In-

Im-

Il-

Ir-

Not,

Not good enough

Undo

Incomplete

Impossible

Illegal

Irregular

Non- Not connected with Non-programmable

Mis- Bad, wrong Misused

Dis-

Opposite feeling

Opposite action

Disagree

Disconnect

Anti- Against Antivirus

De- Reduce, reverse Demagnetize

Under- Too little Underestimate

Positive

Re- Do again Redo

Over- Too much Overheat

 

Prefixes of size

PREFIX MEANING EXAMPLES

Semi- Half, partly Semiconductor

Equi- Equal Equidistant

Maxi- Big Maximize

Micro- Small Microcomputer

Mini- Little Minicomputer

Macro-

Mega-Large

Macro-instruction

Megabyte

 

Prefixes of location

PREFIX MEANING EXAMPLES

Inter- Between, among Interface, interactive

Super- Over Supersonic

Trans- Across Transmit, transfer

Ex- Out Exclude

Extra- Beyond Extraordinary

Sub- Under Subschema, Subset

Infra- Below Infra-red

Peri- Around Peripheral

 

Prefixes of time and order

PREFIX MEANING EXAMPLES

Ante-

Pre-Before

Antecedent

Prefix

Prime- First Primary, primitive

Post- After Postdated

Retro- Backward Retroactive

 

Prefixes of numbers

PREFIX MEANING EXAMPLES

Hyper Many Hypertext

Mono- One Monochromatic

Bi- Two Binary

Tri- Three Triangle

Quad- Four Quadruple

Penta- Five Pentagon

Hex- Six Hexadecimal

Septem- Seven September

Oct- Eight Octal

Dec- Ten Decimal

Multi- Many Multiprogramming

 

Other prefixes

PREFIX MEANING EXAMLES

Pro- For Program

Auto- Self Automatic

Co- Together Coordinate

Neo- New Neoclassical

Pan- All Pan-American

 

Exercise 1.

Read the following sentences and underline all the prefixes. Then try to find out what the prefixes mean by referring back to the tables you have just completed.

1. Some of these printers are inexpensive and rather good.2. The octal and hexadecimal systems are number systems used as a form

of shorthand in reading groups of four binary digits.3. The internal storage locations of a computer are called its primary

memory.4. Multiprogramming is when more then one program can be present at

different storage locations of the memory at the same time.5. Peripheral devices can be either input devices (as keyboard) or output

devices (as printers).6. The decoder (a component of control unit) takes the coded instruction

and breaks it down into the individual commands necessary to carry it out.

7. Hypertext electronic manuals are the new form of traditional book technology.

8. A tape drive transmits the electromagnetic impulses to the memory of the computer.

9. Semiconductor materials are used in the making of transistors.

Noun-forming suffixes

The following German-English cognate suffixes all denote a state of being or degree in some sense:

-heit/-keit (-hood)-tum (-dom)-nis (-ness)-schaft (-ship)

Sometimes they correspond in translation:

Mannheit ~ manhoodBitternis ~ bitternessFreundschaft ~ friendship

But in most cases, I think German tends to favor –heit/–keit and English tends to favour –ness.

Is there a rule or set of rules for choosing from among these suffixes in German or in English?How do language historians/linguists account for this difference in frequency between German and English?

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unit 2 WORD FORMATION

* ROOTS * PREFIXES * SUFFIXES * TIPS

ROOTS, PREFIXES AND SUFFIXES

The word root is the basic part that carries the principle meaning of the word. The part that precedes and is attached to the “root”or “base” of a word is called a prefix. On the contrary, a suffix is the part that follows the base of a word. A new word can be built by root + suffix, prefix + root or prefix + root + suffix. Parts of a word can often give you clues about the meaning of the word. If you know common elements, they can help you a lot with the identification of new vocabulary. For example,

“far” “again, back” “mark”television react signaltelescope revise design telephone rerun signature

“come” “knowledge” “place”

avenue biology refinery

convention zoology library intervene geology factory

The word “predictable” consists of three parts: (1) the prefix “pre-,“ which means “before”, (2) the root “-dict-,” which means ”to tell,” and (3) the suffix “-able,” which means, “that can be done.” So “predictable” means “that can be seen or described beforea future happening...”

ROOTSvisionvisibleinvisiblevisitvisualtelevisionsupervise

All of the words above share the same root “-vis-” which means, “see”: vision is “ability to see,”

visible means “that can be seen,” invisible means “that can not be seen,” and to visit is “to go to see.” Visual knowledge is “the knowledge gained by seeing.” When you watch television, you see pictures broadcast over a distance. Vista is “events seen in your imagination.” To supervise is “to keep watch over.”

Study other examples of root words shared by many different words.

-MIS- = “send” ส่�ง -TAIN-= “hold” ถื�อ ยึ�ด

VERS-,-VERT- = “turn” หมุ�น กลั�บ

VOC-= “call” เรี�ยึก missile จรีวด transmit ส่�ง permit อน�ญาตomission ข้�ามุ , ลัะเว�น

contain บรีรีจ� intent มุ��งหว�ง obtain ได� รี�บ tentative เชิ�งทาบทามุ

reverse ด�านกลั�บ ถือยึหลั�ง divert แตกต�างก�น invert กลั�บ ตรีงข้�ามุ version คำ#าแปลั

vocal เก�%ยึวก�บเส่�ยึง provoke เต�อน แหยึ� vocabulary คำ#าศั�พท( vocation เส่�ยึงเรี�ยึกรี�อง อาชิ�พ

TASK 1

Look up the meanings of the words in the lists in a dictionary. Underline the root in each list and choose its suitable meaning from the given words.

(1-6) choose earth hold rder place rule

1. geology geometry geography geopolitics ROOT = .......geo......MEANING:.....earth ..........

2. regulation region irregular directorROOT = .............MEANING:............... 3. contain retain content extend ROOT = .............MEANING:............... 4. location relocate local locomotiveROOT = .............MEANING:............... 5. select election collect dialectROOT = .............MEANING:............... 6. orderly ordinal disorder subordinateROOT = .............MEANING:................ (7-12) know send look throw turn care for 7. cognition recognize cognitive cogitateROOT = .............MEANING:............... 8. perspective spectator inspect

aspectROOT = .............MEANING:............... 9. secure manicure pedicure incurable ROOT = .............MEANING:............... 10. object eject deject rejectROOT = .............MEANING:............... 11. reverse convert divert versionROOT = .............MEANING:............... 12. submit remit transmit missionaryROOT = .............MEANING:...............

Key to TASK 1

PREFIXES

A prefix is a word element that is placed before a root or base. It changes or modifies the meaning of a word in a very similar way. When a prefix stands alone, a hyphen (-) follows it. There are some common prefixes, for example, “in-, im-,“ which means “into,” can be added to “port” to make a new word, “import,” which means “ goods carried into a country.” On the contrary, if you put “ex-,“ which means “out,” in front of the root “port,” meaning “carry”, you will get another word ”export,” which means “goods carried out of the country.” The prefix “un-“ means “not”. If a person is “unconscious,” he is not awake.

Prefixes can be grouped to help you expand your vocabulary.

1. PREFIXES MEANING “not”

PREFIX

EXAMPLE

MEANINGa-, ab- amoral not understand what is right or wrong dis- dislike not likein- incredible not able to believeim- impossible not possibleil- illegal not lawfulir irregular not regularnon- nonsence no meaningun- untidy not tidy

TASK 2

Give the opposites to the following words by adding the prefixesmeaning "NOT".

ab- dis- im- in- il- ir- non-

un- 1. ___contented 6. ___correct 11. ___mature2.___favorable 7. ___literate 12. ___ordered3. ___patient 8. ___normal 13. ___regular4.___reparable 9. ___profit 14. ___mortal5. ___controlled 10. ___abridged 15. ___usual

Key to TASK 2

2. PREFIXES MEANING “opposite”

PREFIX

MEANING

EXAMPLE

anti- against, opposite anti-clockwise

contra- against, contrast contradict counter- opposite in direction; done in return counterclockwise counteract ob-, oc-, of-, op- opposite; against; to block up obstruct, occlude, offend, opposite

TASK 3

Choose the best alternative that fits the meaning of each italic word. 1. High blood pressure is a contra-indication for this new drug. The doctor must _______ using it for patients who have high blood pressure. a. avoid b. promote c. examine d. prescribe

2. A contraceptive drug is the drug _________ having a baby. a. testing b. curing c. presenting d. responding

3. There were a lot of contrasts between the two brothers. They ________. a. looked alike b. went anywhere together c. saw the same kind of movies d. were different in many ways

4. “Counterclockwise” is the same as “anti-clockwise.” It means “doing something in the _______ to the clock hands.” a. same time b. opposite direction c. same direction d. circle like the trace

5. Antibody is a substance produced in the body to ________ disease. a. protect b. examine c. take care of d. fight against

happen within three days.Key to TASK 3

3. OTHER PREFIXESPREFIX MEANING EXAMPLE ad- toward; to; forward ข้�างหน�า advance , admit auto- self ตนเอง automobile, automatic bene- well; good ด� benefit, benediction circum- around รีอบ circumstance, circumscribe en- put into; make ท#าให� endanger, encourage extra- outside; beyond นอก extravagance, extramural inter- between; among รีะหว�าง international, intervene mal- bad; badly รี�ายึ เลัว malnutrition, malignant per- through ผ่�านตลัอด perceive, persuade pro- for; forward ส่#าหรี�บ ตรีงไป pronoun, progressive re- again; back ท#าใหมุ� redo, reconstruct retro- backward ถือยึหลั�ง retrograde, retroact super- over เหน�อ superstar, superstitious trans- across; beyond; over ข้�ามุ transcript, transport

TASK 4

Read the following sentences. Choose one of the prefixes in the brackets to fill in the blank in front of each word to make the word fit the sentence.

1. My brother is one of those (un-, non-) nonsmokers who are campaigning for no-smoking areas in offices.

2. “What is the (com-, con-, syn-)_____sensus of opinion, Gentlemen? Are we all in favor or are there some opposed? ”

3. There will be a new commercial for, “Fresh and Fine,” a well-known (de-, anti) ____odorant.

4. You cannot stop the(ad-, dia-) ____vance of old age.

5. (poly-, inter-) ____ester is a chemical material mixed with wool or cotton to make cloth for garment.

6. His (post-, pre-)____cognition told him that something bad would happen within three days.Key to TASK 4

TASK 5

Choose the correct answer a, or b for the correct meaningof the italic word.1. The coach told him to untie his shoes.

a. to loosen the laces from his shoes

b. to fasten his shoes

2. Sue disagreed with the answer.

a. did not agree

b. did agree

3. Her fiance is working at Siam Intercontinental Hotel; there are hotels like this all over the world.

a. deal with only one hotel on the biggest continent

b. connected with different hotels in different countries

4. How did he preface his speech? He did it with an amusing story.

a. begin

b. end

5. The young painter has not yet exhibited his works.

a. showed his works in public

b. kept his works in his private room

6. If you are a polyglot, it is helpful to be a translator.

a. one who can speak many languages

b. one who can speak his native language very well

7. The factory is expert in producing nonstick frying pan.

a. not stick

b. stick well

8. They demanded a refund on the unsatisfactory goods.

a. paying money back

b. paying money for the first time

9. He showed sympathy to her by pressing her hands.

a. sharing the feeling

b. showing an impolite manner

10. Nautilus is the name of the well-known submarine.

a. a warship which can fly over the sea

b. a warship which can stay under water

happen within three days. Key to TASK 5

SUFFIXES

A suffix is added to the end of a word to further clarify the meaning

of the word or base. For example, “-ful” meaning “much of ‘ is the suffix in “careful”, which means “much care or full of care.” The following words end with “-ful,”

beautiful useful meaningfulIn every word above, the suffix “-ful” gives you the idea of “much of something.” A meaningful word “has much meaning.”

1. NOUN-FORMING SUFFIXES MEANING“ a person or a thing”

SUFFIX MEANING EXAMPLE an, -ean, -ian person or thing that is of or belongs to ปรีะชิาชินหรี�อ ส่�%งข้องข้องปรีะเทศัน�+น ๆ; person skilled in or studying the subject ผ่-�ชิ#านาญในว�ชิาการี American historian ant, -ent person or thing that does the action ผ่-�กรีะท#า servant -ee person to whom the action is done ผ่-�รี �บการีกรีะท#า trainee -eer person concerned with ผ่-�เก�%ยึวข้�อง auctioneer -er, -or person or thing that does something ผ่-�กรีะท#า dancer, screw driver -ess female เพศัหญ�ง actress -ist person who believes in the ideas, principles, or teaching ผ่-�เชิ�%อในคำวามุคำ�ด หลั�กการี คำ#าส่อน ; person who is skilful in.. ผ่-�เชิ�%ยึวชิาญ nationalist Buddhist receptionist guitarist -ster person of a certain type คำนกลั��มุเด�ยึวก�น youngster -y, -ie dear/ little person or thing ผ่-�เป.นท�%รี �ก ส่�%งข้องเลั/ก ๆ น�ารี�ก daddy, auntie

TASK 6

Add a suffix to each word to make its meaning a person or a thing.

1. invent___ 2. program___ 3. audit____ 4. strange___ 5. labor____6. invest___ 7. physic____ 8. cook___ 9. psycholog___ 10. dermatolog____

Key to TASK 6

TASK 7

What do you call people in these countries?1. USA 6. Australia2. Kenya 7. Canada

3. Cuba 8. Italy4. Germany 9. Ghana 5. Honduras 10 Norway

11. China 16. England12. Nepal 17. Finland13. Portugal 18. Sweden14. Taiwan 19. Turkey15. Vietnam 20. Denmark

Key to TASK 7

2. NOUN-FORMING SUFFIXESSUFFIX MEANING EXAMPLE-acy , -cy state or quality of bankruptcy การีลั�มุลัะลัายึ-age activity courage คำวามุกลั�าหาญ-al action arrival การีมุาถื�ง-ance, -ence action, state or quality importance คำวามุส่#าคำ�ญ-ary, -ery, -ry place where something is made, done or sold with library ห�องส่มุ�ด-ate state electorate กลั��มุผ่-�ท�%มุ�ส่�ทธิ์�1เลั�อกต�+ง -ation, -tion, -ion action, state, condition examination การีส่อบcracy, ocracy government, society democracy ปรีะชิาธิ์�ปไตยึ-dom state of being ภาวะ freedom เส่รี�ภาพ-ful amount จ#านวน handful จ#านวน 1 ก#ามุ�อ-hood state or time of being ภาวะ เป.น priesthood ส่มุณเพศั-phobia fear คำวามุกลั�ว hydrophobia โรีคำกลั�วน#+า-ic, -ics arts and sciences ศั�ลัป ศัาส่ตรี( physics ฟิ6ส่�กส่( -ide chemical compound ส่ารีเคำมุ� cyanide ไซยึาไนด(-ing action การีกรีะท#า gliding การีรี�อน-ism idea, principles or teachings หลั�กการี คำ#าส่อน Buddhism พ�ทธิ์ศัาส่นา-ity state, condition, quality ส่ภาพ คำ�ณภาพ humidity คำวามุรี�อนชิ�+น-let, -ette small kind of เลั/ก ๆ booklet หน�งส่�อเลั�มุเลั/ก-logy, -ology principles or teaching ศัาส่ตรี( ว�ชิา geology ธิ์รีณ�ว�ทยึา-ment result of ผ่ลัข้องการีกรีะท#า management การีจ�ดการี-ness state; condition ภาวะ goodness คำวามุด�-ship state or quality of ภาวะ คำ�ณส่มุบ�ต� leadership ภาวะผ่-�น#า

TASK 8

Underline the noun suffixes and give the meaning of each word by looking at its suffix. Use a dictionary to check the correct meanings.

1. wisdom 2. surgery 3. movement 4. childhood 5. idealism 6. dictionary 7. cold-bloodedness 8. insecticide 9. friendship 10. terminologyKey to TASK 8

3. ADJECTIVE-FORMING SUFFIXESSUFFIX MEANING EXAMPLE-able, -ible capable of; having; changeable-al, -ial of; concerning; related to mental-an, -ean, -ian of; belonging of American-ant, -ent causing pleasant-ate full of affectionate-ed having surprised-en made of wooden-er comparative bigger-ese belonging to; origin Japanese-ful full of; causing careful-ic, -ical connected with atomic-ing causing surprising-ish belonging to having the character of Swedish, childish-ive, -ative, -itive having the quality of explosive-less without careless-like similar to childlike-ly like in manner, nature or appearance; motherly-ous, -eous, -ious causing dangerous-some full of in all lonesome-y full of; like that of rainy, silky

TASK 9

Study the suffixes in the italicized words, and choose the correct definitions from the alternatives or complete the sentences correctly.

1. The mushroom is edible. We ________ eat it because it is not poisonous. a. are unable to b. must c. can d. have to

2. The Portuguese language is _________ in Portugal and Brazil. a. spoken b. refused c. difficult d. unnecessary

3. The urang-utang looks humanlike. It…..... a. likes a man. b. looks like a human being. c. loves men. d. looks at hu1man beings.

4. His manner was childish. He acted as if he… a. were a child. b. liked children. c. thought of children. d. would be a man5. The insect is harmless; it …. a. can do no harm b. has a lot of harm c. is very dangerous d. can hurt human beings

6. The old lady is suffering from an incurable disease. The disease… a. is strange b. might be cured c. can be cured d. cannot be cured

7. She runs an exclusive beauty shop that has exclusive rights to certain cosmetics. a. for certain people b. run by an exclusive person c. selling expensive products d. for anyone who goes there

8. The lives of workaholics are usually stressful. a. busy b. tense and worried c. addicted and lonely d. important and compulsive

9. The Siamese cat has fine silky fur. a. thin

b. grayish c. thick but light d. soft and shiny

10. The troublesome child worried about his mother all night long. a. sleepless b. having some trouble c. causing much trouble d. having difficultyKey to TASK 9

4. ADVERB-FORMING SUFFIXESSUFFIX MEANING EXAMPLE-ly in a manner of (ในอาก�ปกรี�ยึาท�%รีะบ�) quickly-ward(s) in direction of ในท�ศัทาง forwards-wise in direction of ในท�ศัทาง clockwise

5. VERB-FORMING SUFFIXESSUFFIX MEANING EXAMPLE-ate act as; cause to become ท#าให� activate-ed simple past tense; past participle looked-en to make something… ท#า whiten-ify cause; make something… ท#า magnify-ing present participle reading-ize (-ise) to make or put something in the stated condition ท#าให� centralize

TASK 10

Study the verb suffixes, and complete with their meanings.1. You sharpen a pencil because you want to _________ it _________.

2. The salt has been specially purified. It must be __________ __________ because they use it in medicine.

3. He bought an old house, and spent a lot of money modernizing it. He put in electricity, had bathrooms rebuilt, etc., in order to __________

it suitable for ____________ uses.

4. The streets were decorated with lights during the celebration of the King’s birthday. The millions of lights _______ the whole country bright and beautiful.

5. “The citizens elected him Prime Minister. He has been elected since May.” The first “elected” is the ______________ form of “elect,” and the second one is the __________ _________.Key to TASK 10

TASK 11

Here are words for you to practice figuring out their meanings by the roots, prefixes and suffixes. Underline the prefix and suffix in each word. Write the meaning of the prefix, and tell what part of speech it is.1. expensive 2. indifferent 3. automobile 4. nonalcoholic

5. antechamber 6. transfer 7. confirm 8. probable9. decentralize 10. compound 11. subepidermis 12. malfunction

Key to TASK 11

TASK 12

Study the following roots and then give the meanings to the given words.

bio = life gastro = stomach cyto = cell cardio = heart derm = skin geo = earth pharmac = medicine psycho = mind physio = nature

1. biology = the study of _______________ things. 2. dermatology = the __________ of __________, especially of its diseases. 3. cardiology = the ____________ of ______________ 4. cytology = the ___________ of ____________ 5 pharmacology = the study of ___________ and drugs 6. gastrologist = a specialist in diseases of the ____________ 7. cardiogenic = originating in the ___________

Key to TASK 12

TIPS: ศั�กษาแลัะท#าแบบฝึ:กห�ดเพ�%มุเต�มุใน แบบเรี�ยึน Unit 2 Word Formation หน�า 35 - 68

Gunya Thirapote, English Program, Rajabhat Institute Phetchaburi, Amphoe Muang, Phetchaburi 76000 Tel:(032)424097Ex.1305

A suffix is a letter pattern that is fixed to the end of a word.Kind + ness = kindness.So to rethink means to think again. There are many suffixes and we will look at them in groups to make it easier to revise them.Today we are going to look at suffixes that are quite common and are to do with jobs that people do.The suiffixes are -er -or -ian -ist For example, a person that writes for a living is writer.The reason we will look at suffixes is to help us with our spelling.

We are going to add these suffixes to find jobs that people doI have given you the suffix and a clue. Can you find out and spell the jobs?

Go to answers

          

Here are the answers.

Noun forming suffixes

Suffix Meaning Origin

age belongs to Latin

ance state of being Latin

ant thing or one who Latin

ar relating to, like Latin

ary relating to, like Latin

ence state, fact, quality Latin

ent to form Latin

ic like, having the nature Latin & Greek

ine nature of-feminine ending Latin

ion, tion, ation being, the result of Latin

ism act, condition Latin & Greek

ist one who Latin

ive of, belonging to, quality of Latin

ment a means, product, act, state Latin

or person or thing that Latin

ory place for Latin

ty condition of, quality of Latin

y creats abstract noun Greek & Anglo-Saxon

Adjective forming suffixes

Suffix Meaning Origin

able capable of being Latin

al like, suitable for Latin

ance state of being Latin

ant thing or one who Latin

ar relating to, like Latin

ary relating to, like Latin

ate to become associated with Latin

ent to form Latin

ial function of Latin

ible capable of being Latin

ic like, having the nature of Latin & Greek

ine nature of-feminine ending Latin

ive of, belonging to, quality of Latin

ory place for Latin

ous characterized by, having quality of Latin

y quality, somewhat like Greek & Anglo-Saxon

Verb forming suffixes

Suffix Meaning Origin

ate to become associated with Latin

fy make, do Latin

ise, ize to become like Latin

Adverb forming suffixes

Suffix Meaning Origin

ic like, having the nature of Latin & Greek

ly like, to extent of Latin

Word Formation-SuffixesLACKING an exact correspondence between its sounds and its written symbols, English spelling can be frustratingly inconsistent and can pose problems for even the best spellers. Although it would be impossible to formulate a set of rules that would cover the spelling of all English words, many spelling difficulties arise in connection with suffixes, and the six basic rules given here for determining spelling changes in a word root when a suffix is added are intended as an aid in learning and understanding the correct spelling of a large number of English words.  

Adding a Suffix to a Word 

1. Adding a suffix to a one-syllable word: a. Words of one syllable that end in a single consonant preceded by a single

vowel double the final consonant before a suffix beginning with a vowel: bag, baggage; hop, hopper; hot, hottest; red, redder; run, running; stop, stopped. There are two notable exceptions to this rule: bus (buses or

busses; busing or bussing) and gas (gasses or gases; gassing; gassy). b. If a word ends with two or more consonants or if it ends with one

consonant preceded by two or more vowels instead of one, the final consonant is not doubled: debt, debtor; lick, licking; mail, mailed; sweet, sweetest.

2. Adding a suffix to a word with two or more syllables: a. Words of two or more syllables that have the accent on the last syllable

and end in a single consonant preceded by a single vowel double the final consonant before a suffix beginning with a vowel: admit, admitted; confer, conferring; control, controller; regret, regrettable. There are a few exceptions: chagrin, chagrined; transfer, transferred, transferring but transferable, transference.

b. When the accent shifts to the first syllable of the word after the suffix is added, the final consonant is not doubled: prefer, preference; refer, reference.

c. If the word ends with two consonants or if the final consonant is preceded by more than one vowel the final consonant is not doubled: perform, performance; repeal, repealing.

d. If the word is accented on any syllable except the last the final consonant is not usually doubled: benefit, benefited; develop, developed; interpret, interpreted. However, some words like cobweb, handicap, and outfit follow the models of web, cap, and fit, even though these words may not be true compounds. A few others ending in g double the final g so that it will not be pronounced like j: zigzag, zigzagged.

3. Adding a suffix beginning with a vowel to a word ending in a silent e:Words ending with a silent e usually drop the e before a suffix beginning with a vowel: force, forcible; route, routed; glide, gliding; operate, operator; trifle, trifler. However, there are many exceptions to this rule:

a. Many words of this type have alternative forms (the preferred form is given first): blame, blamable or blameable; blue, bluish or blueish. And in certain cases, alternative forms have different meanings: linage or lineage (number of lines) but lineage (ancestry).

b. Many words ending in ce or ge keep the e before the suffixes -able and -ous: advantage, advantageous; change, changeable; trace, traceable.

c. Words ending in a silent e keep the e if the word could be mistaken for another word: dye, dyeing; singe, singeing.

d. If the word ends in ie, the e is dropped and the i changed to y before the suffix -ing. A word ending in i remains unchanged before -ing: die, dying; ski, skiing.

e. Mile and acre do not drop the e before the suffix -age: mileage, acreage. 4. Adding a suffix beginning with a consonant to a word ending in a silent e:

Words ending with a silent e generally retain the e before a suffix that begins with a consonant: plate, plateful; shoe, shoeless; arrange, arrangement; white, whiteness; awe, awesome; nice, nicety. However, there are many exceptions to this rule. Some of the most common are abridge, abridgment; acknowledge, acknowledgment; argue, argument; awe, awful; due, duly; judge, judgment; nine,

ninth; true, truly; whole, wholly; wise, wisdom. 5. Adding a suffix to a word ending in y:

a. Words ending in y preceded by a consonant generally change the y to i before the addition of a suffix, except when the suffix begins with an i: accompany, accompaniment; beauty, beautiful; icy, icier, iciest, icily, iciness; but reply, replying.

b. The y is retained in derivatives of baby, city, and lady and before the suffixes -ship and -like: babyhood, cityscape, ladyship, ladylike.

c. Adjectives of one syllable ending in y preceded by a consonant usually retain the y when a suffix beginning with a consonant is added: shy, shyly, shyness; sly, slyly, slyness; wry, wryly, wryness; but dryly or drily, dryness. These adjectives usually also retain the y when a suffix beginning with a vowel is added, although most have variants where the y has changed to i: dry, drier or dryer, driest or dryest; shy, shier or shyer, shiest or shyest.

d. Words ending in y preceded by a vowel usually retain the y before a suffix: buy, buyer; key, keyless; coy, coyer, coyest; gay, gayer, gayest; but day, daily; gay, gaily or gayly.

e. Some words drop the final y before the addition of the suffix -eous: beauty, beauteous.

6. Adding a suffix to a word ending in c:Words ending in c almost always have the letter k inserted after the c when a suffix beginning with e, i, or y is added: panic, panicky; picnic, picnicker. This is done so that the letter c will not be pronounced like s.

 

INFLECTIONAL Suffixes

Inflectional suffixes are required to make a sentence grammatically correct, but they add little meaning to the word. They never change a word from one grammatical class to another, but each grammatical class has its own special set of inflectional suffixes. Consequently, these suffixes can be useful in helping you determine whether the word is a NOUN, VERB, or ADJECTIVE. In any case, you need to recognize and ignore inflectional suffixes when you are analyzing a word. It's especially important not to confuse them with derivational suffixes, which do alter the meaning of the word and must be glossed.

English has only eight inflectional suffixes; they are listed with examples in the table below.

ENGLISH INFLECTIONAL SUFFIXESGrammatical Class Suffix Example

NOUN

-s 'plural' The two girls had eaten dinner.

-'s 'possessive' The cat's tail was twitching.

VERB

-ed 'past tense' The blackest dog never barked.

-s '3rd person present tense' The smaller dog barks a lot.

-ing 'present participle' The cat's tail was twitching.

-en 'past participle' The two girls had eaten dinner.

ADJECTIVE

-er 'comparative' The smaller dog barks a lot.

-est 'superlative' The blackest dog never barked

The noun suffixes -s and -'s indicate either plurality or possession. They both sound the same in the spoken language, although they are distinguished in the written form. Be careful not to confuse these suffixes with a derivational suffix with same form (in Morpheme Set 3).

Verbs have four suffixes: -ed, -s, -ing, -en. Their main function is to distinguish the tense of the verb. Notice that verbs also have a suffix -s, although in this case it indicates that the verb is present tense and being used with a third-person subject, i.e. something other than "I" or "you."

The adjective suffixes -er and -est are also considered inflectional. They are used when comparing two things (-er) or more than two things (-est). Be sure to distinguish the -er suffix from a derivational suffix with the same form (in Morpheme Set 2).

Remember: You need to be able to recognize inflectional suffixes; you do not need to gloss them. If an inflectional suffix occurs, it will always be the last suffix of any type in the word, and there will only be one inflectional suffix in any word.

 

DERIVATION Suffixes

In this WebLecture, we will discuss all the derivational affixes in the course as a group. Of course, you always are only responsible for the affixes given in the current and earlier morpheme sets. As you study each new morpheme set, you may wish to refer back to this section.

Derivational suffixes are used to make (or derive) new words. In particular, they are used to change a word from one grammatical class to another. For example, the noun "pore" can be changed into an adjective by adding the suffix -ous, resulting in the adjective "porous" 'having pores'. In some cases, the suffix doesn't change the part of speech, but it may add significantly to the meaning and these changes will affect the literal meaning.

We can organize derivation suffixes into three groups, depending on the type of new word they create. In the example above, we call -ous an Adjective-Forming Suffix because it creates adjectives. Below are some more examples of derivation suffixes which change parts of speech.

Suffix Type Grammatical Change Example

Noun-Forming Suffixes

VERB --> NOUN speak + er

ADJ --> NOUN economic + s

Adjective-Forming Suffixes NOUN --> ADJ person + al

VERB --> ADJ act + ive

Verb-Forming Suffixes

NOUN --> VERB victim + ize

ADJ --> VERB vocal + ize

As we've seen, one can add derivational suffixes almost indefinitely. For example, the word "educationalization" contains one prefix, one root, and six derivational suffixes.

e / duc / ate / ion / al / ize / ate / ion

'away, out' 'lead, draw, pull' VERB NOUN ADJ VERB N, A, V NOUN

Some derivational suffixes do multiple tasks. For example, the suffix -ate can create nouns, adjectives and verbs. This sometimes makes it difficult to gloss non-final derivational suffixes. If you can't tell for sure, just use the complete gloss which you memorized. When words are used in the context of a sentence, their grammatical class is clear and the exact meaning of the derivational suffix can be determined. When the word is given to you in a sentence, all final suffixes must have a SINGLE gloss. You will always be given words in sentences on exams. This usually isn't the case on homework problems; consequently, your answers may differ slightly from ours.

Derivational suffixes can be redundant, that is, two suffixes in a row may indicate the same part of speech. We can see this in these examples:

electric / electrical philosophic / philosophical

 

No matter how many suffixes are strung together at the end of a word, the rules is always the same:

The last derivational suffix determines the part of speech. The last suffix is glossed as either NOUN OR VERB OR ADJECTIVE if the word is

given in a sentence.

The literal meaning that you construct for a word depends on its part of speech. In the next section, we'll take a look at how literal meanings should be constructed for NOUNS, VERBS, and ADJECTIVES.

Meanings of Derivational Suffixes

When you analyze words, it is usually easiest to gloss derivational suffixes as NOUN, VERB, or ADJECTIVE. When you construct a literal meaning, you need to be careful that this meaning is appropriate to the part of speech that the word belongs to. For example, 'running' is a literal meaning for an adjective, but 'that which runs' is a literal meaning for a noun. (The words are cursive and cursor.)

NOUN Suffixes

Literal meanings for nouns almost always begin with words such as 'a', 'an', 'the', 'that which', or 'one who'. Different types of noun suffixes have slightly different meanings.

General noun suffixes just tell you 'this is a noun'. Abstract nouns often refer to abstract concepts or entities that are a result of some

action. Agent nouns refer to the person or entitiy which performs an action. Locative nouns refer to places. Medical terms often have suffixes that indicate specific medical conditions.

Noun-Forming Suffixes

Suffix form Suffix Meanings Example Literal meaning

General

-ic

'a thing'

'a substance'

'one that is related to'

'that which pertains to'

topic 'that which pertains to a place'

-ment segment 'a thing which is cut'

-s pathos 'the feeling'

-um album 'a white thing'

-ure nature 'the properties of something present from birth'

Abstract

-ence /

-ance

'an act of'

'a state of'

'the process of'

prominence 'the result of jutting forth'

-ion action 'the result of acting'

'the result of'

 

-ive missive 'the result of sending' (or 'that which was sent')

-sis genesis 'the process of birth' ('the beginning')

-y biology 'the act of studying living things' (or 'the study of life forms')

-ism

'the belief'

'the practice' baptism 'the practice of dipping'

-ity [name of a quality] verity 'the quality of being true'

Agent

-ate 'one who'

'that which'

advocate 'one who speaks toward (for) something'

-er / -or worker 'one who works'

-ent / -ant servant 'one who serves'

-ist 'one who engages in a belief or practice'

communist 'one who practices communism'

Location

-arium

'a place where'

aquarium 'a place where water is'

-ary / -ory dormitory 'a place for sleeping'

-ia

'the land'

'the area' suburbia

'the land below the city' (i.e. 'the area secondary to the city')

Diminuative

-le / -ole / -cle

'little' muscle 'a little mouse'

Medical

-ia 'a medical condition' insomnia 'a medical condition of lacking sleep'

-itis 'an inflammation' bronchitis 'an inflammation of the bronchial tubes'

-oma

'a tumor'

'a growth' fibroma

'a tumor having fiber (i.e. fibrous tissue)'

VERB Suffixes

Literal meanings for verbs should always begin 'to', the infinitive marker. (The infinitive form of a verb is one that doesn't show any tense.) In some cases, verbs convey the meaning 'to cause to' or 'to make', but in other cases the idea of causation has been lost, although the same suffix is used in each case. One special verb suffix is -esc / -sc conveys a notion of change or mutation and often means 'to become'. Here are some examples:

Verb-Forming Suffixes

Suffix form Suffix Meanings Example Literal meaning

-ate 'to VERB'

'to cause to'

'to make'

liberate 'to free'

-ize vocalize 'to make vocal'

-sc / -esc

'to become'

'to change' convalesce 'to become much stronger'

ADJECTIVE Suffixes

Literal meanings for adjectives often begin with the words 'having', 'being', or 'pertaining to' . When an adjective is formed from a verb, you can sometimes gloss it as 'VERB + ing' (VERB stands for whatever the original verb was.) One special case is -oid which almost always should be glossed 'resembling'. Another adjective suffix with a special meaning is -able / ible 'able to'. Here are some examples:

Adjective-Forming Suffixes

Suffix form Suffix Meanings Example Literal meaning

-able / -ible 'able to' adorable 'able to be adored'

-al

'having'

'being'

'pertaining to'

'VERB + ing '

natal 'pertaining to birth'

-ary / -ory sensory 'pertaining to feeling'

-ate irate 'having anger (ire)'

-ent / -ant fluent 'flowing'

-ic chronic 'pertaining to time'

-ile senile 'being old'

-ine canine 'pertaining to dogs'

-ite finite 'having an end'

-ive cursive 'running'

-ous dolorous 'suffering'

-oid 'resembling' android 'resembling a man'

1.4.2. Prefixes

Spatial Prefixes

The largest group of prefixes denote relationships that occur in space. Often, these spatial meanings are metaphorically extended to relationships in time. These prefixes may also have additional meanings and variant forms, which are listed in the glossary.

ab- / abs- 'from' ecto- 'outside' ob- 'towards'

ad- 'toward' endo- 'inside' para- 'beside'

ambi- / amphi- 'both' epi- 'on' per- 'through'

ana- 'back(ward)' ex- / e- / ec- 'out, away' peri- 'around'

ante- / anti- 'before' extra- 'outside' post- 'after'

anti- 'opposite' hyper- / super- 'over' pre- 'before

apo- 'away from' hypo- 'under' pro- 'forward'

cata- 'down' in- / en- 'in, into' re- / red- 'back'

circum- 'around' infra- 'below' se- / sed- 'apart'

con- / co- 'together' intra- 'within' sub- 'under'

de- 'down' inter- 'between' supra- 'above'

dia- 'through' meso- 'middle' syn- 'together'

dis- / di- 'apart' meta- 'beyond' trans- / tra- 'across'

Non-Spatial Prefixes

Some prefixes convey non-spatial concepts such as the comparison of one object with others, or information about the size or quantity of the object or substance

Comparative relations

hetero- 'other, different'

homo- / homeo- 'same'

iso- 'equal' Quantity and Size

micro- 'small'

macro- 'long, large'

omni- 'all'

pan- / pant- 'all, overall' Negative Prefixes

Negative prefixes convey the concept of 'not' as well as related concepts such as 'opposite of', 'lacking', or simple 'bad'.

a- / an- 'not, without'

in- 'not'

dys- 'bad'

anti- 'the opposite of' or 'opposed to'

contra- / counter- 'opposed to, in opposition' Intensive prefixes

Many spatial prefixes can be used to strengthen or intensify the meaning of the root to which they are attached. When these prefixes are used intensively, they should be glossed as 'very', 'intensively', 'completely', 'strongly', or some similar meaning, rather than using their spatial meaning. Although these "double meanings" of spatial morphemes may seen odd at first, it is actually quite common in languages. English has a number of native words and phrases with spatial meanings that are used to strengthen other words. Below are some examples of Latin spatial morphemes and English spatial words used intensively.

conspicuous 'very easily seen' "altogether visible"

declare 'very clear' "downright clear"

inflammable 'very flammable' (in- 'in', NOT in- 'not') "out and out flammable"

perfect 'completely done' "done through and through"

insist 'to stand strongly (for something)' "stand outright (for something)"

It is sometimes tricky to be sure that the prefix has an intensive meaning, but be sure to consider it when the spatial meaning doesn't seem to make sense.

Continue with Unit 1 Exercises B Go to Home Page

Copyright 1998 by the Department of Linguistics, University of Oregon.

en–1

or em– or in– pref.

1.a. To put into or onto: encapsulate.b. To go into or onto: enplane.

2. To cover or provide with: enrobe.3. To cause to be: endear.4. Thoroughly. Used often as an intensive: entangle.

[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin in-, in.]

en–2 or em–pref.

In; into; within: enzootic.

[Middle English, from Latin, from Greek.]