Suffix

A suffix is added to the end of a stem to form a derivative, for example govern - government; champion - championship).

They tend to be easier for speakers of European languages, and harder for students from some other language families. Teachers should encourage language learners to use word analysis to work out the meaning of unfamiliar words and there are several types of exercises which can be used.

Note that in some cases, the same suffix can be used for both an adjective and a noun. For instance musical, can be a noun and an adjective, but with different meanings. The suffixes -an, -ean and -ian are also used used as both adjectives and nouns. And the suffix -ish can be used for adjectives and verbs. Likewise, it's worth pointing out that not all words ending in -ly are adverbs.

Adjectives
See main article Adjectives.

-ful

 * Many adjectives end in –ful, but never in –full: beautiful, helpful, useful, etc.;

-an
Adjectives (and nouns) typical of or resembling; a person typical of
 * African, Chicagoan, Elizabethan, Venezuelan.

-ean
Adjectives (and nouns) belonging to or relating to; a person belonging to or coming from
 * Chilean, European

-ian
Adjectives (and nouns) adhering to or following; an adherent of
 * Christian, Freudian, Rastafarian, Zoroastrian

Adjectives (and nouns) belonging to or relating to; a person belonging to or coming from
 * Argentinian, Brazilian

-i
Of or relating to a region or people, esp. of the Middle East
 * Bangladeshi, Iraqi

-ic/-ical

 * Many adjectives ending in -ic (phonetic, despotic, problematic, etc.) and just as many ending in -ical (phonological, tyrannical, typical, etc.). In some cases, both forms exist with the same meaning (''poetic/poetical')'. There is no rule, so check each case in the dictionary;


 * The economic forecast for the next quarter is not very good; These new Japanese cars are very economical because they use very little petrol (not expensive);


 * I’ll never forget that historic moment when Armstrong stepped out on the moon; There are so many historical places to visit in Spain;


 * Other examples include: classic vs classical; comic vs comical; economic vs economical; electric vs electrical; historic vs historical; magic vs magical; politic vs political;

-ible/-able

 * Several adjectives of English or French origin end in -able, while those of Latin origin end in -able or -ible. The first group is far more frequent:


 * available, comfortable, probable, reliable, suitable, variable;


 * accessible, feasible, possible, responsible;

-ish
Nationalities: British, Danish, English, Irish, Swedish;

From nouns - having the qualities or characteristics of :
 * childish, girlish, prudish

From adjectives - to a certain degree:
 * dampish, tallish, yellowish, youngish

-ist
Adjectives (and nouns) a person who advocates a particular doctrine, system, etc, or relating to such a person or the doctrine advocated :
 * socialist

Adjectives (and nouns) characterized by a specified trait, tendency, etc, or relating to such a person or trait :
 * purist

Adjectives (and nouns) prejudiced on the basis specified :
 * sexist, ageist

-ly
having the qualities of :
 * brotherly, likely, miserly, unlikely, woolly

recurring at intervals of:
 * hourly, monthly, quarterly, yearly

-y

 * from nouns (characterized by; consisting of; filled with; relating to; resembling): classy, funny, messy, sandy, smoky, sunny, wacky
 * from verbs (tending to; acting or existing as specified): leaky, runny, shiny, sticky, talky
 * others: clumsy, nasty, tidy, ugly,

-ly
From adjectives, chiefly denoting manner or degree
 * gladly, greatly, funnily, happily, pointedly, sadly, slowly

-wise

 * bookwise, clockwise, likewise

Nouns
See main article Noun.

-al

 * musical

-an
Nouns (and adjectives) typical of or resembling; a person typical of
 * Elizabethan

-ean
Nouns (and adjectives) belonging to or relating to; a person belonging to or coming from
 * European

-ian
Indicates a person who specializes or is expert in


 * dietitian, mathematician, musician, phonetician

Nouns (and adjectives) adhering to or following; an adherent of
 * Christian, Freudian Rastafarian, Zoroastrian

-ism
Indicates action, process, or result : Indicates a state or condition : Indicates a doctrine, system, or body of principles and practices : Indicates behaviour or a characteristic quality : Indicates a characteristic usage, esp. of a language : Indicates prejudice :
 * criticism, plagiarism, terrorism;
 * paganism;
 * Buddhism, Fascism, Leninism, spiritualism;
 * heroism; organism;
 * colloquialism, Scotticism, witticism;
 * ageism, racism, sexism.

-ist
Indicates a person who practises in a specific field
 * physicist, typist

Indicates a person who performs a certain action or is concerned with something specified :
 * motorist, soloist

Nouns (and adjectives) a person who advocates a particular doctrine, system, etc, or relating to such a person or the doctrine advocated :
 * socialist

Nouns (and adjectives) characterized by a specified trait, tendency, etc, or relating to such a person or trait :
 * purist

Nouns (and adjectives) prejudiced on the basis specified :
 * sexist, ageist

-ness

 * fondness

-iness
From adjectives ending in -y
 * clumsiness, happiness

-dom

 * freedom

-ship

 * friendship

-ment

 * appointment, development, engagement, improvement, investment, measurement, treatment

-ion
Indicates action, process, or state
 * creation, definition, objection

-ation
Indicates action, process, state, condition, or result
 * arbitration, explanation, hibernation, moderation, organisation, situation

-tion
Indicates state, condition, action, process, or result
 * conjunction, election, prohibition, projection

-sion
See also Decoding exercises: "sion"
 * adhesion, division, excursion, expression, persuasion

-ity

 * technicality

-ish

 * abolish, establish.

Others
Inflections can also be suffixes:
 * -s: cats, dogs
 * -ed: asked, planned, ended
 * -er: faster
 * -est: fastest
 * -ing: thinking