What Is a Suffix

What is a suffix in English & Common Types

Have you seen the word “kind” and are surprised by how it could be converted to “kindness”? That’s what is a suffix can do. It is the essential building block in English grammar. The suffixes in English are additional letters that we add at the end of the base word to change its meaning or grammatical function.

Whether you are a student, teacher, writer, or someone who loves improving vocabulary, learning the suffix is essential. Therefore, we craft this guide, highlighting suffix types, examples, everyday situations to use, and mistakes to avoid so you can read better, write smarter, and communicate clearly.

What Is a Suffix in English Grammar?

A suffix meaning in English, is a letter or group of letters added to a word’s end to form a new word. It changes a word’s meaning, tense, or part of speech (like turning a verb into a noun). You can think of it this way: A suffix acts like a tail you add to a word to give it a new job. 

For example, “Happy” is an adjective, and when you add -ness at the end, it converts to “happiness”, which is a noun. By this example of a suffix, it’s clear that a suffix helps build thousands of words in English. Learning them enables you to guess the meaning of new words and to avoid common grammatical mistakes at all costs.

Types of Suffixes

Inflectional and derivational are two types of suffixes in English, where inflectional suffixes are used for grammatical purposes while derivational suffixes are used to change word types. However, below are the differences between inflectional suffixes vs derivational suffixes in detail.

Types of Suffixes includes inflectional and derivational suffix

Inflectional Suffix

This type of suffix changes the word’s grammatical form, but does not alter the meaning of the word.  In other words, inflectional suffixes express tense, plurality, possession, and comparison. For a better understanding, let’s say we add the -S to the word “book” to make the word “books” to show there is more than one book.

Similarly, adding an -ed at the end of the word “Walk” changes it to walked (shows the past tense). In both cases, we see that Inflectional suffixes words are predictable and follow grammar rules. They didn’t create new words; instead, they helped us use existing words correctly in sentences.

Inflectional suffixes examples sentences

  • Book + s = Books → She borrowed five books.
  • Jump + ed = Jumped → The kids jumped over puddles.
  • Read + ing = Reading → I am reading a novel right now.

Derivational Suffix

This type of suffixes in English adds letters to the end and creates a new kind of word with a different meaning. In fact, it changes the entire dimension of the sentence, such as a derivational suffix changes a verb into a noun, an adjective into an adverb, or adds a new shade of meaning. When learned appropriately, this suffix type enables you to identify the word’s part of speech even at first glance.

Derivational suffix examples sentences

  • Forgive + ness = Forgiveness → He begged for forgiveness
  • Joy + Ful = Joyful → The children looked joyful during the event.
  • Teach + er = Teacher → The teacher explains the topic clearly.

When to Use Suffixes Words in Everyday Situations?

In everyday writing and reading, using suffixes words helps you understand the form of a word, its meaning, and its function in English. Here are four common situations where suffixes are used widely.

When to use suffix in everyday writing

When Showing Plural

Adding suffixes such as -s or -es when we need to make a noun plural. This suffix in a sentence helps to express the quantity of things.

  • Strength + s = Strengths
  • Fox + es = Foxes
  • Dream + s = Dreams

Tip: We must learn that some words are not meant to be pluralized by adding s or es, such as the plural for man is men, not “mans”. So be aware of the words before adding a suffix.

To Show Verb Tense or Action Form

Using the words with suffixes -ed, -ing, -s to indicate that some action happens either in the present, past, or ongoing. Here, the suffixes are responsible for building correct sentences and the timeframe.

  • Walk + ed = Walked (past tense)
  • Run + ing = Running (Ongoing)
  • Work + s = Works (third person singular)

Tip: In some words, we have to double the letter that appears right before where you add the suffix letters. As you can see above, where “run” is with one “n”, but when adding a suffix, it becomes running with double “n”.

Turning a Verb or Adjective into a Noun

Suffixes such as -tion, -ment, -ness, -ity, -er, -or are used when converting verbs or adjectives into nouns, so actions and qualities could be turned into things or concepts. Here are the suffix examples in English.

  • Decide + ion = Decision
  • Happy + ness = Happiness
  • Create + or = Creator

Tip: This is an effective way to expand your vocabulary, especially when writing formal or academic papers.

Comparatives and Superlatives

Comparatives and Superlatives suffix are common when comparing two or more things in your writing. You must use suffixes such as -er and -est.

  • Tall + er or +est = Taller or Tallest
  • Fast + er or +est = Faster or Fastest

Tip: Use -er for comparing two, and -est for among three or more things.

Common Suffixes and Their Meanings

Suffix words list with their appropriate meanings will help you with reading, writing, and vocabulary. Therefore, we have compiled the following suffix examples in English.

SuffixMeaningExamples
Noun Suffixes
-nessState or qualityMadness
-mentAction or processDevelopment
-tionCondition or resultaction
-erA person who doesTeacher
-ityState of beingActivity
Adjective Suffixes
-fulFull ofHelpful
-lessWithoutcareless
-ousFull of Nervous
-ableCapable of beingReadable
-iveHaving the nature ofCreative
Verb Suffixes
-izeTo make or becomeModernize
-enTo cause to beStrengthen
-ateTo act or causeActivate
Adverb Suffix
-lyHow something is doneQuickly, Happily, Luckily

What Is a Prefix and a Suffix (Quick Comparison)

Prefixes and suffixes words change the meaning of words by adding a group of letters to them. However, the place where those letters are placed makes the difference.

FeaturesPrefixSuffix
PositionBeginningEnd
FunctionChanges the meaning of the wordChange in meaning or part of speech
ExampleAdding -un before happy makes it UnhappyAdding -ness at the end of kind makes it kindness

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Understanding what is a suffix makes your grammar part in academic writing impactful. It is essential for essays and assignment tasks. But with short deadlines, how could a student take a keen eye on every suffix used accurately? No worries about this, because our assignment writing services are at your assistance. We have decades of experience writing assignments and fixing suffixes in English students’ essays and assignments. So, contact us today and see how our expertly written assignments make a difference.

FAQs

The most effective way to learn suffixes is to use them by function, and also try to use flashcards or apps.

Yes, a word could have more than one suffix. For example, in the word helpfulness, the last added letters, -ful and -ness, are two suffixes.

An example of a suffix is to apply -ly, at the end of the word “lucky”, which will change the form of speech to an adverb from an adjective, making the word “happily”

Suffixes in English grammar help students and professionals with reading, spelling, and vocabulary. It allows you to guess the meaning of new words and improves your writing and grammar skills.

The addition of a suffix can sometimes affect stress or pronunciation. For instance, “photograph” vs. “photographer” changes the stress placement.
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