ENGLISH SUFFIXES

Suffixes (word-endings) come at the end of a word. They show whether the word is a verb, noun, adjective, or adverb. Learning
these word-endings can help you recognize a noun, adjective, verb, or adverb.
Noun Suffixes
These are common endings for nouns. If you see these endings on a word, then you know it must be a noun.
-dom
wisdom(n)
kingdom(n)
-ity
capability(n)
flexibility(n)
-ment
contentment(n)
-sion, -tion
celebration (n)
-ness
toughness (n)
-ance, -ence
assistance (n)
-er, -or
fighter (n)
actor (n)
-ist
violinist (n)

at the end of a word means:

- state or condition
- domain, position, rank
- a group with position, office, or rank
wise+dom means the state of understanding what is good, right and lasting
king+dom means the domain or area belonging to a king.
at the end of a word means condition or quality of __________.
capable+ity means the condition of being capable.
flexible+ity means the quality of being flexible.
at the end of a word means act of __________; state of __________; result of
content+ment means the state of being satisfied (content).
at the end of a word means act of __________; state of __________.
celebrate+tion means the act of celebrating
at the end of a word means state of __________.
tough+ness means the state of being tough.
at the end of a word means act of __________; state of __________; quality of
assist+ance means act of giving help.
at the end of a word means one who __________; that which __________.
fight+er means one who fights
act+or means one who acts.
at the end of a word also means one who __________; that which __________.
violin+ist means one who plays the violin.

Adjective Suffixes
These are common word endings for adjectives.
-ive
at the end of a word means doing or tending toward doing some action
extensive(adj)
extend+ive means doing something large in range or amount
selective(adj)
select+ive means tending to select.
-en
at the end of a word means made of __________.
wooden (adj)
wood+en means made of wood.
Note: When the word is an adjective, the -en means made of __________. We have seen -en at the
end of a verb. There it means to make __________.
-ic
at the end of a word means characteristic of__________; like __________.
heroic (adj)
hero+ic means characteristic of a hero.
poetic (adj)
poet+ic means characteristic of (or like) poets or poetry.
-al
sometimes makes an adjective; when it makes an adjective it means relating to
financial (adj)
finance+al means relating to finance. (Finance means money.)
manual (adj)
manu+al means relating to the hand. (Manus means hand in Latin.)
-able
at the end of a word means able __________; can __________; or giving
portable (adj)
port+able means can be carried; able to be carried.
pleasurable
pleasure+able means giving pleasure.
(adj)
-y
at the end of a word means having __________.
hairy (adj)
hair+y means having hair (a lot of hair).
rainy (adj)
rain+y means having rain.
-ous
at the end of a word means full of __________; having __________.
mysterious (adj) mystery+ous means full of mystery.
-ful
at the end of a word means full of __________; having __________.
hopeful (adj)
hope+ful means full of hope.
beautiful (adj)
beauty+ful means full of beauty.
Note: The suffix -ful is always spelled with one l; the word full has two.
-less
at the end of a word means without __________.
powerless (adj) power+less means without power.
homeless(adj)
home+less means without a home.

Verb Suffixes

These are common endings for verbs. If you see these endings on a word, then the word is most likely a verb.
-en
at the end of a word means to make __________.
brighten (v)
bright+en means to make bright.
soften (v)
soft+en means to make soft.
-ize
at the end of a word means to make __________.
publicize (v)
public+ize means to make public or to make the public aware of.
-ate
at then end of a word means to have or be characterized by __________.
active+ate means to make active.
activate(v)
different+ate means to make or show a difference.
differentiate(v)
-ify or -fy
at the end of a word means to cause to become or to make.
simplify(v)
simple+ify means to make simple or simpler.
Adverb Suffixes
This is the most common ending for an adverb. If you see this ending on a word, you can be fairly certain that it is an adverb.
However, keep in mind that not all adverbs end this way.
-ly
quickly (adv)

at the end of a word almost always makes an adverb; occasionally it will make an adjective.
quick+ly.

Adjectives with suffixes

Fill in the blanks with an adjective derived from the word given.
1. My car is really very ______________________(economic) .
2. There was a ____________________________(comedy) opera on TV last night.
3. He's a very_______________________ (ambition) man.
4. The school organises _______________________(education) visits.
5. She cries a lot because she's really very______________________ (sense) .
6. They held a long________________________________ (philosophy) discussion about the subject.
7. The plane was caught in an _________________________________-(electricity) storm.
8. I haven't had a very___________________________________ (product) day.
9. We visited a _______________________________________(history) house last weekend.
10. I love________________________________________ (classic) music.
2. Word building
1. During the last years, there was a great__________________ (improve) in science and medicine.
2. When Mark entered the house, his mother looked at him in ___________________(astonish) .
3. The teacher fell on the floor and the kids roared with _____________________(laugh) .
4. There was a feeling of____________________________________ (sad) in her eyes.
5. Tim has always shown a lot of_______________________ (interest) on stamps.
6. Do you have____________________________ (permit) to go out?
7. I need an (enlarge) ____________________________ of this photograph.
8. Due to the fog, all flights had a delayed______________________ (arrive) .
9. Attention, please! I have an important _________________________(announce) to make.
10. The central bank has promised a __________________________(reduce) in interest rates

11. The judge told him it was __________________________(responsible) to drink and drive, and banned him for a year.
12. She divorced him because of his_______________________ (kind) to the children.
13. The keys were locked inside the car. _________________(luck), a side window was open.
14. Thousands of people are living in _________________________(miserable) after the terrible earthquake.
15. Her boss accused her of being over- ___________________(ambition) .
16. This poem shows the wonderful ________________(sensitive) of the poet.
17. The evening was____________________________ (enjoy) We spent it playing cards and talking.
18. Due to the clerk's ___________________________(stubborn), we missed the train.
19. The thing I hate about John is his _____________________________(reliable) .
20. She upset him with a _____________________________________(tact) remark about his big nose..
3. Fill the gaps with the adjectives in brackets.
1 He's such a monotonous speaker. I was ________________ stiff. (bored / boring)
2 Most sequels are ________________. (disappointed / disappointing)
3 I had such a ________________ day I went straight to bed. (tired / tiring)
4 Everyone's very ________________ about the news. (excited / exciting)
5 That lamp produces a very ________________ effect. (pleased / pleasing)
6 The whole school was ________________ by the tragic event. (saddened / saddening)
7 I don't like watching ________________ films on my own. (depressed / depressing)
8 I was ________________ when she told me she'd got divorced. (amazed / amazing)
9 He's such a ________________ guy. He only ever talks about himself. (bored / boring)
10 I'm very ________________ in films and theatre. (interested / interesting)
11 No one knew what would happen next. We were all ________________ . (intrigued / intriguing)
12 It was a very ________________ situation. (interested / interesting)
13 There's been some very ________________ news. (surprised / surprising)
14 His mother was ________________ by what she found under his bed. (disgusted / disgusting)
15 Their hamburgers are ________________ . (disgusted / disgusting)
16 Dad always arrives home from work thoroughly ________________ . (exhausted / exhausting)
17 He's always showing off. It's really ________________ . (annoyed / annoying)
18 I think Alex is one of the most ____________ people I've ever met. He can't keep still for a second. (annoyed / annoying)
19 I walked into the pub and saw Andy with a strange woman. He seemed really _________. (embarrassed / embarrassing)
20 She kept talking about her boyfriend problems all night. It was rather ________________ . (embarrassed / embarrassing)