Posts Tagged ‘suffixes’

Common suffixes

December 13th, 2010 in Words

The following lists are given for reference and study.

Common suffixes

-able, -ible: These are used to make adjectives. Different meanings are possible:

a) that can be / is liable to be

Curable (That can be cured)
Eatable (That can be eaten)

More examples: justifiable, conceivable, taxable, digestible, compressible

b) having the qualities of

Comfortable, peaceable

c) likely to

Examples: suitable, knowledgeable

-ably, -ibly: These are used to make adverbs from adjectives ending in -able, -ible.

Examples are: peaceably, suitably, conceivably

-al: This is used to make nouns and adjectives.

Examples are:

Monumental = of a monument
National = of a nation
Constitutional = of a constitution or in accordance with a constitution

-ance, -ence: These are used to make nouns

Examples are:

Avoidance (act of avoiding)
Annoyance (being annoyed)
Absence (being absent)
Prudence (being prudent)
Inheritance (what is inherited)
Hindrance (Something that hinders)

-ant, -ent: These are used to make nouns and adjectives from verbs.

Applicant (a person who applies)
Assistant (a person who assists)
Inhabitant (a person who inhabits)
Examples are: Irritant, president, student, superintendent

The suffixes -ant and -ent are also used to make adjectives from verbs.

Triumphant (feeling or showing triumph)
Indulgent (in the habit of indulging; showing indulgence)

-dom: This suffix is used to make nouns.

Examples are:

Freedom (state of being free)
Kingdom (lands of king)
Dukedom (position of duke)

-ed and -d: These are used to make past tense and past participle.

Forced, abandoned, distressed, surprised, bridged, used

-en: This suffix is used to make verbs from adjectives and nouns.

Examples are: shorten, deepen, soften, harden, strengthen, lengthen etc

-ful: This suffix is used with abstract nouns to make adjectives.

Examples are: Wonderful, hopeful, graceful

It may also be used with concrete nouns to make nouns.

Handful, cupful etc.

Common prefixes

aero-; air-; Anglo-; ante-; anti-; arch-; be-; bi-; by-; co-; contra-; de-; deci-; deci-; demi-; dis-; ex-; fore-; grand-; great-; hydro-; il-; im-; in-; mal-; mid-; mis-; multi-; non-; out-; over-; pan-; poly-; post-; pre-; pro-; re-; self-; semi-; sub-; ultra-; under-; vice-; well-