List of Common English Suffixes and Their Meanings
Suffixes are a simple but powerful part of English grammar. A suffix is a group of letters added to the end of a word. Suffixes help you change meanings and form new words, making them essential for school exams, daily English, and competitive tests.
| Suffix | Meaning | Example Word | Word Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| -ness | State or quality | happiness | The state of being happy |
| -ly | In a manner | quickly | In a quick manner |
| -er | Person who does | teacher | A person who teaches |
| -ment | Action or result | enjoyment | State of enjoying |
| -ful | Full of | hopeful | Full of hope |
| -ed | Past tense | walked | Walk in the past |
| -ing | Present participle | running | Continuing to run |
What is a Suffix in English?
A suffix is a letter or a group of letters you add to the end of a word to change its form or meaning. Suffixes help form new words and change how a word is used in a sentence.
For example, add -ness to “happy” to make “happiness.” This changes the adjective into a noun.
Types of Suffixes in English
There are two main types of suffixes in English grammar: derivational suffixes and inflectional suffixes. Each type helps make or change words in different ways.
| Type | Function | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Derivational Suffix | Changes the meaning or class of a word | teach → teacher (verb to noun) |
| Inflectional Suffix | Changes the grammatical form but keeps the word class | look → looked (adds tense) |
Common Suffix Examples and Their Uses
Suffixes are important in school work, essays, and even everyday conversations. Here are some common suffixes with meanings and examples to help you build your vocabulary and understand English better.
| Suffix | Function | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -ness | Makes nouns from adjectives | kind → kindness |
| -less | Makes adjectives meaning “without” | care → careless |
| -tion | Makes nouns from verbs | inform → information |
| -ly | Makes adverbs from adjectives | soft → softly |
| -ful | Makes adjectives meaning “full of” | help → helpful |
| -ed | Shows past tense or past participle | jump → jumped |
| -ing | Shows present participle/continuous tense | read → reading |
Suffix Spelling Rules
Spelling can change when adding suffixes. These rules help you avoid mistakes in writing or exams.
- If a word ends with a silent 'e', drop the 'e' before adding “-ing” or “-ed”: make → making, hope → hoped.
- Double the final consonant if a one-syllable word ends with a vowel + consonant before “-ing” or “-ed”: run → running, stop → stopped.
- If the word ends in “y” after a consonant, change “y” to “i” before adding “-ed” or “-es”: cry → cried, carry → carries.
Suffixes in Names
Suffixes are also used in people’s names to show family order or distinction. For example, “John Smith Jr.” means the son of John Smith Sr. Other common name suffixes include “Sr.” (senior), “III”, “IV” (third, fourth), etc.
These suffixes are important in documents to avoid confusion between family members with the same name.
Practice with Suffixes
Try these exercises to check your understanding of suffixes in English:
- Complete: help + ____ = "helpful"
- Choose the correct word: "care" + (less/ness) = "careless"
- Identify the suffix: "quickly"
- Add a suffix to make a noun from "happy"
- Make the past tense of "jump" using a suffix
How Learning Suffixes Helps You
Knowing suffixes helps you form new words, write accurately, and understand word meanings quickly. Suffixes are tested in school grammar, competitive English exams, and help in daily conversation and writing.
At Vedantu, we simplify grammar concepts like suffixes to help you gain confidence in English.
Related English Grammar Topics
- Prefix and Suffix
- Parts of Speech
- English Grammar
- Formation of Adjectives
- Basics of Grammar
- Vocabulary Words for Kids
- Formation of Adverbs
- Nouns
- Introduction to Punctuation
In summary, suffixes in English are word endings added to change a word’s grammar or meaning. They help you form nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. Mastering suffixes improves your vocabulary and your ability to write and speak English accurately and confidently.
FAQs on What Is a Suffix? Definition & Examples for Students
1. What is a suffix and examples?
A suffix is a letter or group of letters added to the end of a word to change its meaning or grammatical function. For example: adding -ly to 'quick' creates the adverb 'quickly', and adding -ness to 'happy' creates the noun 'happiness'.
2. What is the suffix Jr. Sr III IV?
In names, suffixes like Jr. (Junior), Sr. (Senior), III (third), and IV (fourth) indicate family relationships and generational order. Jr. and Sr. distinguish between father and son with the same name, while Roman numerals denote further generations.
3. What is a suffix in a name?
A suffix in a name, like Jr. or III, shows the person's position within a family. For instance, 'John Smith Jr.' indicates a son named after his father.
4. Which is prefix and suffix?
A prefix is added to the beginning of a word (e.g., 'unhappy'), while a suffix is added to the end (e.g., 'quickly'). They both modify the meaning or grammatical function of the root word.
5. What does suffix mean in English?
In English, a suffix is a morpheme added to the end of a word, modifying its meaning (e.g., adding -able to 'break' to form 'breakable') or grammatical function (e.g., adding -s to 'cat' to form 'cats').
6. What is a suffix in English?
A suffix is a word part added to the end of a base word. It changes the word's meaning or grammatical function. For example, adding '-ing' to 'walk' makes 'walking' (a verb form).
7. What are the types of suffixes?
There are two main types of suffixes: derivational suffixes change the word's meaning or part of speech (e.g., '-ment' in 'government'), and inflectional suffixes change the grammatical form (e.g., '-ed' in 'walked').
8. What are common English suffixes?
Common English suffixes include: -ing (present participle), -ed (past participle), -ly (adverb), -ness (noun), -ful (adjective), -less (adjective), -ment (noun), -tion (noun), -er (agent noun/comparative), and -est (superlative).
9. How to use suffixes?
Suffixes are added to the end of root words or base words to create new words. Understanding suffix rules is important for correct word formation and expanding vocabulary. For example, adding -able to a verb makes an adjective (e.g., break + able = breakable).
10. What are the spelling rules for adding suffixes?
Spelling rules vary when adding suffixes. Often, a final 'e' is dropped before adding '-ing' (make → making). Double the final consonant before adding '-ing' or '-ed' if the base word has one syllable and ends in a vowel-consonant combination (run → running). There are exceptions, so check a dictionary when unsure.
11. What is the difference between prefix and suffix?
A prefix is added to the beginning of a word to change its meaning (e.g., 'unhappy'), whereas a suffix is added to the end (e.g., 'quickly').
12. Give examples of suffixes in grammar.
Suffixes are crucial in grammar. They indicate tense (walked, walking), number (cats), and part of speech (happyness, quickly). Understanding suffixes improves grammatical accuracy.
