How to use "Suffixes" in English Grammar (2024)

What Are Suffixes?

A suffix is a type of affix that is added to the end of a word to change its meaning or form a new word. Suffixes are commonly used in English to create new words, modify the grammatical function of an existing word, or change the tense or form of a verb.

Suffixes: Types

Suffixes can change the part of speech (lexical classes) and the meaning of words. They are commonly categorized into two groups: 'English suffixes' and 'Latin suffixes'.
The main difference between these two types of suffixes is that English suffixes are added to a meaningful stem, while Latin suffixes are added to a stem that has lost its meaning in most cases. Additionally, in English suffixes, both the part of speech of the stem and that of the new word are important, while in Latin suffixes, only the part of speech of the output is considered important.

1. English Suffixes

In the following, you can see English suffixes that can make a noun, an adjective, a verb, or an adverb.

Using suffixes to create a noun from a verb

1.1 Noun Makers

These are suffixes that are added to an adjective, a verb, or a noun stem to make a noun.

Adjective → Noun

POS of Stems: Adjective	Suffixes	POS of Outputs: Noun	Meaning
Free	-dom	Freedom	State of, condition of
Safe, loyal	-ty	Safety, loyalty	The quality or condition
Legal	-ist	Legalist,	Adherent to a belief, a system, a principe
Legal	-ism	Legalism	A system, principle, or ideological movement
Warm	-th	Warmth	A state or condition
Absent	-ee	Absentee	A person described as or concerned with

Verb → Noun

POS of Stems: Verb	Suffixes	POS of Outputs: Noun	Meaning
Bore	-dom	boredom	A state or condition
Bake, brew, refine	-ery	Bakery, brewery, refinery	A commerce
Advise, abolish	-ment	Advisement, abolishment	A state or condition
Employ	-ee	Employee	A person in a specified state or condition
Assign	-ee	Assignee	A recipient of an action
Loan, invest	-er/-or	Loaner, investor	A performer of a particular action
Sleep, fight, win	-ing	Sleeping, fighting, winning	A verbal action that shows the process or result of something

Noun → Noun

POS of Stems: Noun	Suffixes	POS of Outputs: Noun	Meaning
Star	-dom	Stardom	A state or condition
Machine, green	-ery	Machinery, greenery	A collection of
Slave	-ery	Slavery	The state or condition of
Pot	-ery	Pottery	The product or goods of
Engine	-eer	Engineer	A person engaged in an activity
Member, friend, companion	-ship	Membership, friendship, companionship	A quality or condition
Ambassador, lord	-ship	Ambassadorship, lordship	Denoting rank, office, or position
Workman, scholar	-ship	Workmanship, scholarship	Denoting craft or skill
Boot, goat	-ee	Bootee, goatee	A smaller size
Tube, soldier	-ing	Tubing, soldiering	Something used in, consisting of, involving, etc.
Solo, motor	-ist	Soloist, motorist	A person who performs a certain action
Human	-ist	Humanist	A person who follows a particular doctrine, system, etc.
Physic	-ist	Physicist	A member of a profession, a person who practices in a specified field
Sex, age	-ist	Sexist, ageist	A person who advocates discriminative practices
Human	-ism	Humanism	A particular doctrine, system, etc.

1.2 Adjective Makers

These tables show the suffixes that are added to nouns or adjectives to make an adjective.

Noun → Adjective

POS of Stems: Noun	Suffixes	POS of Outputs: Adjectives	Meaning
Child	-like	Childlike	Similar to
Clock	-wise	Clockwise	In the same direction
Back	-ward	Backward	Turned or tending towards.
Biology	-ic	Biologic	Of, relating to, or resembling
Dirt	-y	Dirty	Denoting characteristics
Knight	-hood	Knighthood	A condition or quality
Brother	-hood	Brotherhood	A group
Fate, pain	-ful	Fateful, painful	Full of or characterized by
Spoon, mouth	-ful	Spoonful, mouthful	Indicating what fills a specified thing
Arm	-ed	Armed	Having the characteristics of
Fear	-less	Fearless	Denoting lacking

POS of Stems: Adjective	Suffixes	POS of Outputs: Adjectives	Meaning
Red, blue	-ish	Redish, bluish	Somewhat; approximately
Boy, devil	-ish	Boyish, devilish	Resembling
Tall	-er	Taller	More
Tall	-est	Tallest	The most

1. 3 Verb Makers

These tables indicate the suffixes that make a verb from nouns or adjectives.

Noun → Verb

POS of Stems: Noun	Suffixe	POS of Outputs: Verb	Meaning
Strength, height	-en	Strengthen, heighten	Cause to be; become

Adjective → Verb

POS of Stems: Adjective	Suffixe	POS of Outputs: Verb	Meaning
Fast, black	-en	Fasten, blacken	Cause to be; become

1.4 Adverb Makers

This table illustrates the suffixes that can make an adverb out of an adjective.

Adjective → Adverb

POS of Stems: Adjective	Suffixes	POS of Outputs: Adverb	Meaning
Bilingual	-ly	Bilingually	In a particular way
East	-wards	Eastwards	Towards a specific place or direction

2. Latin Suffixes

In Latin suffixes, only the part of speech of the output is important; however, recognizing the part of speech of input helps us with the morphology of words. It is important to know that Latin suffixes have lost their meaning in the English language.
In this part, you will learn suffixes that make a noun, an adjective, or a verb.

2.1 Noun Makers

Take a look at the tables of Latin suffixes that make nouns.

-ion, -ition, -ation, -ssion, -hesion, -sion, -ration

POS of Stems	Suffixes	POS of Outputs: Noun	Meaning
verb	-ion	Creation, invention, rejection	Denoting action; process
verb	-ition	Addition, position	''
Sometimes verb (accept, accuse)	-ation	Acceptation, accusation, accomodation	''
-	-ssion	Concession, admission, succession	''
-	-hesion	Cohesion, adhesion	''
-	-sion	Evasion, expansion, explosion	''
-	-ration	Ministration, registration	''

-ance, -ence, -ttance, -dence, -ancy

POS of Stems	Suffixes	POS of Outputs: Noun	Meaning
-	-ance	Abundance, pleasance, instance	Denoting the state /the condition
-	-ence	Confidence, advertence, deterrence	''
-	-ttance	Admittance	Denoting the process /act
-	-dence	Concedence	''
-	-ancy	Abundancy, dormancy, instancy	Denoting state or quality

-aticity,-ivity, -icity, -ity, -ativity, -itivity

POS of Stems	Suffixes	POS of Outputs: Noun	Meaning
-	-aticity	chromaticity	Denoting the quality/state
Verb (create, react, diffuse)	-ivity	Creativity, reactivity, diffusivity	''
-	-icity	Electricity, elasticity	''
Adjective (legal, moral, fertile)	-ity	Legality, morality, fertility	''
-	-ativity	Operativity	''
Sometimes verb (pose, add)	-itivity	Positivity, additivity, intuitivity	''

-ure, -ature

POS of Stems	Suffixes	POS of Outputs: Noun	Meaning
Verb (create, conject, gest)	-ure	Creature, conjecture, gesture	Denoting the result
Verb (sign)	-ature	Signature	''

-ment

POS of Stems	Suffixes	POS of Outputs: Noun	Meaning
Verb (abolish, accomplish, discourage)	-ment	Abolishment, accomplishment, discouragement	Denoting the state of being; act of

-ia, -a

POS of Stems	Suffixes	POS of Outputs: Noun	Meaning
-	-ia	Academia, schizophrenia	-
-	-a	Drama, diploma	-

POS of Stems	Suffixes	POS of Outputs: Noun	Meaning
-	-ification	Glorification, certification	Denoting the action, process
commune	-ication	Communication	''

POS of Stems	Suffixes	POS of Outputs: Noun	Meaning
-	-iety	notoriety	Denoting the state
-	-ity	ambiguity, simultaneity	''

POS of Stems	Suffixes	POS of Outputs: Noun	Meaning
-	-re/-er	ministre	One who; person connected with
Create, invent, reject	-or/-er	Creator, inventor, rejecter	''
Verb (sign, accuse)	-ator	Signator, accusator	''
Verb (evade, decide, expand, convert)	-der/-ter/-dor/-tor	Evader, decider, expandor, convertor	''

POS of Stems	Suffixes	POS of Outputs: Noun	Meaning
-	-entary	Documentary	-
	-ician	Politician, magician, optician	A person who is involved in...
Noun (human, commune)	-ist	Humanist, communist	A person who supports...
-	-ificate	Significate, pontificate, certificate	Denoting the quality of...
-	-osity	Hediosity, nervosity, curiosity	''
-	-rant	Ministrant	-

2.2 Adjective Makers

Take a look at the tables of Latin suffixes that make adjectives.

-ic, -atic, -aturgic, -ics

POS of Stems	Suffixes	POS of Outputs: Adjective	Meaning
Noun (academy, acid, alcohol, allergy)	-ic	Academic, acidic, alcoholic, allergic	Having characteristics of
-	-atic,	Dramatic, diplomatic, chromatic	''
-	-aturgic	Dramaturgic	''
-	-ics	Politics	''

-ive, -ative, -ssive, -hesive

POS of Stems	Suffixes	POS of Outputs: Adjective	Meaning
Create, invent, reject	-ive,	Creative, inventive, rejective	Having characteristics of
Accuse	-ative,	Accusative	''
-	-ssive,	Concessive, admissive, successive	''
-	-hesive	Cohesive, adhesive	''

-itory, -ory, -atory

POS of Stems	Suffixes	POS of Outputs: Adjective	Meaning
Verb (add)	-itory	Additory	Having characteristics of
Verb (invent, contradict)	-ory	Inventory, contradictory	''
Sometimes verb (accuse)	-atory	Mediatory, accusatory	''

-ral, -erial, -al, -inal, -ial, -tial

POS of Stems	Suffixes	POS of Outputs: Adjective	Meaning
-	-ral	Ancestral	Having characteristics of
-	-erial	Ministerial, registerial	''
Noun (humor, accident, region)	-al	Humoral, accidental, regional	''
Noun (crime)	-inal	Criminal	''
Sometimes noun (mater, part)	-ial	Material, partial, maleficial	''
-	-tial	Confidential	''

-able, -ible

POS of Stems	Suffixes	POS of Outputs: Adjective	Meaning
Sometimes verb (prevent)	-able	Portable, preventable	Capable or worthy of
Sometimes noun (access)	-ible	Accessible, credible	''

-ent, -herent

POS of Stems	Suffixes	POS of Outputs: Adjective	Meaning
Adjective (benefic, malefic)	-ent	Beneficent, maleficent	Having characteristics of
-	-herent	Coherent, adherent	''

-ous, -ious, -inous, -itious

POS of Stems	Suffixes	POS of Outputs: Adjective	Meaning
Sometimes noun (humor)	-ous	Adulterous, simultaneous, humorous	Having qualities of
Sometimes noun (labor)	-ious	Laborious, notorious	''
Noun (crime)	-inous	Criminous	''
-	-itious	Nutritious, repetitious	''

-ant, -ate, -ificant

POS of Stems	Suffixes	POS of Outputs: Adjective	Meaning
-	-ant	Pleasant, abundant, instant, dormant	Existing in a certain condition
-	-ate	Democrate, accurate	''
-	-ificant	Significant, certificant	''

2.3 Verb Makers

Now take a look at the tables of Latin suffixes making verbs.

-ize, -itivize, -atize/-atise

POS of Stems	Suffixes	POS of Outputs: Verb	Meaning
Adjective (legal, fertile, moral)	-ize	Legalize, fertilize, moralize	To make or cause to become
-	-itivize	Positivize	''
-	-atize/-atise	Dramatize, dramatise	''

Compound Suffixes

Most of the time, English suffixes are used together to make a compound suffix, such as the suffix -ly which always makes an adverb even if it is used with other suffixes like –wise, -istical, etc. Additionally, Latin suffixes can be used together to make a compound suffix. For example:

Clock + -wisely (-wise +-ly) = clockwisely

English compound suffix

Create + -ional (-ion + -al) = creational

Latin compound suffix

It is noteworthy to know that English suffixes can be used with Latin suffixes like '-wardation' as –ward is English and –ation is Latin. Look:

Back + -wardation (-ward + -ation) = backwardation

Notes about Suffixes

Here are some tips to remember when using suffixes:

Some suffixes have more than one meaning, such as the suffix -er.

teacher, worker vs. slower, faster

The suffix -er in the two first examples indicates the performer or doer of the action, while in the last two examples, it makes a comparative adjective.

When the root of the word ends in the letter 'y' or the silent 'e' and the suffix starts with a vowel, the letter 'y' changes to 'i' and the silent 'e' is removed.

crazy → craziness

crime → criminal

Warning

Be careful that some roots ending with a vowel do not change even if they are accompanied by suffixes starting with vowels, as in 'changeable' and 'loveable'. Additionally, when the suffix '-ing' is added to root words ending with '-y', it does not change the root word, such as 'copying.'

We can add different suffixes to words that end in two consecutive consonants with no change in the suffix or the root word.

pump + -ing = pumping

sing + -er = singer

When the root word has more than one syllable and it ends in the letter 'l', the letter 'l' is usually doubled and then the suffix is added.

travel + -er = traveller

cancel + -ed = cancelled

When the suffix '-tion' is added to a root word ending in '-be', 'b' changes to 'p' and 'e' is removed before the suffix is added.

describe + -tion = description, subsribe + -tion = subscription