English Grmmar - Suffixes and Prefixes

SUFFIXES

We sometimes add a pair or group of alphabets or letters at the end of a word to add something to the meaning of a word or change function. These letters or group of letters are called suffixes. We can use suffixes to make many new words, including nouns, adjectives, verb and adverb etc.
Examples:

• agree + ment = agreement (change verb to noun)
• postpone + ment = postponement (change verb to noun)
• willing + ness = willingness (change adjective to noun)
• frank + ness = frankness (change adjective to noun)
• arrive + al = arrival (change verb to noun)
• profession + al = professional (change noun to adjective)

Suffixes Rules

Change The Spelling Of The Word
In some cases, the suffix causes a spelling change to the original (root or base) word. The last alphabet or letter of the word may be dropped or changed, when the suffix is added. Such as:
Example:

• Words ending with letter -e:
  -e may be dropped, when suffix is added begins with vowel, such as:
  (i) use + able → usable
  (ii) adore + able → adorable
  
  
• Words ending with letter -y:
  -y changes to an i when suffix is added, such as:
  (i) beauty + -ful → beautiful
  (ii) duty + -ful → dutiful
  (iii) heavy + -ness → heaviness
  (iv) ready + -ness → readiness
  (v) ugly + -ness → ugliness
  
  
• Words ending with letter -le:
  -le changes to il when suffix is added, such as:
  (i) able + -ity → ability
  (ii) possible + -ity → possibility
  
  
• Words ending with letter -t:
  -t changes to ss when suffix is added, such as:
  (i) permit + -ion → permission
  (ii) omit + -ion → omission

Change The Meaning Of The Word
Suffixes sometimes change the meaning of the words, such as:
Suffix -er is added:

• With adjective, it shows comparative meaning of "more" as:
  (i) kind + -er → Kinder
  (ii) long + -er → longer
  (iii) fond + -er → fonder
  
  
• With verb, the word can be turned into noun, as:
  (i) read + -er → reader
  (ii) dance + -er → dancer
  (iii) build + -er → builder

Suffix -est added:

• With adjective, it shows superlative meaning of "the most" as:
  (i) kind + -est → Kindest
  (ii) long + -est → longest
  (iii) fond + -est → fondest

List Of Common Suffixes With Meaning and Examples

Noun suffixes

SUFFIX	MEANING	EXAMPLES
-acy	state or quality	privacy, fallacy, delicacy
-age	action or process	baggage, village, postage, drainage, marriage,
-al	pertaining to	arrival, burial, deferral, regional, functional, musical, accidental
-ance /-ence	state or quality of	reliance, defence, insistence, maintenance, eminence, assurance
-dom	place or state of being	boredom, freedom, kingdom
-ee	-	employee, payee, trainee
-eer	engaged in something, associated with something	auctioneer, volunteer, engineer, profiteer
-er	someone who performs an action	driver, writer, director, helper, teacher, preacher, dancer
-hood	-	brotherhood, childhood, neighbourhood
-ion	the action or process of	celebration, opinion, decision, revision
-ism	doctrine, belief	capitalism, Marxism, socialism (philosophies), communism
-ist	one who	capitalist, Marxist, socialist (followers of philosophies), chemist
-ity /-ty	the state or condition of, quality of	brutality, equality, cruelty, probability, abnormality, civility, inactivity, validity
-ment	the action or result of, condition of	amazement, disappointment, parliament, movement, retirement, abandonment, establishment, argument, enchantment, achievement, excitement
-ness	a state or quality	happiness, kindness, usefulness, fondness, awareness, darkness, sickness
-or	a person who is something	distributor, investigator, translator, conductor
-ry	-	entry, ministry, robbery
-ship	position held	friendship, membership, workmanship, worship, ownership, courtship, internship, citizenship
-sion /-tion /-xion	state of being	expression, population, complexion, depression, confusion, tension, compulsion, affection, promotion
-th	state or quality	strength, labyrinth, depth, warmth

Adjective Suffixes

SUFFIX	MEANING	EXAMPLES
-able / -ible	capable of being, can be done	drinkable, portable, flexible, preventable, adaptable, predictable, credible, reversible, terrible
-al	pertaining to	brutal, formal, postal, natural, criminal, seasonal
-ant	inclined to or tending to	vigilant, defiant, brilliant, reliant
-ary	of or relating to	budgetary, planetary, military, honorary
-en	become	broken, golden, wooden, enlighten, awaken, strengthen
-er	action or process, making an adjective comparative	bigger, stronger, faster, fuller, longer
-ese	-	Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese
-esque	reminiscent of	picturesque, statuesque, burlesque
-est	superlative (degree)	strongest, tiniest, tallest
-ful	full of or notable of	forgetful, helpful, useful, grateful, beautiful, wonderful, thankful, doubtful
-i	-	Iraqi, Pakistani, Yemeni
-ic	relating to or pertaining to	classic, Islamic, poetic, iconic, organic, heroic, domestic
ical / cal	having the form or pertaining to	Psychological, Hypocritical, Methodical, Musical
-ious / -ous	having qualities of or characterized by	cautious, famous, nervous, gracious, humorous, fabulous, pious, jealous, ridiculous, religious, nutritious
-ish	having the quality of	British, childish, Spanish
-ive	quality or nature of	active, passive, productive, creative, expensive, expressive, informative, attentive
-ian	-	Canadian, Malaysian, Peruvian
-less	without something	homeless, hopeless, useless, faultless, fearless, restless, meaningless, mindless, endless, friendless, tireless
-ly	related to / quality	daily, monthly, yearly, clearly, hourly
-y	made up of or characterized by	cloudy, rainy, windy, brainy, fruity, tasty, hasty, smelly, glory, messy, victory

Verb Suffixes

SUFFIX	MEANING	EXAMPLES
-ate	become	regulate, eradicate, enunciate, repudiate, complicate, dominate, irritate
-ed	past-tense verb	laughed, climbed, called, missed
-en	become	soften, fasten, lengthen, strengthen, harden, shorten
-ify / -fy	make or become	terrify, satisfy, rectify, exemplify, beautify, clarify, identify
-ing	verb form/present participle of an action or denoting an action, a material, or a gerund	laughing, swimming, acting, showing, driving, writing
-ize / -ise	to cause or to become	memorialize, authorize, commercialize, advertise, civilize, humanize, socialize, economize, realize, industrialize  (-ise is most common in British English; -ize is most common in American English)

Adverb suffixes

SUFFIX	MEANING	EXAMPLES
-ily	forming an adverb	happily, lazily
-ly	in what manner something is being done, a characteristic of	bravely, simply, honestly, gladly, calmly, easily, quickly
-ward	in a certain direction	backward, wayward, awkward, afterward, toward(s), downwards, upwards
-wise	in relation to	clockwise, edgewise, lengthwise, likewise, otherwise

PREFIXES

We sometimes add a pair or group of alphabets or letters at the beginning of a word to add something to the meaning of a word. These are called prefixes.

OR

A prefix is a group of letters placed before the root of a word.
For example: the word “unhappy” consists of the prefix “un-” [which means “not”] combined with the root (or stem) word “happy”; the word “unhappy” means “not happy.”

A short list of prefixes:

Negative Prefixes

Some prefixes translate the original meaning of the new word into its opposite meaning.

SUFFIX	MEANING	EXAMPLES
anti-	Against, opposing	antibiotics, antithesis, antifreeze, antisocial
contra-	-	contradict, contraindicated, contrarian
de-	from, down, away, reverse, opposite, off	decode, decrease, decompose, defrost, deactivate, degrade,
dis-	not, opposite, reverse, away	disagree, disappear, disconnect, disapprove, dislike, dishonest, disagree, disappear
il-	not	illegal, illogical
im-	not, without	impossible, impermeable, improper, imbalance
in-	not, without	inaction, invisible, injustice, incomplete, inaccurate, inability, incorrect, indefinite
ir-	Not	irregular, irreversible
non-	not, without	nonfiction, nonsense, non-exist
un-	against, not, opposite	undo, unequal, unusual, unfinished, unskilled, unfriendly, unsatisfied, unkind, unresponsive, unruly, unknown
-	-	-

Other Common Prefixes

There are many prefixes that don’t negate the original meaning of the root word, but rather alter it in unique ways, such as expressing relationships of place, time or manner.

SUFFIX	MEANING	EXAMPLES
ante-	before	antebellum, antediluvian, antechamber, antedate
auto-	self	Automatic, autograph, automobile
circum-	around	circumnavigate, circumscribe, circumvent, circumstances, circumcircle
co-	with	coexist, co-worker, cooperation, cosign
com- / con-	-	commiserate, contact
em-	Cause to, put into	Embrace, emphasis, embed
en-	Cause to, put into	Encode, encounter, encase, endow, envelope, enclose, engulf
epi-	upon, close to, after	Epicenter, epidermis, epiglottis
ex-	former	ex-president, exterminate, exterior, extension
exo-	out of, away from, lacking	exhale, explosion, exoskeleton
extra-	more than	extracurricular, extraterrestrial,  extraordinary
fore-	Before	Forecast, foresight, forehead, foremost
homo-	Same	Homogeneous, homo-nuclear, homosexual, homo-plastic
hyper-	Over, above	hyperactive, hyperspace, hypertension, hypersensitive
im-	into	import
in-	into	Insert, infield, infiltrate, inside
infra-	beneath, below	Infrastructure, infrared, infra-specific
inter-	Between	international, intermediate, interlock, intersect
intera-	Between	interact, interactive, intranet
macro-	large	macroeconomics, macro-molecules, macrobiotics
mega-	Large	megaphone, megaton
micro-	Small	microorganism, microphone, microscope, microwave, microbiology
mid-	Middle	Midday, midway, midnight, mid-season, midterm, midsummer
mis-	bad, wrong	mislead, misplace, misunderstand, misfire, misappropriate, misuse, mistake, misconduct
mono-	Singular, one	monogamous, monotone, monogram, monopoly, monolingual, monotone
omni-	All, every	Omnivore, omnidirectional, omniscient, omnipotent
over-	too much	overdue, overlook, overcook, overdone, overwork
para-	Beside	Parachute, paragraph, paradox
poly-	many	Polygon, polymers,
pre-	before	prefix, prehistory, predict, preschool, prevent, preview, preliminary
post-	after	Postmortem, Posterior, postpone, postoperative, postscript
pro-	for, forward, before	proactive, profess, program, Project, proceed, promote, progress, propose
re-	again, back	react, reappear, regain, return, rebuild, reconsider, re-evaluate, rewrite
semi-	Half	Semifinal, semicircle, semiconductor, semester
sub-	Under	Submarine, substandard, subsidiary, subeditor, subtitle, submerge
super-	Above	Superman, superstar, supernatural, super-food
sym- / syn-	-	symmetry, symptoms, synchronize, synapse
tele-	-	Television, telephone, telepathy
therm-	heat	thermometer, thermostat, thermodynamic
trans-	Across, beyond	Transmit, transaction, translation, transfer, transport, transform
tri-	three	tricycle, triangle, tripod
under-	below	Undersea, understand, underwater, underline, underweight
uni-	One	Unicellular, unicorn, universal, unicycle, unilateral
up-	-	Upbeat, upload, upward, upgrade