Word forms
Prefixes and suffixes that are used in English give clues as to the meaning and, or, the function of words. Typically suffixes indicate the function of a word in a sentence. For instance there are some suffixes that are used only for nouns and others that are used for verbs, adjectives and adverbs. The particular suffix used in forming a word also helps to give meaning to a word, for instance 'competition' and 'competitor' are both nouns that are formed from the verb 'compete'. The '-or' suffix, however, indicates that there is a person performing the action, whereas the '-tion' suffix indicates a condition or state of being. Do note, that some suffixes are used with more than one type of word, so on their own they cannot be used to infer the function of the word in the sentence. In those situations, other context clues are needed to provide the function of that word in a particular sentence. For example, an '-ing' suffix occurs with nouns, verbs and adjectives; in the sentence "Teaching is interacting with interesting people," teaching is a noun (a gerund), interacting is part of a verb phrase in the present progressive tense, and interesting is an adjective that qualifies people.
Suffixes
The tables below provide the more common noun, verb and adjective suffixes and give the usage and examples. There is only one common suffix for adverbs, and that is '-ly.' It is often added to adjectival suffixes as in 'creative' and 'creatively.'
Noun endings
Ending | Usage | Example |
---|---|---|
-al | the act of doing, or the state of | betrayal, refusal |
-ance/-ancy/-ence/-ency | relating to quality, state or condition | performance, infancy, prominence, urgency |
-ation | action or process of; result of | creation, reformation |
-ice | condition, quality or act | cowardice, notice |
-er/-or | person or thing that performs the action | teacher, worker, competitor, legislator |
-graph | a writing or record | telegraph, polygraph |
-ian | person or thing | politician, amphibian |
-ing | having the quality of (gerund ending) | teaching, working |
-ism | action or practice, theory or doctrine | nationalism, Hinduism |
-ist | one who, or that which does or has to do with | nationalist, typist |
-ity | state, condition or quality | inferiority, confidentiality |
-ization | nouns formed from verbs; condition, act, process | harmonization, urbanization |
-ment | the product or result of; the means of | achievement, government |
-ness | relating to quality, state or condition | happiness, sadness |
-ogy | the study of | biology, geology |
-oid | like, resembling | humanoid, android |
-ory | a place for the action of the verb stem | dormitory, repository |
-ship | the state, condition or quality of; art or skill of | friendship, marksmanship |
-sion/-tion | action or process of; condition or state of being; result of | rejection, completion, connection |
Verb endings
Ending | Usage | Example |
---|---|---|
-ate | verbs from some Latin forms | fascinate, participate |
-ed | forms the simple past and past participle of regular verbs | walked, has walked |
-en | verbs formed from adjectives | soften, weaken |
-er | verbs with a habitual or repeated action | stutter, canter |
-fy | cause to be or become | beautify, liquefy |
-ing | present participle and part of progressive tenses | walking, is walking |
-ise/-ize | to cause to become, resemble; make into; to act in the manner of | authorize, sympathize |
-s/-es | ending of third person singular, present tense | walks, runs |
Adjective endings
Ending | Usage | Example |
---|---|---|
-able/-ible/-ble | capable of, fit for, tending to, likely to | trainable, flexible |
-al | relating to, having the nature of | musical, personal |
-ant | in the act or process of doing | vigilant, militant |
-ed | adjectives formed from nouns | interested, bored |
-ent | having the quality of | dependent, resilient |
-er | comparative ending | bigger, faster |
-est | superlative ending | biggest, fastest |
-ful | full of, characterized by | beautiful, bountiful |
-ic | pertaining to, connected with, resembling | volcanic, angelic |
-ing | participial form as an adjective | interesting, boring |
-istic | having the qualities of, formed from | realistic, socialistic |
-ite | derived from some Latin verbs | infinite, polite |
-ive | having a tendency to or the nature of | attentive, massive |
-ory | a place or instrument for doing the main element | laboratory, dormitory |
-ose | full of; like | verbose, grandiose |
-ous/-ious | full of; having the qualities of | poisonous, anxious |
Prefixes
Prefixes aid in determining the meaning of words. While some prefixes have only one meaning, others may have more than one, or there may be several prefixes with the same meaning. It is a situation that helps lead to the richness of the English vocabulary.
Prefix | Usage | Example |
---|---|---|
a-/an- | without | amoral, anarchy |
ad- | to, toward, near | adhere, advert |
ante- | before in time or order | antechamber, antecedent |
anti- | against, opposed to | antiaircraft, antibiotic |
bene- | good | beneficial, benefactor |
bi- | two | bicycle, bipolar |
by- | aside or apart from | bystander, byproduct |
circum- | around | circumpolar, circumnavigate |
co-/col-/com/ con-/cor- | together, with, jointly | co-author, collaborate, combine, conspire, correspond |
contra- | against, opposite | contraception, contraband |
de- | down from, away, off | descent, declassify |
dia- | across, through | diagonal, diagram |
dis- | away from, apart | disconnect, disown |
epi- | upon, above, outside, in addition to | epidermis, epilogue |
ex- | out of, thoroughly | exhale, exasperate |
hyper- | beyond, excessive, extreme | hyperbole, hyperactive |
hypo- | under, beneath, down, less than | hypodermic, hypothesis |
il-/im-/in-/ir- | in, into, on, not | illegible, impolite, inoperable, irrefutable |
inter- | between, with each other | interchange, intercede |
intra-/intro- | within, inside of | intramural, introvert |
mal- | bad, evil, wrong | malformed, malignant |
micro- | small | microscope, microorganism |
mis- | wrong | mistake, misinformation |
mono- | one, alone | monotone, monopoly |
multi- | many, much | multilingual, multiply |
non- | not | nonentity, nonconformist |
ob- | against, in opposition | objection, oblivious |
over- | above, on top of, superior | overactive, overdraft |
peri- | around, near | perimeter, perihelion |
poly- | many | polygamy, polygon |
post- | after in time or order | postdated, postmortem |
pre- | before in time or order | predict, precaution |
pro- | forward, toward the front, occurring earlier | project, prognosis |
re- | back again | redo, renew |
retro- | back again, backward | retrospective, retroactive |
semi- | half, partly | semiconductor, semiconscious |
sub-/suc-/suf-/sup-/sus- | under, beneath | submarine, succumb, suffocate, support, suspect |
super | above, greater, better | superfluous |
syl-/sym-/syn- | with, together, associated with | syllable, sympathy, synapse |
tri- | three | tricycle |
trans- | across, through | transform, transfuse |
ultra- | beyond, excessive, extreme | ultramarine, ultraviolet |
un- | not, opposed to; back | unavoidable; undo |
uni- | one, alone | unicorn, uniform |
There are many words that have noun, verb, adjective, and adverb forms. A few of these word form 'families' are given in the chart below as examples. Any good dictionary will give you the various forms of a word.
noun | verb | adjective | adverb |
---|---|---|---|
beauty | beautify | beautiful | beautifully |
competition/competitor | compete | competitive | competitively |
creation | create | creative | creatively |
management/manager | manage | manageable | manageably |
nationalist/nationalism | nationalize | national | nationally |
nature | naturalize | natural | naturally |
notice | notice | noticeable | noticeably |
sadness | sadden | sad | sadly |
significance | signify | significant | significantly |
Updated June 14, 2022 by Digital & Web Operations, University Relations (web_services@athabascau.ca)