Affixes

2. Affixes

3. AffixesA letter or group of letters added
to the beginning or end of a
word to change its meaning.
To expand such words,
appendages (affixes) are added at
either the beginning or at the end
of the word.

4. Affixes
Most English words are made up
of the base word known as root
which contains the heart of the
meaning of the word.
The root is central to the building
of new words.

5. Prefix Root word Suffix New word
Dis- advantag
e
ous disadvantageous
Un- help
ful unhelpful
Un- forgive
able unforgivable
Im- measure
able immeasurable

8. Common prefixes and their
meanings
Prefix Meaning Example
Ab- away from absent, abnormal
Ad- to, toward advance, addition
After- later, behind aftermath,
afterward
Anti- against, opposed antibiotic,
antigravity
Auto- self automobile,
autobiography

9. Common prefixes and their
meanings
Prefix Meaning Example
Be- make believe, belittle
Bi- two bicycle, biceps
Com, con, co- with, together commune,
concrete
Contra- against contradict,
contrary
De- downward, undo deflate, defect

10. Common prefixes and their
meanings
Prefix Meaning Example
Deci- ten decibels, decimal
Dis- not dislike, distrust
E, ex- out of, prior to explain, expense
En, em- in, into, cover engage, employ
Extra- outside extravagant,
extraterrestrial

11. Common prefixes and their
meanings
Prefix Meaning Example
Im- not impose, imply
In- into, not include, incurable
Inter- among interact, internal
Macro- large macroeconomics,
macrobiotic
Magni- great magnify,
magnificent

12. Common prefixes and their
meanings
Prefix Meaning Example
Mega- huge megaphone,
megabucks
Micro- small microscope,
microbe
Mis- wrongly mistake, mislead
Non- not nonsense,
nonviolent
Over- above, beyond overflow, overdue

13. meanings
Prefix Meaning Example
Post- after postdate,
postmark
Pre- before, prior to preheat,
prehistoric
Pro- in favor of protest, protect
Re- again repeat, revise
Sub- under, beneath submarine,
subject
Super- above, beyond superior,
supernatural

14. meanings
Prefix Meaning Example
Tele- far telescope, telephone
Trans- across transfer, transit
Tri- three tricycle, triangle
Un- not unknown, unjust
Ultra- beyond ultraviolet, ultra
suede
Under- beneath, below underneath,
underline
Uni- one, single unicorn, uniform

15. Im-
Is placed before bilabial sounds /p, b, m/ as
in:
balance imbalance
patient impatient
moral immoral
modest immodest
practical impractical
perfect imperfect

16. In-
 Is used before alveolar and velar sounds /d, k, s/ and the
labio-dental fricative /v/
visible invisible
direct indirect
dependent independent
consistent inconsistent
definite indefinite
credible incredible
curable incurable

17. Ir-
Is used before r
regular irregular
resistible irresistible
resolute irresolute
relevant irrelevant
responsible irresponsible
reparable irreparable

18. Il-
Is used before i
logical illogical
legal illegal
legitimate illegitimate
literate illiterate

19. Un-
necessary unnecessary
fair unfair
fortunate unfortunate
interesting uninteresting
happy unhappy
just unjust
tidy untidy

20. De-
compose decompose
increase decrease
formation deformation
hydration dehydration
merit demerit

21. Dis-
band disband
courage discourage
honor dishonor
illusion disillusion
please displease

22. Non-
commissioned non-commissioned
returnable non-returnable
static non-static
stick non-stick
ferrous non-ferrous

23. SUFFIXES

24. Suffixes
A letter or a group of letters that is
added to the end of a word to change
its meaning or to form a different
word.
Are groups of letters added after a
base word or root.

25. Common suffixes and their
meanings
Suffix Meaning Example
-able capable of being;
that can or must
be
taxable,
changeable,
comfortable
-age state, act, or
process of, result
of
postage, bandage
-al belonging to magical, verbal,
betrayal
-ance act of, state of dominance,
ignorance

26. Common suffixes and their
meanings
Suffix Meaning Example
-ary place for;
connected with
budgetary,
planetary
-cy state of being democracy,
conspiracy
-er one who is; a
person or thing
that
teacher, singer,
lover
-ful having the
qualities of; full
of
sorrowful,
forgetful, handful

27. Common suffixes and their
meanings
Suffix Meaning Example
-ist one whose
profession is
dentist, chemist,
specialist
-less lacking, without sleeveless,
selfless, tireless
-ly in the manner of happily, stupidly
-ment the action or
result of
development,
bombarment

28. Common suffixes and their
meanings
Suffix Meaning Example
-ness state of; the
quality of
blindness,
goodness,
dryness
-ous the nature of or
having quality of
poisonous,
glorious
-tion act of education,
cooperation
-dom the condition or
state of
freedom,
kingdom

29. Inflectional
suffix/morpheme
A morpheme is the smallest meaningful
unit of a word.
They change the meaning of the root word.
Inflection is a major category of
morphology.
When suffixes are added to words to realize
morphemes such as present, past, present
participle, plural, they are said to be
inflectional.

30. Inflectional suffix/morpheme
Examples:
play plays playing played
locate locates locating located
sing sings singing sang

31. Derivational Suffixes
Derivation is the opposite of inflection.
It consists of adding an affix or affixes to
the root or stem of the word.
New words are derived.
Example:
adjective noun adverb
gentle gentleness gently

32. Class-Maintaining Derivational
Suffixes
Examples of class-maintaining
derivational suffixes are –age, -ful, -
ry, -cy, -hood, -ship, -ate, -ure, -ic, -
ster, -dom, -ism, -ee, -eer.
They are used to convert noun to
another noun that mean something
different.

33. Class-Maintaining Derivational
Suffixes
 Examples are:
-age -cy
front frontage lunatic
lunacy
use usage tenant tenancy
-ful -hood
spoon spoonful child childhood
mouth mouthful man manhood
-ry -ship
citizen citizenry friend friendship
machine machinery owner ownership

34. Class-Maintaining Derivational
Suffixes
-ure -ster
Impostor imposture young youngster
portrait portraiture trick trickster
-ate -dom
emir emirate king kingdom
triumvirs triumvirate duke dukedom
-ee -ism
grant grantee critic criticism
devotion devotee journal journalism

35. Class-Changing Derivational
Suffixes
Under the suffixes that can change word
from one grammatical class to another, we
have basically four groups.
They are:
Noun Suffixes
Verb Suffixes
Adjective Suffixes
Adverb Suffixes

36. Noun Suffixes
Suffix Meaning Example
-dom state of being freedom
-hood state of being manhood
-ness state of being dimness
-ice act of being cowardice
-ation act of being flirtation
-ion act of being intercession
-sion act of scansion
-tion state of being corruption

37. Noun Suffixes
Suffix Meaning Example
-ment act of argument
-ship state of being
friendship
-ance act of continuance
-ence act of precedence
-ancy state of being currency

38. -ism act of baptism
-ery quality of bravery
-eer one who auctioneer
-ist one who fascist
believes in
-or one who debtor
-er one who worker

39. Verb Suffixes
Suffix Meaning
Example
-ate to make perpetuate
-en to make soften
-fy to make dignify
-ize, -ise to make sterilize

40. Adjective Suffix
Suffix Meaning Example
-ful full of hateful
-ish resembling foolish
-ate to make affectionate
-ic, -ical resembling angelic
-ive having prospective
-ous full of zealous

41. Adjective Suffix
Suffix Meaning Example
-ulent full of fraudulent
-less without fatherless
-able, -ible capable of peaceable
-ed having spirited
-ly resembling womanly
-like resembling childlike

42. Adverb Suffixes
Suffix Meaning Example
-ly to make more quickly
-ward in the
afterward direction of

43. Derivation Of Words From One
Grammatical Class To Another
1. Conversion of Verb to Noun
-to derive nouns from verbs, the
noun forming suffixes are added to
the verb and new are formed.

44. i. –ment
detach detachment
resent resentment
ii. –ion/-tion
collect collection
adapt adaptation

45. Verbs that end in –ate drop e and replace with –
ion
illustrate illustration
enumerate enumeration
iii. –ation
The suffix –ation is added to some verbs
ending in –ise. The final e is dropped before
the addition of -ation.
improvise improvisation
derive derivation

46. Still on –ation, if the verb ends in ke, ke
is replaced by c before the suffix.
revoke revocation
provoke provocation
Verbs that end in –ain or –aim will drop
the i to take –ation
declaim declamation
explain explanation

47. With different suffixes
entertain entertainment
maintain maintenance
sustain sustenance
iv. –ication
Some verbs ending in –ify drop the y
and replace it with –ication
beatify beatification
solidify solidification

48. Exceptions:
liquefy liquefaction (not
liquidification)
putrefy putrefaction
(not *putrify)
crucify crucifixion
v. –ition
is attached to verbs ending in –ish. The sh
is dropped and replaceed by –ition.

49. demolish demolition
abolish abolition
Other –ish ending words take different suffixes.
banish banishment
furnish furniture/furnishing
embellish embelishment
-ition can also be attached to verbs ending in –it.
exhibit exhibition
inhibit inhibition
prohibit prohibition

50. vi. –ution
Verbs ending in –olve have the ve replaced
by –ution.
revolve revolution
evolve evolution
vii. –sion
is applied to some words ending in –ise with
the e dropped.
revise revision
supervise supervision

51. Some words ending in –de drop this ending
to take –sion to form a noun.
collide collision
decide decision
-sion is also added to verbs ending in it.
The t is dropped and replaced by –sion to
form noun.
avert aversion
divert diversion

52. viii. Double s suffix –ssion
This occurs with verbs ending in –ee or –ede.
accede accession
proceed procession
-ssion is also attracted by some verbs ending in
–it.
emit emission
transmit transmission

53. ix. –ant, -ent
celebrate celebrant
adhere adherent
x. –ance, -ence
Verbs with final e drop the e to
add –ance. Other verbs without final
e also take –ance.

54. -ance nouns -ance nouns
Verbs with final e Verbs without final e
tolerate tolerance react reactance
ignore ignorance clear clearance
-ence nouns -ence nouns
Verbs with final e Verbs without
final e
confide confidence abhorabhorrence
adhere adherence absent absence

55. xi. –ism, -ysis
These suffixes are usually applied to
adjectives and nouns.
criticise criticism
plagiaries plagiarism

56. The suffix –ysis is usually found in scientific
vocabulary:
analyse analysis
electrolyse electrolysis
xii. –al
acquit acquittal
betray betrayal
arouse arousal
rehearse rehearsal

57. xiii. –age
is generally attached to nouns but in
some cases, it is attached to verbs to form
nouns:
cleave cleavage
use usage
waste wastage
post postage
*Note that the e ending in the verb is dropped.

58. xiv. –ry, -ery
A few verbs are converted to
nouns by the suffix –ry. The two
suffixes are usually attached to nouns.
bake bakery
brew brewery
water watery

59. xv. –ure
The suffix –ure converts a few verbs to
nouns. Verbs that end in consonants will just
take –ure, but those that end in e drop the e
before –ure.
fail failure
proceed procedure
erase erasure
post posture

60. xvi. –acy
Some verbs are converted to
nouns by the use of –acy.
conspire
conspiracy
advocate advocacy

61. xvii. Action Suffixes
These are suffixes which describe
the actions or occupations of people
or the uses of things.
They include –er, -or, -ant and –
ist (or –yst). We also have –ar which
is a rare usage.

62. -er -or
betray betrayer act actor
teach teacher vend vendor
-ant -ar
depend dependant beg beggar
aspire aspirant lie liar

63. -ist -yst
apologise apologist catalyse catalyst
dramatise dramatist
xviii. –ing, -ee, -and
The last batch of verb to noun suffixes
are –ing, -ee, -and.

64. -ing
The present participle of a verb is
sometimes used as a noun ending in –
ing.
His singing and dancing was well
appreciated.

65. -ee
employ employee
vend vendee
-and
This is of limited application.
Somebody about to be ordained a
priest is an ordinand.

66. 2. Conversion of Verbs to
Adjectives
The following suffixes are added
to verbs to form adjectives: -able,
-ible, -ous, -ive, -ory, -ant, -ent, -
some, -f.

67. i. -able
Some verbs ending in consonants take
able without any alteration but if the
basic verb end in –ate, this end is
dropped and replaced with able.
accept acceptable
comfort comfortable
appreciate appreciable

68. If the basic verb ends in ce the e is retained
but if it ends in y after a consonant, the y
is replaced by i.
enforce enforceable
pity pitiable
The rule however is not robber-stamped s
apply is applicable not *’appliable’.

69. If the basic verb ends in e after a
consonant or after s, the e is usually
dropped.
admire admirable
prove provable
The adjective for despise is however
despicable.

70. Finally, if the basic verb ends in y after
a vowel, the y is retained.
convey conveyable
pay payable
play playable

71. ii. –ible
The number of verbs taking –ible as
suffix is limited. It is often more
attracted to nouns. When added to verbs
that end in e, the e is dropped, but when
the verbs ends in t or d, the last letter is
dropped replaced with-sible or –ssible.

72. collapse collapsible
reverse reversible
defend defensible
omit omissible
permit permissible
Some exceptions include:
controvert controvertible
resist resistible
*no alteration

73. iii. –ous
The suffix –ous can be added to a
few verbs to form adjective.
disaster disastrous
pretend pretentious
ponder ponderous

74. iv. –ory
This suffix can be added to only few verbs
to form adjectives.
declaim declamatory
exclaim exclamatory
explain explanatory
*note that the i in ai in these words is
dropped.

75. v. –ive
The suffix –ive can be attached to many
verbs to derive adjective. Words that end in
e drop the e before the suffix but those that
end in consonants will simply take the
suffix.
decorate decorative
indicate indicative
construct constructive
instruct instructive

76. In some words d is replaced by s and some
others take the suffix –ative.
conclude conclusive
decide decisive
represent representative
affirm affirmative

77. Other examples are:
apprehend apprehensive
comprehend comprehensive
*d is dropped and –sive added
permit permissive
admit admissive
submit submissive
*t is dropped and -ssive is added

78. vi. –al
The adjectives formed with –al
derived from verbs are:
criticize critical
equivocate equivocal
-This suffix is commonly used in the
conversion of nouns to adjectives.

79. vii. –ant, -ent
As in the formation of nouns from
verbs, these suffixes can also be used to
form adjectives.
please pleasant
repent repentant
decay decadent
defy defiant

80. viii. –some, -ful
Some adjectives ending in some derived
from verbs are:
cumber cumbersome
tire tiresome
The suffix –ful is attached to few verbs. It is
more attached to many nouns to form
adjectives.
mourn mournful
revenge revengeful

81. 3. Conversion of Adjectives to
Nouns
Adjectives are converted to nouns by use of
the following suffixes: -ness, -ity, -ion, -
acy, -ery, -ry, -ment, -ism, -ance, -ancy,
-ence, -ency, -escence.
i. -ness
happy happiness
busy business
saintly saintliness

82. ii. –ity
The suffix –ity is added to some words
without any alteration. In some cases, the e that
ends the base adjective is dropped.
fluid fluidity
humid humidity
senior seniority
infinite infinity
diverse diversity
plural plurality

83. iii. –ion
A few adjectives attract the suffix –
ion to form nouns.
abject abjection
discreet discretion
iv. –acy, -ery, -ry, -ment
Only few adjectives attract these
suffixes to form nouns. They are:

84. accurate accuracy
brave bravery
merry merriment
delicate delicacy
green greenery
better betterment

85. v. –ism
is mostly used for converting
nouns to nouns.
Monetary Monetarism
American Americanism
Mystic Mysticism

86. vi. –ance, -ancy, -ence, -ency
These four suffixes are common in converting
adjectives to nouns.
-ant to –ance
abundant abundance
attendant attendance
elegant elegance

87. -ant to –ancy
constant constancy
hesitant hesitancy
infant infancy
-ent to –ence
prominent prominence
subsistent subsistence
reticent reticence

88. -ent to –ency
absorbent absorbency
clement clemency
consistent
consistency

89. vii. –escence
Adjectives ending in escent form
nouns ending in escence.
Convalescent convalescence
Fluorescent fluorescence
viii. –iety
anxious anxiety
various variety

90. 4. Conversion of Nouns to
Adjectives
The suffixes for converting
nouns to adjectives are: -y, -ly, -
ish, -ous, -ic, -ical, -ary, -ar, -ful,
-less, -al, -ial, -eal, -ate, -ine, -
ian, -ean, -ese, -en, -esque, -able,
-ible, -ose, -iac.

91. i. –y, -ly
i. haze hazy
lace lacy
day daily
friend friendly
week weekly
ii. –ish
book bookish
boy boyish

92. iii. –ous
Apart from using –ous to convert
verbs to adjectives and adjectives to
nouns, it can also be used to convert
nouns to adjectives.
poison poisonous
space spacious
glamour glamorous
number numerous
mischief mischievous

93. iv. –ic, -ics, -ical
athlete athletic
tone tonic
drama dramatic
When applied to special studies the suffix –ic is
pluralized. Adjectives formed from such nouns
drop the s and extend suffix to –ical.
Ethics ethical
Economics economical
Politics political

94. v. –ary, -ar
-ary
budget budgetary
diet dietary
element elementary
-ar
molecule molecular
nucleus nuclear
line linear

95. vi. –ful
care careful
doubt doubtful
joy joyful
wonder wonderful
-less
art artless
care careless
fear fearless

96. 5. Conversion of Nouns to
Verbs
Some nouns can be converted to verbs by
the addition of the following suffixes:
-en (or –n), -ify (or fy), -ise (or ize), and
–ate
i. –en (or –n)
length lengthen
strength strengthen
height heighten

97. -ify (or –fy)
beauty beautify
example examplify
stupor stupefy
ii. –ise
carbon carbonize
idol idolize
-ate
carbon carbonate
action activate

98. 6. Conversion of Adjectives to
Verbs
 A common suffix for this purpose is –en or the
prefix en- as in:
black blacken
bright brighten
deep deepen
large enlarge
rich enrich
dear endear

100. CIRCUMFIXES
Are affixes that “surround” the
word, attaching to the
beginning and end of the
word.
Circumfixes are common in
Malay and Georgian.

101. Examples:
en en in enlighten
em en in embolden
un ness in
unconsciousness
un ably in unbelievably
un able in unbelievable
un ly in unlikely
re s in rewrites