Word formation suffixes in English. Suffixes in English: their role in word formation. Other negative prefixes

This is a lesson from the series and in it we will look at common noun suffixes: -er/or, -tion, -ing, -ness, -ence/ance (5). The exercises will help you understand how nouns are formed in English, and also prepare for English language exams in the form of the OGE and the Unified State Exam.

Copying this article for posting on other Internet resources is prohibited. © site

Basic suffixes of nouns in English (grade 9)

Remember these 5 main suffixes. Next, let's take a closer look at each of them.

1. er/or
2. ence/ance

1. Suffixes of nouns formed from a verb

verb + Ʌ =noun

1. -er/or(doer suffix)
   dance - dancer (dance - dancer)
   work - worker
   collect - collector (collect - collector)
   invent - inventor
2. -tion(process suffix)
   collect - collection (collection, collection)
   invent - invention
3. -ing
   suffer - suffering (to suffer - suffering)
   warn - warning
   mean - meaning

Remember three suffixes -er (-or), -tion, -ing, with the help of which nouns are formed from a verb.

2. Suffixes of nouns formed from an adjective

adj + Ʌ =noun

1. -ness
   ill - illness (patient - illness)
   kind - kindness
2. -ance/ -ence(corresponding adjectives have suffixes: -ant/ -ent)
   important - importance (important - importance)
   different - difference

Remember two suffixes: -ness, -ence (ance), with the help of which nouns are formed from an adjective.

Suffixes of nouns in English. Exercises

-ness & -tion- the most common suffixes of nouns.

Exercise 1. Suffix -ness.Translate the indicated nouns and indicate the adjectives from which they are formed.

foolishness, happiness, seriousness, illness, readiness, richness, strangeness, carelessness, whiteness, cleverness, greatness, brightness

Note. Please note that the letter “y”, as a rule, occurs at the end of a word, but in the middle of the word its double is used - the letter “i”: happ i ness-happ y.

Exercise 2. Suffix –tion and its varieties -ation /-ion/ -sion/ -ssion.Translate the indicated nouns and indicate the verb from which they are formed.

translation, explanation, admiration, celebration, continuation, invitation, pronunciation, exhibition, demonstration, conversation, competition, communication

Exercise 3. Suffix –tion.Rephrase the sentence using a verb derived from it instead of a noun.

EXAMPLE. Their acting was very good. —— They acted very well.

1.His collection of books was mainly on art.
2. The farmer's quick actions saved the building from fire.
3.Her translation of the poem was so good that the professor invited her to take part in a translation contest.
4. The teacher's explanation of the task was clear to everyone.

Exercise 4. Guess the suffix and form nouns with it. Translate them.

1. weak
2. polite -
3. fresh -
4. ugly -
5. cold -
6. dark —
7. careful

Exercise 5. Suffix –er.Guess the profession.

EXAMPLE. Someone who bakes bread is a baker

1. Someone who interviews people is a….
2. Someone who plays football is a…
3. Someone who eats well is a…
4. Someone who sleeps well is a…
5. Someone who rules the country is a…
6. Someone who explores new lands is a…
7. Someone who makes or repairs shoes is a…
8. Someone who always causes trouble is a…
9. Someone who makes films is a…
10. Someone who has traveled to another place for a holiday is a…

Remember:

• trouble maker- bully, hooligan
• holiday maker- vacationer

Exercise 6. If you know the verbs, then adding a suffix –tion you can easily form new words. Translate them into Russian.

1. collect -
2. explain -
3. protect —
4. prepare -
5. found -
6. inform
7. celebrate -
8. compose -
9. create -
10. decorate —

Exercise 7. Suffix –er/or.Form nouns from these words using suffixes: -er/-or.

Remember: to fail - failure

to construct, to direct, to protect, to transport, to fail, to educate, to manage, to govern, to achieve, to build, to sing, to act, to sleep

Exercise 8. Suffix –ence/ance.Translate and remember pairs of words with the suffixes -ence/-ance:

1. import ant-import ance
2. differ ent- differ ence
3. indifferent - indifference
4. independent - independence
5. dependent - dependence
6. patient - patience
7. persistent - persistence
8. insistent - insistence
9. indulgent - indulgence

We continue to work on word formation. In previous posts, I talked about important suffixes of adjectives and Now let's get acquainted with new suffixes.

Suffix –Y= highly productive, comes from Old English. Has two meanings.

FIRST MEANING: Attached to nouns and less commonly to verbs. Denotes attributes, that is, characteristics of the corresponding noun, for example, it has a similar color, properties or state. The same thing happens in Russian, only according to different grammatical laws. These are just words with the same root: wind - windy, snow - snowy; rock - rocky. Several examples in English.

grass(grass) + y – grassy= herbal

water(water) + y — watery= watery, wet, watery

star(star) + y – starry= starry

rain(rain) + y – rainy= rainy

velvet(velvet) + y – velvety= velvet

chalk(chalk) + y – chalky= chalky, calcareous

room(place, space) + y – roomy= spacious

foam(foam) + y – foamy= foamy, foaming

ice(ice0 + y – icy= icy

dust(dust) + y – dusty= dusty

dirt(dirt) + y – dirty= dirty

milk(milk) + y – milky= milky

wave(wave) + y – wavy= wavy

Adjectives ending in “-Y” often have not only a literal but also a figurative meaning. Compare the meanings of the adjectives in the following combinations.

sandy hair(sand-colored, reddish hair)– sandy floor(sand floor) - sandy watch(hourglass);

milky coffee(coffee with milk) - milky chocolate(milk chocolate) - MILKY WAY(Milky Way);

misty eyes(blurred (with tears) eyes) – misty weather(foggy weather) - a misty idea(vague idea);

silky dress(silk dress) - silky skin(silk leather);

SECOND MEANING: It is attached to adjectives and means a lack or reduction of a characteristic that characterizes the main adjective. Sweet - sweetish, bald - balding, plump - plump.

Some examples in English:

pink(pink) + y – pinky= pinkish, pinkish;

bald(bald) + y — baldy= balding, beginning to go bald;

green(green) + y = greeny= greenish.

The suffix “-Y” is “two-faced”, that is, it can also be a suffix of a noun, for example:

August y= fortune telling, prediction, omen, premonition;

perjur y= treachery, breaking an oath.

Suffix –LY= productive, originating from German. It is attached to nouns and can have two meanings.

FIRST MEANING: to be similar in appearance, manners, or nature.

A few examples:

father(father) + ly – fatherly= fatherly

friend(friend) + ly = friendly= friendly

man(man) + ly – manly= courageous

coward(coward) + ly - cowardly= cowardly

Sloven(slob) + ly – slovenly= sloppy

world(world, universe) + ly - worldly= worldly, earthly

heaven(heaven)+ ly = heavenly= heavenly

brother(brother) + ly – brotherly= brotherly

SECOND MEANING: is attached to nouns that denote time and have the sense of repetition.

day + ly – daily= daily

month + ly – monthly= monthly

week + ly – weekly= weekly

hour + ly – hourly= hourly

time + ly – timely= timely

Word formation is the formation of new words using prefixes, suffixes, adding stems and other methods. If you know how word formation works in the English language, you understand the meaning of basic prefixes and suffixes, it will be much easier for you to expand your vocabulary, read, and understand English speech, because you will guess the meaning of a huge number of words without a dictionary.

By the way, if you are curious to know what your vocabulary is, I recommend reading this article: From it you will learn simple and interesting ways to determine your vocabulary.

There are several ways of word formation, the most important practical significance is the formation of words using suffixes and prefixes. We will dwell on it in more detail, and consider the remaining methods briefly.

Why do you need to know word formation?

The main benefit is that knowing the meanings of prefixes and suffixes significantly increases the number of words you recognize when reading and listening (especially when reading). In other words, passive vocabulary increases.

Let's take, for example, the verb to use- use. With the help of suffixes it is formed from:

• Adjective useful- useful.
• Adjective useless- useless.
• Noun usage- usage.

Understanding the meaning of suffixes -ful, -less, -age, you can easily understand all three formed from to use words, even if they didn’t know their meaning.

• -ful and -less indicate the presence or absence of quality: from the word care (care) careful- careful, careless– carefree.
• -age forms nouns from verbs: leak(leak) – leakage(a leak), pass(pass) – passage(passage).

The effect will be especially noticeable when reading, because in the text suffixes and prefixes are easily noticeable, but in oral speech they can simply not be made out. In general, understanding oral speech differs from understanding text in that for listening comprehension it is not enough to know words and grammar - you need to have a developed, trained skill in listening comprehension. It is developed separately through listening, i.e. listening to live speech.

Why passive vocabulary, why not active? Prefixes and suffixes are good semantic clues, but the English vocabulary is structured in such a way (like Russian) that not every word can be attached with any affix.

A striking example is consoles in- And un-, having the meaning of negation: able– capable, unable– incapable, stable– stable, instable– unstable. The prefixes are completely the same in meaning, but when you need to “prefix” which one you need to remember. When reading, you will easily understand the meaning of words with in\un-, but you can make mistakes in your speech.

However, it's not that scary. I am sure that you will be understood if you say inable And unstable, mixing up the prefixes. Speaking Russian, we still make such mistakes!

How to study word formation in English

Prefixes and suffixes (together they are called “affixes”) are not the case when you need to sit down with textbooks, cram the rules, and do exercises one after another. It is quite enough to simply familiarize yourself with the meaning of the main prefixes and suffixes and look at examples.

The tables and mind maps (images-summaries) below will help you with this. The tables reveal the meaning of prefixes and suffixes (as far as possible), examples of words, and mind maps are a kind of summary, a cheat sheet made on the basis of the tables.

After looking through the materials, you will notice that many affixes are similar to Russian and even have a similar meaning. It’s not surprising, because they came to English, Russian and other languages ​​from Latin and Greek, especially for affixes with a scientific connotation: de activate – de activate, anti virus – anti virus, counter balance – against oats, ideal ism – ideal change. Thanks to these preserved connections between languages, word formation in English is given without any special problems.

There are different approaches to the classification of word formation methods; in Russian-language literature, two main methods are usually distinguished: word composition and word production.

Word production, in turn, is of four types: conversion, change of stress, alternation of sounds and affixation (prefixes and suffixes).

Compounding

Compounding is the combination of two words or stems into one word. The resulting words are written together or with a hyphen. The Russian language also has such a method and, by the way, the word “composition” itself is formed by compounding.

The verbs , (most often) are formed by compounding words.

Derivation

Derivation is the formation of one word from others. This can happen in four ways:

1. Conversion.
2. Changing the place of stress.
3. Alternation of sounds.
4. Affixation.

Conversion

Conversion- This is the transition of a word from one part of speech to another without changing the spelling or sound. It turns out that the word formally remains unchanged, but:

• it turns into another part of speech,
• its meaning changes.

Conversion is a method of word formation characteristic of the English language, thanks to which there are many words in English that do not differ in appearance or sound, but have the meaning of different parts of speech.

For example, nouns and verbs can match:

Noun	Verb
answer (answer)	to answer (answer)
hand (hand)	to hand (hand over)
place	to place
work (work)	to work (to work)

Or adjectives and verbs:

Changing the place of stress

In this case, the nouns have the same form as the verbs, but they have a different emphasis. Typically, a verb's stress falls on the second syllable, and a noun's stress falls on the first.

Alternation of sounds

In this case, verbs and nouns formed from the same root differ in the alternation of the last consonant sound. Usually it is voiced in a verb, and unvoiced in a noun.

For example:

Affixation

Very often words are formed using addition prefixes and suffixes(together they are called affixes).

• Consoles(prefixes) change the meaning of words, but the word itself does not change into another part of speech. Knowing the most common prefixes, you will be able to guess the meaning of words formed with their help, if, of course, you know the original word.
• Suffixes serve to form one part of speech from another. Knowing which suffixes are characteristic of which speech, you will easily understand which part of speech is in front of you, and accordingly this will make it easier to understand the word.

Prefixes in English

Prefixes can be divided into two groups: negative and all the rest.
The most common negative prefixes: un-, in-, dis-. There are no rules governing which of these prefixes is used to give a negative meaning to a word.

However, if we talk about passive vocabulary, about understanding text or speech, then this is not so important: if a word has one of the negative prefixes, then its meaning has been changed to negative or the opposite. The tables below give examples of words with these prefixes.

Prefix un-

comfortable - comfortable	uncomfortable - uncomfortable
equal - equal	unequal - unequal
expected - expected	unexpected - unexpected
happy - happy	unhappy - unhappy
important - important	unimportant - unimportant
known - famous	unknown - unknown
limited - limited	unlimited - unlimited
pleasant - pleasant	unpleasant - unpleasant

Also un- is attached to verbs to express the opposite action.

to dress – to dress	to undress - to undress
to lock - lock	to unlock - unlock
to pack – pack	to unpack - unpack

Prefix in-

No rules governing when to use un-, and when in-, although these prefixes do not differ in meaning. The important difference is that in- NOT used in verbs.

Examples:

Prefix in– modified in some cases:

• before l turns into il-
• before r turns into ir-
• before m and p turns into im-

Prefix dis-

Dis- can express denial or the opposite action.

Negation:

Opposite action:

Other negative prefixes

Among other negative prefixes, there are many of international, Latin and Greek origin, which are also found in the Russian language.

• a\ab– (without-, non-, a-): abnormal – abnormal, amoral – immoral.
• anti-(anti-, anti-): antivirus - antivirus, antibiotic - antibiotic.
• counter-(counter-, anti-): counterstrike - counter-strike, counter-clockwise - counterclockwise.
• de-(deprive, delete): decode - decode, deformation - disbandment.
• non-(negation, absence): non-stop - non-stop, non-alcoholic - non-alcoholic.

Prefixes with different meanings

Prefix re- (again, again, again)
to appear - appear	to reappear - appear again
to construct - build	to reconstruct - rebuild
to read - read	to reread - reread
to sell – sell	to resell - resell
Prefix mis- (incorrect, incorrect)
to hear – to hear	to mishear - to mishear, to hear incorrectly
to lead - to lead	to mislead - to mislead
to quote - quote	to misquote - to quote incorrectly
to understand – to understand	to misunderstand - misunderstand
Prefixes over- (over, excessively) and under- (under-, insufficient)
to estimate – estimate	to overestimate - to overestimate To underestimate - to underestimate
to pay – pay	to overpay - to overpay to underpay - underpay
Prefixes pre- (before, earlier) and post- (post-, after), often written with a hyphen
revolutionary - revolutionary	pre-revolutionary – pre-revolutionary post-revolutionary - post-revolutionary
war - war	pre-war - pre-war post-war - post-war
Prefix co- (cooperation, commonality of action), often written with a hyphen
author - author	co-author - co-author
existence - existence	co-existence - coexistence
operation - operation	co-operation – cooperation, assistance
Prefix inter- (between, among, mutually)
national - national	international - international
action - action	interaction
town - city	intertown - intercity
Prefix ex- (ex-, former), written with a hyphen
husband - husband	ex-husband - ex-husband
president - president	ex-president - ex-president
Prefix sub- (sub-, sub-)
marine - marine	submarine - underwater
section - section	subsection – subsection
Prefix ultra- (ultra-, super-), written with a hyphen
microscopic – microscopic	ultramicroscopic – ultramicroscopic
violet – purple	ultra-violet - ultraviolet
Prefix en- (to do something)
circle - circle	encircle – surround (make a circle)
large - big	enlarge – increase (do more)
slave - slave	enslave – to enslave (to make a slave)

Notes:

• In modern English there are words with inseparable prefixes, they include the prefixes listed in the table above, but by separating them, we do not get an independent word. For example: reduce(to shorten), discuss(discuss), pre pare(prepare). In fact, these consoles are no longer consoles at all. Once upon a time they grew attached to the roots of words, now unused and modified, and gradually they themselves became part of the root of the word. For example, in the word prepare(prepare) pre– this is no longer a prefix, but part of the root of the word.
• In colloquial speech the word is used "ex"– it exactly corresponds to our “ex, ex” and means “ex-husband/boyfriend, ex-wife/girlfriend”: My ex texted me – My ex wrote me an SMS.

Suffixes in English

Suffixes are indicators of parts of speech in the English language; accordingly, they can be divided into three groups: suffixes of nouns, adjectives and verbs. There is not much to say about adverbs; in most cases they are formed using only one suffix -ly(quick – quickly), there is a small note about them.

Noun suffixes

With the help of suffixes, nouns denoting persons and abstract nouns denoting broad or general concepts are formed.

Nouns denoting persons

Suffixes -er, -or – are added to verbs to denote the character
to buy – buy	buyer - buyer
to direct - to lead	director - head
to teach – to teach	teacher - teacher
to work - to work	worker - worker
The suffixes -ism and -ist correspond to the suffixes -ism and -ist in the Russian language, denoting ideologies, political or scientific movements and their adherents
idealist	idealist
terrorist	terrorist
materialism	materialism
The suffix -ee is used to indicate the person to whom the action is directed
to address - to address	addressee - addressee
to employ – hire	employee – employee (hired employee)
to pay – pay	payee – payee
The suffix -ian is used to denote nationality
Russian	Russian
Ukrainian	Ukrainian
Bulgarian	Bulgarian
Norwegian	Norwegian

Abstract nouns

The suffix -age usually forms nouns from verbs
to leak – to leak	leakage - leak
to marry – to marry, to get married	marriage - marriage
Suffixes -ance, -ence – with their help, nouns are formed from adjectives with suffixes -ant, -ent
important - important	importance - importance
different – ​​different	difference - difference
resistant – resistant	resistance - resistance
The suffix -dom forms nouns from adjectives and other nouns
free - free	freedom - freedom
king - king	kingdom - kingdom
The suffix -hood usually forms nouns from other nouns
brother - brother	brotherhood - brotherhood
child - child	childhood - childhood
neighbor - neighbor	neighborhood - neighborhood
The suffixes -ion, -ation, -sion, -ssion form nouns from verbs, sometimes changing the pronunciation or spelling
to collect – collect	collection - collection
to combine – combine	combination - combination
to transmit - transmit	transmission - transmission
The suffix -ment forms nouns from verbs
to agree - agree	agreement - agreement
to develop – to develop	development - development
The suffix -ness forms nouns from adjectives
dark - dark	darkness - darkness
kind - kind	kindness - kindness
weak – weak	weakness - weakness
The suffix -ship forms nouns from other nouns
friend - friend	friendship - friendship
leader - leader	leadership - leadership
The suffix -ure forms nouns from verbs
to please – to give pleasure	pleasure - pleasure
to press – to press	pressure - pressure
to seize – to seize	seizure - seizure

Adjective suffixes

The suffixes -able, -ible express the possibility of being subjected to action; in Russian there are similar “-able”, “-ivy”, “-obny”
to change - change	changable – changeable, changeable
to eat - eat	eatable - edible
to walk - go	walkable - passable
to convert – convert, transform	convertable - reversible, convertible
The suffix -al forms adjectives from nouns (cf. In Russian: -al)
center – center	central - central
culture - culture	cultural - cultural
form - form	formal – formal
The suffixes -ant, -ent form adjectives from verbs (these adjectives correspond to nouns with -ance, -ence)
to differ - to differ	different – ​​different (difference – difference)
to resist – resist	resistant - resistant (resistance - resistance)
The suffixes -ful form adjectives from nouns and denote the presence of a quality. (opposite of -less)
beauty - beauty	beautiful – beautiful
doubt - doubt	doubtful - doubtful
use - benefit	useful - useful
The suffix -ish forms adjectives with the meanings: a) nationality, b) weak degree of quality (as in Russian -ovat, -evat)
scott - Scotsman	scottish - Scottish
swede - Swede	swedish - Swedish
red – red	reddish – reddish
brown - brown	brownish – brownish
The suffix -ive forms adjectives from verbs and nouns (as in Russian -ive, -ivny)
to act - to act	active - active
effect – effect, action	effective - valid
to talk - talk	talkative - talkative
The suffix -less forms adjectives from a noun and means lack of quality (the opposite of -ful)
hope - hope	hopeless - hopeless
use - benefit	useless - useless
home - house	homeless - homeless
The suffix -ous forms adjectives from nouns
courage - courage	courageous - brave
danger - danger	dangerous - dangerous
glory - glory	glorious - glorious
The suffix -y forms adjectives from nouns (mostly weather-related)
cloud – cloud	cloudy - cloudy
dirt - dirt	dirty - dirty
fog - fog	foggy - foggy
rain - rain	rainy - rainy
sun – sun	sunny – sunny

Verb suffixes

The suffix -en gives meanings: to do, to become, to become, forms verbs from adjectives and nouns
sharp - sharp	sharpen - sharpen
short - short	shorten – to shorten
strength - strength	strengthen – strengthen
wide – wide	widen - expand
The suffix -fy usually forms verbs from adjectives, less often from nouns
false - fake	to falsify – to falsify
glory - glory	to glorify – glorify
simple - simple	to simplify - to simplify
pure - clean	to purify – to cleanse
The suffix -ize usually forms verbs from nouns
character - character	to characterize – to characterize
crystal – crystal	to crystallize – crystallize
sympathy - sympathy	to sympathize - sympathize

Notes:

• A few words need to be said about adverbs. Everything here is extremely simple: in the vast majority of cases, derived adverbs are formed from adjectives (sometimes from numerals and nouns) using a suffix -ly: wise(wise) - wisely(wisely) slow(slow) - slowly(slowly), etc. Suffixes are much less common -wise(clockwise - clockwise), -ward(s)(forward\backward – forward\back), -ways(sideways - sideways).
• As with prefixes, the English language has words with permanent suffixes, but in fact these are not suffixes, but part of a root that was once formed from a suffix (during the process of historical changes in the language). These words are indivisible and are not recognized as words with suffixes, for example: courage(courage), station(station), document(document), loyal(devoted), possible(possible) and others.
• As in the Russian language, English words can be formed not only by prefix and suffix, but also by a combined (prefix-suffix) method. For example: walk(walk) - walkable(passable) – unwalkable(impassable). In this case, the meaning of both the suffix and the prefix is ​​added to the original word.

Friends! I don't currently tutor, but if you need a teacher, I recommend this wonderful site- there are native (and non-native) language teachers there 👅 for all occasions and for any pocket 🙂 I myself took more than 50 lessons with the teachers I found there!

Remember those moments in Russian lessons when you were asked to parse a word, identifying its prefix, root, suffix and ending? Perhaps this event only caused you headaches, but do not worry, in English everything will be different. Let's not analyze the entire morphological analysis at once, but consider only suffixes in the English language, which have many interesting features.

A suffix or simply a suffix of the English language is a morpheme for word formation in English , which usually comes after the root. In simple words, a suffix is ​​one or more letters, thanks to which a word can change its part of speech, for example from a verb to a noun:

Or take on a different meaning altogether:

There are no specific rules regarding suffixes in English. That is, you cannot take one suffix, which, say, forms nouns, and use it with all words in a row. Suffixes are not always added to words that look similar or have the same letters at the root. However, a certain logic shines through in their use, and by knowing suffixes and their functions, you can learn to form words intuitively.

As mentioned earlier, English suffixes, like Russian ones, follow immediately after the root:

After suffixes there may be an ending:

The suffix may change if the word is used in the plural:

Having dealt with the peculiarities of the location and use of suffixes in a word, let’s move on to their types.

Suffixes in English: types

Suffixes can be used to form almost all independent parts of speech. Based on this, they are divided into 5 categories:

• Noun suffixes
• Verb suffixes
• Adjective suffixes
• Adverb suffixes
• Numeral suffixes

Let's look at each group separately. Please note that there are very, very many suffixes in the English language, and therefore we will consider only the most used of them.

Noun suffixes

The group of suffixes for forming nouns is perhaps the most voluminous. These include:

1. -er / -or:

• participate in the formation of inanimate nouns from verbs. Table for clarity:

• and also in the formation of nouns expressing the person who does what the verb denotes. To make it clearer, let's look at examples:

Often these suffixes are used to form words denoting professions:

1. -ess (-ress):

• A couple of these professions can be used together with the suffix -ess (-ress), perhaps the only feminine suffix used in English:

• In addition to professions, the following nouns can be modified using a suffix:

1. -ee– a suffix that is used to show the person to whom the action is directed, that is, this suffix is ​​the opposite of the suffixes -er and -or:

1. -ian– another suffix with which you can express the type of activity. Words are formed from nouns, examples:

Suffixes perform the same functions:

1. -ent/-ant:

1. -ist is usually used with professions related to the scientific field:

And with music:

Although this suffix is ​​often found in nouns that express supporters of certain views and their perception of the world. In this case, the English suffix performs the same function as the Russian suffix -ist, forming almost identical words:

1. -ism– another English suffix that is similar to Russian -ism. It denotes concepts associated with ideological trends and beliefs of a person:

1. -ion is an interesting suffix, thanks to which you can once again be convinced of your high knowledge of English. The fact is that all words that end in “-tion” in Russian use the suffix -ion in English. See for yourself:

If the suffix is ​​preceded by a double s, then instead of words starting with “-tsia”, you can safely select words starting with “-iya”:

expression

aggression (aggression)

commission

mission

percussion (percussion)

depression

Just like that, you just increased your vocabulary by several hundred words.

1. -ment– a suffix expressing processes and results. As a rule, it is formed from verbs:

1. -ence / -ance– suffixes that form nouns similar to the meaning of adjectives with the suffixes -ent / -ant:

1. -dom denotes abstract concepts, states, possessions:

1. -hood– suffix of nouns that imply the stages of life and state of a person or group of people:

1. —ship usually used with nouns that show a group of people related by a state or action:

1. -age expresses collective concepts, facts, actions:

1. -ness– a suffix that forms nouns from adjectives denoting qualities:

1. -th, typically used to express physical characteristics:

1. —ity– properties, qualities, abstract concepts. Often formed from adjectives:

1. Separately, it is worth considering diminutive suffixes in English. It is often said that they simply do not exist in the English language. Actually this is not true. Yes, they are very rare. However, there are quite a lot of them and it is worth knowing them to avoid misunderstandings. Diminutives include:

• -let:

• —ling:

However, be careful when using the two above-mentioned suffixes, because sometimes their meaning can change from positive to negative, and your comment may be regarded as ridicule:

• -kin:

• -ock:

• -ule:

• -cule:

• -ette:

• -y with a double consonant before it:

• -ie:

• -rel:

Verb suffixes

Although verb suffixes in English are found quite often in speech, they are not particularly diverse. So, verbs include:

1. -en:

1. -ate:

1. -ify:

1. —size(-ise):

Adjective suffixes

Adjectives have slightly more suffixes:

1. -full, shows the possession of quality:

1. —less– lack of quality:

1. —able / -ible show possibility, property, suitability:

1. —al / -is form adjectives from nouns:

1. —ish can express similarity of behavior or species, nationality, as well as a weak degree:

1. —ous shows the characteristics of a noun:

1. —ive expresses ability, property. Formed using verbs and nouns.

1. -y– to form short adjectives with different meanings:

Adverb suffixes

With everything much simpler, because there are only four suffixes for their formation:

1. -ly, adverbs are formed from adjectives:

1. -wise expresses a method or direction. Most often formed from a noun or adjective:

1. -ward(s) / way(s) show directions:

1. -ty expresses tens:

It is worth noting that, unlike Russian, English suffixes, as a rule, are not used in one word at the same time. That is, if in Russian you can use one, two or several suffixes at once, in English you can only use one. In addition, some functions of suffixes can be performed by prefixes in English or so-called prefixes. So, for example, many diminutive suffixes can be replaced with the prefix mini- (mini-). Therefore, choose the option that you like best or that more accurately conveys the meaning.

We hope that now you do not have any questions regarding suffixes in English. Yes, there are quite a lot of English suffixes, and therefore it will be quite difficult to remember them all at once. Instead, study a few suffixes a day and reinforce what you've learned through exercises and writing sentences or word lists with specific suffixes. In addition, when reading, try to pay attention to the formation of words, note for yourself which suffix is ​​used in a particular case and what function it performs. Return to this page periodically to review the material.

Views: 435

There are several suffixes in the English language that tend to cause spelling difficulties. Why? Because they sound the same. Compare noun suffixes «– ance» And «– ence» .

import ance/ɪmˈpɔː(r)t(ə)ns / intellig ence/ɪnˈtelɪdʒ(ə)ns/

As can be seen from the examples, their pronunciation is the same - / (ə) ns/ .

What do the suffixes –ance and –ence mean?

Both suffixes are used to form nouns indicating quality or condition. For example,

ignorance (ignorance, ignorance, lack of information) And emergence (appearance, emergence, rise)

Nouns with suffixes – ance And – ence formed from verbs (to perform – performance) and from adjectives (intelligent – intelligence)

Why does the problem of choice arise?

The problem is explained by the fact that in English most suffixes are in unstressed position, so the vowel sound in both suffixes (— ance/ — ence) reduced and pronounced — / ə / .

What suffix to choose in writing?

Of course, if you don't know how to spell a word, you should look up its spelling in a dictionary. But there are a few simple rules that will help you navigate the spelling of words.

Suffix "-ance»

• If a noun is formed from a verb that ends in «- y», «- ure», «- ear» , then the noun should be written with the suffix «– ance» .

Verb	Noun
appl y	appli ance(device, device)
compl y	compli ance(agreement, acceptance)
var y	vari ance(divergence, fluctuation)
ass ure	assur ance(assurance, guarantee. self-confidence)
end ure	endur ance (endurance, strength, duration)
ins ure	insur ance (pageinsurance, guarantee)
app ear	appear ance(appearance, occurrence)
cl ear	clear ance (cleaning, clearing)
forb ear	forbear ance(endurance, restraint, long-suffering)

• If the verb from which the noun is formed ends in «– ate» , then the noun will usually have the suffix «– ance» . For example,

• If the stem of the word ends with a letter "With", which is pronounced like / k/ or by letter « g» , which is pronounced like « g» , then the noun will end with «- ance» :

arro g ance (arrogance, arrogance)

signify c ance (importance, importance)

Unfortunately, the above rules are not universal and most nouns have to be memorized. Here are the most common words:

Abund ance

Accept ance

Acquaint ance

Assist ance

Circumst ance

Disturb ance

Fragr ance

Guid ance

Ignore ance

Inherit ance

Mainten ance

Perform ance

Resembl ance

Resist ance

Utter ance

Vengea nce

Suffix"-ence"

If a noun is formed from a verb ending in «- here» , you should write the suffix «- ence» .

For example,

If the verb ends in «- er» , which is under stress, then the noun formed from it should have a suffix «- ence» :

Suffx «- ence» also written in nouns if the verb stem ends in « cid», « fid», « sid», « vid» . For example,

Confid ence

Evid ence

Incid ence

Resid ence

If the stem of a noun ends in "With", which is pronounced like / s/ or at « g» , which is pronounced like / dʒ/ , the suffix should be written in words «- ence» :

Adolesc ence

Innoc ence

Intellig ence

Lic ence

But not all words fall under these rules. Here is a list of the most common words with the suffix «- ence» :

Abs ence

Afflu ence

Audi ence

Benevol ence

Compet ence

Consci ence

Consequ ence

Conveni ence

Depend ence

Differ ence

Eloqu ence

Excell ence

Experi ence

Influ ence

Obedi ence

Pati ence

Preceded ence

Sequ ence

Sil ence

Viol ence

So, we introduced you to the rules for using noun suffixes - «- ance» And «- ence» . Despite the fact that English spelling is replete with "underwater reefs", we hope that this publication will help you write correctly. Good luck!