Boys & Girls Clubs of Senegal•Articles by: BGC Senegal

Author: BGC Senegal

Improve Your Vocabulary With Suffixes

The six suffixes (word endings) shown in the charts below are powerful shortcuts that can multiply your vocabulary easily and quickly.

 

STRUCTURE
BASE WORD ADJECTIVE ADVERB NOUN
power powerful powerfully powerfulness
powerless powerlessly powerlessness
ADJECTIVE SUFFIX
-ful to be full of a certain quality He’s a careful driver.
-less to be without a certain quality He’s a careless driver.
ADVERB SUFFIX
-fully to do something with a certain quality He drives carefully.
-lessly to do something without a certain quality He drives carelessly.
NOUN SUFFIX
-fullness to have the presence of a quality His driving is characterized by carefulness.
-lessness to have the absence of a quality His driving is characterized by carelessness.

 

Some base words take all six suffixes:

BASE WORD ADJECTIVE ADVERB NOUN
care careful carefully carefulness
careless carelessly carelessness
faith faithful faithfully faithfulness
faithless faithlessly faithlessness
fear fearful fearfully fearfulness
fearless fearlessly fearlessness
grace graceful gracefully gracefulness
graceless gracelessly gracelessness
harm harmful harmfully harmfulness
harmless harmlessly harmlessness
help helpful helpfully helpfulness
helpless helplessly helplessness
hope hopeful hopefully hopefulness
hopeless hopelessly hopelessness
joy joyful joyfully joyfulness
joyless joylessly joylessness
meaning meaningful meaningfully meaningfulness
meaningless meaninglessly meaninglessness
mercy merciful mercifully mercifulness
merciless mercilessly mercilessness
pain painful painfully painfulness
painless painlessly painlessness
power powerful powerfully powerfulness
powerless powerlessly powerlessness
rest restful restfully restfulness
restless restlessly restlessness
shame shameful shamefully shamefulness
shameless shamelessly shamelessness
tact tactful tactfully tactfulness
tactless tactlessly tactlessness
taste tasteful tastefully tastefulness
tasteless tastelessly tastelessness
thank thankful thankfully thankfulness
thankless thanklessly thanklessness
thought thoughtful thoughtfully thoughtfulness
thoughtless thoughtlessly thoughtlessness
use useful usefully usefulness
useless uselessly uselessness

 

Some base words take only the -ful and -fully suffixes:

BASE WORD ADJECTIVE ADVERB
beauty beautiful beautifully
bliss blissful blissfully
cheer cheerful cheerfully
delight delightful delightfully
disgrace disgraceful disgracefully
dread dreadful dreadfully
duty dutiful dutifully
fate fateful fatefully
force forceful forcefully
hate hateful hatefully
peace peaceful peacefully
play playful playfully
respect respectful respectfully
right rightful rightfully
sin sinful sinfully
skill skillful skillfully
success successful successfully
truth truthful truthfully
wonder wonderful wonderfully
youth youthful youthfully

 

Some base words take only the -less, -lessly, or -lessness suffixes:

BASE WORD ADJECTIVE ADVERB NOUN
aim aimless aimlessly aimlessness
breath breathless breathlessly breathlessness
effort effortless effortlessly effortlessness
heart heartless heartlessly heartlessness
life lifeless lifelessly lifelessness
motion motionless motionlessly motionlessness
sense senseless senselessly senselessness
sleep sleepless sleeplessly sleeplessness
weight weightless weightlessly weightlessness
worth worthless worthlessly worthlessness

 

Some base words take only the -less suffix:

BASE WORD ADJECTIVE
age ageless
back backless
bone boneless
bottom bottomless
child childless
collar collarless
cord cordless
direction directionless
face faceless
father fatherless
flaw flawless
home homeless
job jobless
limit limitless
mother motherless
name nameless
regard regardless
self selfless
sense senseless
sleeve sleeveless
speech speechless
stain stainless
word wordless
The more you practice these suffixes the easier they become part of your regular vocabulary.

 

 

 

50 Tongue Twisters to improve pronunciation in English

Tongue twisters are a great way to practice and improve pronunciation and fluency.

Below, you will find some of the most popular English tongue twisters. Say them as quickly as you can. If you can master them, you will be a much more confident speaker.

  1. Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers
    A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked
    If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers
    Where’s the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?
  2. Betty Botter bought some butter
    But she said the butter’s bitter
    If I put it in my batter, it will make my batter bitter
    But a bit of better butter will make my batter better
    So ‘twas better Betty Botter bought a bit of better butter
  3. How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
    He would chuck, he would, as much as he could, and chuck as much wood
    As a woodchuck would if a woodchuck could chuck wood
  4. She sells seashells by the seashore
  5. How can a clam cram in a clean cream can?
  6. I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream
  7. I saw Susie sitting in a shoeshine shop
  8. Susie works in a shoeshine shop. Where she shines she sits, and where she sits she shines
  9. Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bear. Fuzzy Wuzzy had no hair. Fuzzy Wuzzy wasn’t fuzzy, was he?
  10. Can you can a can as a canner can can a can?
  11. I have got a date at a quarter to eight; I’ll see you at the gate, so don’t be late
  12. You know New York, you need New York, you know you need unique New York
  13. I saw a kitten eating chicken in the kitchen
  14. If a dog chews shoes, whose shoes does he choose?
  15. I thought I thought of thinking of thanking you
  16. I wish to wash my Irish wristwatch
  17. Near an ear, a nearer ear, a nearly eerie ear
  18. Eddie edited it
  19. Willie’s really weary
  20. A big black bear sat on a big black rug
  21. Tom threw Tim three thumbtacks
  22. He threw three free throws
  23. Nine nice night nurses nursing nicely
  24. So, this is the sushi chef
  25. Four fine fresh fish for you

Tongue twisters are a great way to improve accents by using alliteration, which is the repetition of one sound. Say them as quickly as you can

  1. Wayne went to wales to watch walruses
  2. Six sticky skeletons (x3)
  3. Which witch is which? (x3)
  4. Snap crackle pop (x3)
  5. Flash message (x3)
  6. Red Buick, blue Buick (x3)
  7. Red lorry, yellow lorry (x3)
  8. Thin sticks, thick bricks (x3)
  9. Stupid superstition (x3)
  10. Eleven benevolent elephants (x3)
  11. Two tried and true tridents (x3)
  12. Rolling red wagons (x3)
  13. Black back bat (x3)
  14. She sees cheese (x3)
  15. Truly rural (x3)
  16. Good blood, bad blood (x3)
  17. Pre-shrunk silk shirts (x3)
  18. Ed had edited it. (x3)
  19. We surely shall see the sun shine soon
  20. Which wristwatches are Swiss wristwatches?
  21. Fred fed Ted bread, and Ted fed Fred bread
  22. I slit the sheet, the sheet I slit, and on the slitted sheet I sit
  23. A skunk sat on a stump and thunk the stump stunk, but the stump thunk the skunk stunk
  24. Lesser leather never weathered wetter weather better
  25. Of all the vids I’ve ever viewed, I’ve never viewed a vid as valued as Alex’s engVid vid