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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.
- 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? - 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 - 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 - She sells seashells by the seashore
- How can a clam cram in a clean cream can?
- I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream
- I saw Susie sitting in a shoeshine shop
- Susie works in a shoeshine shop. Where she shines she sits, and where she sits she shines
- Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bear. Fuzzy Wuzzy had no hair. Fuzzy Wuzzy wasn’t fuzzy, was he?
- Can you can a can as a canner can can a can?
- I have got a date at a quarter to eight; I’ll see you at the gate, so don’t be late
- You know New York, you need New York, you know you need unique New York
- I saw a kitten eating chicken in the kitchen
- If a dog chews shoes, whose shoes does he choose?
- I thought I thought of thinking of thanking you
- I wish to wash my Irish wristwatch
- Near an ear, a nearer ear, a nearly eerie ear
- Eddie edited it
- Willie’s really weary
- A big black bear sat on a big black rug
- Tom threw Tim three thumbtacks
- He threw three free throws
- Nine nice night nurses nursing nicely
- So, this is the sushi chef
- 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
- Wayne went to wales to watch walruses
- Six sticky skeletons (x3)
- Which witch is which? (x3)
- Snap crackle pop (x3)
- Flash message (x3)
- Red Buick, blue Buick (x3)
- Red lorry, yellow lorry (x3)
- Thin sticks, thick bricks (x3)
- Stupid superstition (x3)
- Eleven benevolent elephants (x3)
- Two tried and true tridents (x3)
- Rolling red wagons (x3)
- Black back bat (x3)
- She sees cheese (x3)
- Truly rural (x3)
- Good blood, bad blood (x3)
- Pre-shrunk silk shirts (x3)
- Ed had edited it. (x3)
- We surely shall see the sun shine soon
- Which wristwatches are Swiss wristwatches?
- Fred fed Ted bread, and Ted fed Fred bread
- I slit the sheet, the sheet I slit, and on the slitted sheet I sit
- A skunk sat on a stump and thunk the stump stunk, but the stump thunk the skunk stunk
- Lesser leather never weathered wetter weather better
- Of all the vids I’ve ever viewed, I’ve never viewed a vid as valued as Alex’s engVid vid