BGC Senegal

Unlock the unlimited potential of suffixes and expand your English vocabulary! Adding suffixes to root words can transform them into different parts of speech and even change the meaning. The suffixes “-ion”, “-ment”, “-ness”, “-able”, and “-fy” are the ones you should start with.

When adding “-ion” to the root word “invent,” for example, it changes the meaning to a “creation” or an “invention.” Adding “-ment” to the root word “govern” changes the meaning to “management” or “governance.” “-ness” changes a noun into a quality, such as adding it to “fool” to make it “foolishness.” “-able” adds the quality of being able to do something, such as adding it to “imagine” to make it “imaginable.” And “-fy” turns a noun into a verb, such as adding it to “mystery” to make it “mystify.”

Start enjoying your newfound English vocabulary power and explore the never-ending possibilities of suffixes! Improving your English vocabulary can be a great way to boost your communication skills and make you a more effective communicator. One effective way to expand your vocabulary is to familiarize yourself with suffixes. A suffix is a word ending; if you add this ending to a base word, it changes its meaning or part of speech.

For example, the word help is a verb. But if you add the suffix -er, it becomes helper, a noun. Adding the suffix -less instead makes it helpless, an adjective.

Adding a suffix can not only change the part of speech of a word, but it can also change its meaning. The verb help has a positive connotation, while helpless means unable to do something, which has a negative connotation. The suffix -ful can also change its meaning; helpful is an adjective that means useful.

It is helpful to become familiar with suffixes and how they are used in words. Below are some of the most commonly used suffixes and how they are used:

Suffix Meaning
-er someone who does something
-or someone who does something
-or a place
-ly in a certain way
-ment something that is done
-ness a state or quality
-ful full of
-less without
-iest having the most of something

By becoming familiar with these suffixes and how they are used, you can work to expand your English vocabulary. Finding words that contain the suffixes you have learned will help you to understand how the suffix is used and what the word means. You can even try creating your own words by adding suffixes to existing words; for instance, you can create the word helpful by adding the suffix -ful to the word help.

Once you feel comfortable with the suffixes, you can test your knowledge by looking up the meanings of words that have suffixes you’re already familiar with. Doing this will help you to become more comfortable using different suffixes and build your English vocabulary.

Suffixes are powerful tools that can help you expand your vocabulary and become a more articulate and confident speaker. Put that knowledge to use and unlock the power of suffixes! With a few changes, you can give your communication a significant boost. Keep enriching your word choices and take your language skills to the next level.