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Expand your English vocabulary by exploring the power of suffixes! A suffix is a word ending that can change the meaning of a root word, or a base word. For example, adding “-ful” to the word “care” can make “careful.” Many English words can also be turned into adjectives, verbs, adverbs or even nouns by adding suffixes!

Let’s take the word “kind.” With the help of suffixes, you can now create words like “kindly,” “kindness,” “kindly” and so on. Suffixes can also be used to create words of opposite meanings. The suffix “-less”, for instance, can make a word opposite in meaning, such as “harmless” or “careless.”

So, the next time you come across an interesting new root word, why not try and explore what suffixes can do? You can add different suffixes to the root word and make new words with different meanings. By doing this, you will be better equipped with a wide range of new English vocab and be more confident in achieving your full potential when speaking or writing English. Give it a try and see how much you can expand your English vocabulary! Improve Your Vocabulary With Suffixes

Knowing how to use suffixes correctly can help you to greatly improve your English vocabulary. A suffix is a word ending that changes the meaning of the main word to which it is attached. Here are some of the most useful suffixes for English language learners and how you can use them to expand your vocabulary.

1. -able/-ible

The suffix -able/-ible means capable of being, able to be, fit for, or tending to. It is a great suffix for making verbs, and you can easily add it to a root word by replacing the last two letters of the verb with either -able or -ible.

For example, the verb “imagine” becomes “imaginable”, meaning able to be imagined. The verb “understand” can become “understandable”, something that is able to be understood.

2. -ful

The suffix -ful means full of or having. It is used to make adjectives out of nouns. When you add this suffix to a word, it tells the listener that the noun is full of whatever the root word represents.

For example, you can take the noun “beauty” and add the suffix -ful to create the adjective “beautiful”. This means full of beauty. You can also use it with other nouns like power, opportunity or success.

3. -ly

The suffix -ly is used to create adverbs out of adjectives. It is used to express how the subject of the sentence is doing something.

For example, you can take the adjective “smart” and add -ly to create the adverb “smartly” which describes how the subject is doing something smartly. You can also add -ly to other adjectives like friendly, helpful or quickly.

4. -ness

The suffix -ness is used to create nouns that describe certain qualities. It is used to make an abstract quality or feeling into something tangible and countable.

For example, you can take the adjective “happy” and add -ness to create the noun “happiness”. This describes a feeling of joy or contentment. You can also add -ness to other adjectives like tiredness, kindness or readiness.

Using these suffixes correctly will help you to expand your English vocabulary. While it may take some time for you to get used to using them, in the end it will be well worth the effort!

Be empowered by the power of the suffix! And with this knowledge, you can grow your vocabulary to great heights, and enrich your writing and communication with a more diverse range of words. Now, you’ve learned the basics of suffix exploration and how starting with a root word can take you on a linguistic trailblazing journey. So don’t be afraid to expand your knowledge and traipse into a world of new words.