BGC SenegalGet Wordy: Enhance your vocabulary by appending suffixes! With just a few key changes, you can turn increasingly longer words into an even richer store of ideas. Experiment by adding one of these suffixes -ize, -ism, -ist, and -tion – to the end of words to produce nouns, verbs, and adjectives that have a new and distinct meaning. There’s no limit to the possibilities, so let your creativity soar! Improve Your Vocabulary With Suffixes
As non-native English speakers, one of the best ways to enhance your vocabulary is by learning and understanding suffixes. Suffixes are a type of affix, which are word parts that are added at the end of a root word to create a new word or change the meaning of the existing word. By gaining knowledge of common suffixes, you can expand your vocabulary and better comprehend the meaning of various English words.
Let’s delve into some common suffixes and explore how they can be used to build your vocabulary.
1. -ful: This suffix implies that something is full of a particular quality or characteristic. For instance, adding -ful to the root word “joy” creates “joyful,” meaning full of joy. Similarly, adding -ful to “care” forms “careful,” indicating full of care or cautiousness. By recognizing this suffix, you can easily understand the meaning of words like “hopeful,” “grateful,” or “powerful.”
2. -less: Adding -less to a word indicates the absence or lack of something. Consider the example of “help” – adding -less turns it into ”helpless,” meaning without the ability to help or powerless. Likewise, ”fear” becomes ”fearless,” implying without fear or courageous. By learning this suffix, you can grasp the meaning of words such as “endless,” “hopeless,” or “thoughtless.”
3. -able/-ible: These suffixes suggest the capability or possibility of something. When added to the root word “solve,” -able forms “solvable,” meaning capable of being solved. Similarly, adding -ible to “access” generates “accessible,” indicating capable of being accessed. By understanding these suffixes, you can easily comprehend words like “reliable,” ”flexible,” or “visible.”
4. -tion/-sion: These suffixes denote an action or process, typically transforming a verb into a noun. For example, “act” becomes “action,” referencing the act or process of doing something. The verb “expand” can be changed to “expansion,” indicating the process of becoming larger or more extensive. By familiarizing yourself with these suffixes, you can easily recognize words such as “complication,” “discussion,” or “conversion.”
5. -er/-or: Adding -er or -or at the end of a verb forms a noun, indicating a person or thing that performs a particular action. For instance, “teach” becomes “teacher,” referring to someone who teaches. Likewise, “act” becomes “actor,” indicating someone who acts. By knowing this suffix, you can easily comprehend words like “driver,” “worker,” or “painter.”
Remember, learning suffixes alone is not enough; it is important to understand how they interact with root words to form new words. Practicing the usage of these suffixes in context will help you incorporate them into your everyday vocabulary.
A robust vocabulary is crucial for effective communication in English. By investing time and effort in learning and understanding suffixes, you can significantly expand your vocabulary and become more confident in expressing yourself. So, let’s embark on this exciting linguistic journey and embrace the power of suffixes in enhancing our English language skills!
Now that you’ve seen how powerful suffixes can be, give them a try and see wheth