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Learning new words and expanding your vocabulary can be a daunting task, but having a few handy tools, such as prefixes and suffixes, in your toolbox can make it easier. Suffixes are inflections added to the end of a root word that give the word a new meaning or alter the existing meaning. By simply adding common suffixes like “-er”, “-ed” or “-ing” to a word, it can take on an entirely different meaning.

For example, the word ‘talk’ can become ‘talker’, ‘talked’ or ‘talking’. A ‘talker’ is someone who speaks a lot, ‘talked’ is the past tense of the word, and ‘talking’ is the present tense. Just by adding these endings, you can create an entirely new words that offer more meaning.

Whether you’re writing a paper or just chatting with friends, it’s important to know the right words with the correct inflections in order to make your point more effectively. Expand your vocabulary and raise your communication game by mastering the art of adding suffixes to your words to make them more precise and powerful. Living up your words and taking advantage of suffixes is a great way to help you express yourself. .

English is a rich and complex language with a large number of roots and suffixes that, while often confusing to non-native speakers, can give you an edge when it comes to building a bigger vocabulary. A suffix is a group of letters that forms the end of a word, and often changes its meaning or usage. Suffixes can help improve your understanding of a word’s meaning, part of speech, and root word, and they also can help you to recognize connections between words.

Here are some basic suffixes and their explanations and examples that should help you with your English vocab:

-able: This suffix is often added onto verbs to create an adjective, often used to indicate capability.

Examples: Readable, Drinkable, Profit-able

-ness: This suffix is often attached to an adjective to create a noun, which often expresses a state.

Examples: Clarity, Happiness, Punctuality

-ment: This suffix is typically used to form nouns indicating an action, process, or state.

Examples: Movement, Employment, Complement

-ly: This suffix is attached to an adjective to form an adverb, typically used to describe manner.

Examples: Quickly, Innocently, Ineffectively

-ation: This suffix is used to form nouns indicating an action or process.

Examples: Separation, Refrigeration, Demonstration

-er: This suffix is often added onto a verb to create a noun, which often refers to a person or thing that does the action of the verb.

Examples: Painter, Teacher, Dancer

-ber: This suffix is attached to a root word to create a noun that often indicates a container.

Examples: Folder, Notebook, Brochure

Hopefully this article has helped you to understand the function of suffixes, and given you a better foothold when it comes to recognizing them. English is a language full of depth and nuance – the suffixes you learn today will help you understand the words of tomorrow.

If ever you find yourself wishing to enhance your vocabulary, embracing suffixes is an ideal way to begin. Providing you with the means to better articulate the world around you and the meanings of various concepts, simply adding suffixes to existing words can dramatically broaden your lexicon. With a few creative suffixes tacked on, you’ll never breathe the same words twice!