Suffixes are a powerful tool for English language learners, unlocking new depths to the language and opening up endless possibilities when it comes to word meanings. Use this Vocabulary Booster to unlock the potential of some of those suffixes and give your vocabulary a major boost!
-ed: This suffix can change a verb into its past tense form, but it can also be used to change a noun into an adjective. For example, “teach” becomes “taught” and “teacher” becomes “teached.”
-ful: By adding the suffix -ful, you can create an adjective that expresses a large quantity or degree of something. For example, “beauty” becomes “beautiful,” “care” becomes “careful,” and “use” becomes “useful.”
-ing: This suffix turns a verb into an action. It is often used to create a continuous form of the action by adding -ing. For example, “run” turns into “running,” “watch” turns into “watching,” and “sleep” turns into “sleeping.”
-er: This suffix creates a noun of agent that performs the verb. For example, “work” becomes “worker,” “teach” turns into “teacher,” and “manage” turns into “manager.”
-s: Using the -s suffix allows you to create a plural version of a word. For example, “book” turns into “books” and “cat” turns into “cats.”
Finally, -ly turns an adjective into an adverb. For example, “quick” becomes “quickly,” “slow” turns into “slowly,” and “happy” turns into “happily.”
Unlock the power of English suffixes with this Vocabulary Booster, and make mastering the language easier and more enjoyable! If you are a non-English speaker, you may find it difficult to learn the vast amount of words available in English. Fortunately, there is an effective way to greatly improve your English vocabulary: learning English suffixes. A suffix is a unit of meaning added to the end of a word to give it a new meaning. Here are some common suffixes and how to use them to improve your English vocabulary.
The “-able” suffix can be added to many words to form adjectives. This suffix often indicates something that can be done or achieved. For example, the word “fix” becomes “fixable”, suggesting something that can be fixed. Likewise, the word “make” becomes “makable”, suggesting something that can be made.
The “-ful” suffix adds a meaning of being full of something. For example, the word “care” becomes “careful”, suggesting someone who is full of care or cautious. The word “hope” becomes “hopeful”, suggesting someone who is full of hope or optimism.
The “-less” suffix adds a meaning of not having something. For example, the word “quality” becomes “qualityless”, suggesting something that is not of good quality. Likewise, the word “use” becomes “useless”, suggesting something that has no purpose or value.
The “-ing” suffix adds a meaning of something that is currently in progress or happening. For example, the word “walk” becomes “walking”, suggesting the activity of walking. Likewise, the word “learn” becomes “learning”, suggesting the process of learning.
By familiarizing yourself with common suffixes, you can greatly improve your English vocabulary. When you encounter a word, try to think of all the suffixes you know that could be added to the word to give it a different meaning. By doing this, you will be able to quickly recognize different words and their various usages, making it easier for you to communicate in English.
Now that you understand the power of suffixes and how to use them to increase your knowledge and understanding of language, nothing is stopping you from unlocking your true verbal potential! Put your newfound knowledge into practice and you will soon find yourself speaking with ease and expertise!