BGC SenegalThe power of suffixes can be a powerful tool in boosting your vocabulary repertoire. Adding a suffix to a word changes its meaning drastically, making it a useful tool for strengthening your language skills. Suffixes often give insight to the origins and meaning of words, making them accessible to a much wider audience. With proper usage, terms that may have once been foreign become familiar in no time. A few common suffixes are -able, -ful, -less, and -ly. For instance, adding -able to the word adapt creates a new term ’adaptable’, whereas adding -ful changes the word ’wonder’ into ‘wonderful’. In addition, the suffix -less changes the word ‘fear’ into ‘fearless’, and the -ly suffix turns ‘quick’ into ‘quickly’—all resulting in a completely different word with a novel definition and usage. A mastery of suffixes is essential to achieving your goal of a better vocabulary and a more powerful command over the English language. Improving your vocabulary is essential to learning any language, and understanding suffixes is an important part of that. Suffixes are letter combinations that typically come at the end of a word and indicate certain meanings or grammatical functions. Knowing the different types of suffixes and how they alter the meaning of the root word can help you increase your English vocabulary in an effective way.
Common English suffixes include -ed, -ing, -ly, -able, -ment, -tion, and -ness.
The -ed suffix is used to make verb forms into past participle tense. For example, the root verbal “talk” becomes “talked” when the -ed suffix is added.
The -ing suffix is used to create gerunds, which are verbs that function as nouns. For example, the root verb “to run” becomes “running” when the -ing suffix is added.
The -ly suffix is used to create adverbs, which are words that describe verbs. For example, the root verb “work” becomes “working” when the -ly suffix is added.
The -able suffix is used to create adjectives, which are words that describe nouns. For example, the root noun “help” becomes “helpable” when the -able suffix is added.
The -ment suffix is used to create nouns which describe a state or condition. For example, the root verb “govern” becomes “government” when the -ment suffix is added.
The -tion suffix is used to create nouns which describe the action of a verb. For example, the root verb “invent” becomes “invention” when the -tion suffix is added.
The -ness suffix is used to create nouns which describe a quality or attribute. For example, the root adjective “happy” becomes “happiness” when the -ness suffix is added.
By learning these common suffixes and how to use them with words, you can drastically increase your English vocabulary. Many English words can also be combined with multiple suffixes to create entirely new words. For example, the root verb “walk” can become “walked” (past tense verb), “walking” (gerund), “walkable” (adjective), and “walkably” (adverb) when the appropriate suffix is added.
Knowing the various types of suffixes and how to use them can be a significant asset to improving your English vocabulary. As you learn and practice English, be sure to pay special attention to suffixes and how they can drastically differ the meaning of words.
By exploring the power of adding suffixes to words, you have taken a positive step towards increasing your vocabulary. Don’t be put off by the difficulties which some suffixes present – with a bit of practice, it can be a fun and rewarding journey. So say goodbye to clumsy or inaccurate writing – with the right suffixes, you’ll be able to easily express yourself in any situation.