What is a suffix?
Affixes are word parts added before or after a root word, including prefixes and suffixes.
‘un’ means ‘not’, ‘able’ changes it to an adjective, so the meaning becomes ‘something we
cannot accept’
Suffixes can change a verb to a noun, noun to an adjective, adjective to a verb, etc.
Noun suffixes ___ance, ___ence, _______ness
___tion, ___sion, _______ ity…
Independence, attention, distraction,
creativeness, capacity
Verb suffixes ___ate, ___en, ___ify, ___ise Participate, sharpen, identify, intensify,
advertise
Adjective
suffixes
___able, ___al, ___ic, ___ent,
___ive, ___ous
reasonable, logical, specific, envious,
imaginative
When we look at a long, unfamiliar word, we can often identify the root word to see its
meaning, and the suffix to see which part of speech it is.
Cultural culture adjective
Preventable
Simplify
Seriousness
Equality
Strengthen
Generosity
