COMPOUND WORDS.
Noun Suffixes
-er added to a verb is used for the person who does an activity: writer, worker, singer,... (sometimes -
or, as in actor, sailor, supervisor,...)
-er/-or are also used for things which do a particular job: tin-opener, projector, ...
-er and -ee can contrast with each other, meaning "person who does something" (-er) and "person
who receives or experiences the action" (-ee): employer/employee, ...
-(t)ion is used to make nouns from verbs: communication, pollution, admission, ...
-ist (person) and -ism (activity or ideology): marxist/Marxism, terrorist/terrorism, ...
-ist is also used for people who play musical instruments: pianist, violinist, ...
-al is added to some verbs to make nouns: arrival, refusal, ...
-ness is used to make abstract nouns from adjectives: happiness, goodness, weakness, ...
-ment is used to make abstract nouns from verbs: excitement, enjoyment, ...
-hood is used to make abstract nouns, especially family terms, from nouns: childhood, brotherhood,
...
-ship is used to make abstract nouns, especially status, from nouns: friendship, membership,
partnership, ...
-(i)ty is used to make abstract nouns from adjectives: honesty, loyalty, ...
Adjective Suffixes
-able/-ible with verbs means "can be done": readable, countable, edible, flexible, ...
-ive is used to make adjectives from verbs: active, passive, ...
-al is used to make adjectives from nouns: brutal, legal, ...
-ous is used to make adjectives from nouns: dangerous, furious, ...
-ful is used to make adjectives from nouns or verbs: hopeful, useful, forgetful, ...
-less is used to make adjectives from nouns or verbs: useless, harmless, cloudless, ...
-ic/-ical is used to make adjectives with nouns: economic/economical, ...
-ish can be added to most common adjectives, ages and times to make them less precise: reddish
hair, she's thirtyish, come about eightish, ...
Verb Suffixes
-ise/-ize makes verbs from adjectives: modernise, industrialise, ...
-ify makes verbs from nouns: electrify, terrify, ...
-en makes verbs from adjectives: shorten, deepen, darken, ...
Adverb suffixes: -ly. Happily, highly….
