Latin suffix

Basic meaning

Example words

-able, -ible

forms adjectives and means “capable or worthy of”

likable, flexible

-ation

forms nouns from verbs

creation, civilization, automation, speculation, information

-fy, -ify

forms verbs and means “to make or cause to become”

purify, acidify, humidify

-ment

forms nouns from verbs

entertainment, amazement, statement, banishment

-ty, -ity

forms nouns from adjectives

subtlety, certainty, cruelty, frailty, loyalty, royalty; eccentricity, electricity, peculiarity, similarity, technicality


suffix

grammatical change

example
original word

example
suffixed word

-s

plural

dog

dogs

-en

plural (irregular)

ox

oxen

-s

3rd person singular present

like

he likes

-ed

past tense
past participle

work

he worked
he has worked

-en

past participle (irregular)

eat

he has eaten

-ing

continuous/progressive

sleep

he is sleeping

-er

comparative

big

bigger

-est

superlative

big

the biggest

Derivational suffixes

With derivational suffixes, the new word has a new meaning, and is usually a different part of speech. But the new meaning is related to the old meaning - it is "derived" from the old meaning.

We can add more than one suffix, as in this example:

derive (verb) + tion = derivation (noun) + al = derivational (adjective)

There are several hundred derivational suffixes. Here are some of the more common ones:

suffix

making

example
original word

example
suffixed word

-ation

nouns

explore
hesitate

exploration
hesitation

-sion

persuade
divide

persuasion
division

-er

teach

teacher

-cian

music

musician

-ess

god

goddess

-ness

sad

sadness

-al

arrive

arrival

-ary

diction

dictionary

-ment

treat

treatment

-y

jealous
victor

jealousy
victory

-al

adjectives

accident

accidental

-ary

imagine

imaginary

-able

tax

taxable

-ly

brother

brotherly

-y

ease

easy

-ful

sorrow
forget

sorrowful
forgetful

-ly

adverbs

helpful

helpfully

-ize

verbs

terror
private

terrorize
privatize

-ate

hyphen

hyphenate