SUFFIXATION

WILSON BURGOS AROCA

UNIVERSIDAD DE CALDAS – UNIVERSIDAD SURCOLOMBIANA

MASTER’S PROGRAM ON ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING

SUFFIXIn grammar, a suffix (also

postfix, ending) is an affix which is placed at the end of a word.

Suffixes can carry grammatical information (inflectional suffixes), or lexical information (derivational suffixes).

INFLECTIONAL SUFFIXATION

Some inflectional suffixes in present day English:

-s third person singular present -ed past tense -ing progressive/continuous -en past participle -s plural -en plural (irregular) -er comparative -est superlative -n't negative’s Genitive case

INFLECTIONAL SUFFIXATION

ENGLISH SPANISH

HE PLAYS SOCCER ON MONDAYS

ÉL JUEGA FÚTBOL

HE PLAYED SOCCER YESTERDAY

ÉL JUGÓ FÚTBOL AYER

HE IS PLAYING SOCCER NOW ÉL ESTÁ JUGANDO FÚTBOL AHORA

HE HAS GIVEN A CARD TO ME ÉL ME HA DADO UNA TARJETA

THERE ARE SOME BOOKS ON THE TABLE

HAY UNOS LIBROS SOBRE LA MESA

THERE ARE LESS MEN THAN WOMEN IN THE CLASS

HAY MENOS HOMBRES QUE MUJERES EN LA CLASE

SHE IS TALLER THAN HIM ELLA ES MÁS ALTA QUE ÉL

SHE IS THE PRETTIEST IN THE CLASSROOM

ELLA ES LA MÁS LINDA EN EL SALÓN DE CLASES

SHE CAN’T PLAY TENNIS ELLA NO PUEDE JUGAR TENIS

LAURA’S BOOK EL LIBRO DE LAURA

DERIVATIONAL SUFFIXATION

1. NOUN NOUN SUFFIXES2. NOUN/ADJECTIVE NOUN/ADJECTIVE

SUFFIXES3. VERB NOUN SUFFIXES4. ADJECTIVE NOUN SUFFIXES5. VERB SUFFIXES6. NOUN ADJECTIVE SUFFIXES7. ADJECTIVE SUFFIXES IN BORROWED AND

NEO-CLASSICAL WORDS8. OTHER ADJECTIVE SUFFIXES9. ADVERB SUFFIXES

COMPLETE THE SENTENCES ACCORDING TO THE WORD

This _________ works for a gang.________ are very serious people.It is a small book. It is a _________I am smoking an expensive _______Her name is Sonia. She works as a

_________During my _________ I watched too

much TV

RACKET

LONDON

BOOK

CIGAR

WAITER

BOY

1. NOUN NOUN SUFFIXESSUFFIX ADDED TO

TO FORMMEANING EXAMPLES

- ster, - eer

Nouns to personal nouns

‘person engaged in an occupation or activity’

Gangster, gamesterEngineer, racketeer

- er Nouns to personal and inanimate nouns

Varied meanings:Having XInhabitant of XMaker of X

teenagerLondonerGlover

- let Countable nouns to countable nouns

‘small, unimportant’

Booklet, leaflet

- ette Nouns to nouns ‘small, compact’‘imitation(material)’‘Female’

CigaretteLeatheretteUsherette

- ess Animate nouns to animate nouns

‘Female’ Waitress, actress

1. NOUN NOUN SUFFIXES

SUFFIX ADDED TO TO FORM

MEANING EXAMPLES

- y Nouns to nouns Daddy, Johnny

- hood Nouns to abstract nouns ‘status’ Boyhood, brotherhood

- ship Nouns to abstract nouns ‘status, condition’

FriendshipMembership

- dom Nouns to abstract nouns ‘domain, realm, condition’

KingdomOfficialdom

- ocracy Nouns to abstract nouns ‘system of government’

DemocracyMeritocracy

- ery, -ry Chiefly nouns to:Abstract nounsConcrete nounsMass nouns

‘Behavior’‘place of activity’‘collectivity’

SlaveryRefineryMachinery

- Ing Countable nouns to mass nouns

The substance which N is composed

Matting, Tubbing

- ful Countable nouns to countable nouns

‘the amount which N contains’

Mouthful, Spoonful

COMPARISONSENGLISH SPANISHCOLOMBIAN DEMOCRACY

LA DEMOCRACIA COLOMBIANA

THE SYSTEM OF MERITOCRACY

EL SISTEMA DE MERITOCRACIA

COMPLETE THE TEXT WITH THE CORRECT WORD

“Al Jabab was a famous __________ politician who travelled to the visit the _________ people in America. Although he spoke _________, he did not speak English. He hired a translator named Pete and he had a sense of __________ towards him. At the end, Al Jabab’s __________on languages was to learn English by himself in order to save the money he paid to the translator”

ISRAEL

REPUBLICCHINA

LOYALIDEAL

2. NOUN/ADJECTIVE NOUN/ADJECTIVE SUFFIXES

SUFFIX ADDED TO TO FORM

MEANING EXAMPLES

- ite Chiefly names to personal nouns

Members of a communityMembers of a faction, sect or type

IsraeliteBrooklynite

- (i) an Chiefly proper nouns to:Personal and non-gradable adjectives

‘belonging to’

‘pertaining to’

IndonesianParisianElizabethanRepublican

- ese Chiefly proper nouns to:Personal nouns and non- gradable adjectives

‘Nationality’ ChinesePortugueseJapanese

- ist Noun/adjectives to personal noun/adjectives

‘member of a party, occupation’

RacialistLoyalist

- ism Noun/adjectives to abstract nouns

‘doctrine’ ‘point of view’ ‘political or artistic movement’

CalvinismIdealismAbsenteeism

COMPARISONS

ENGLISH SPANISHCALVINISM, IDEALISM, DUALISM

CALVINISMO, IDEALISMO, DUALISMO

RACIALIST, VIOLINIST, STYLIST

RACIALISTA, VIOLINISTA, ESTILISTA

COMPLETE WITH THE CORRECT SUFFIX

The person who writes is a writ__The person who participates in a

contest is a contest__The person who is employed in a

enterprise is an employ__The act of exploring is called explor____The act of being amazed is called

amaze___The act of refusing something is called

a refus__

3. VERB NOUN SUFFIXES

SUFFIX ADDED TO TO FORM

MEANING EXAMPLES

- er Mainly dynamic verbs to mainly personal nouns

Aggential suffix

Worker, writer, driver, silencer, window-cleaner

- ant Verbs to personal or impersonal nouns

Aggential suffix

Inhabitant, contestant, informant.

- ee Verbs to personal nouns Passive suffix Trainee, employee

- ation Verbs to abstract nounsCollective nouns

‘state’ ‘action’

‘institution’

Exploration

Foundation

- ment Verbs to chiefly abstract nouns

‘state’ ‘action’

Arrangement, amazement

- al Dynamic verbs to chiefly countable abstract nouns

‘action’ Refusal, revival, dismissal, upheaval

3. VERB NOUN SUFFIXES

SUFFIX ADDED TO TO FORM

MEANING EXAMPLES

- ing Verbs to:Abstract nounsConcrete nouns

‘activity’ ‘state’‘resultant from the activity of the verb’

Bathing, drivingPainting, building, opening

- age Verbs to mass abstract nouns

‘extent’ ‘amount’

Coverage, leverage, wastage

COMPARISONSENGLISH SPANISH

WORKER, WRITER, DRIVER

TRABAJADOR, ESCRITOR, CONDUCTOR

INHABITANT, CONTESTANT, INFORMANT

HABITANTE, CONCURSANTE, INFORMANTE

EXPLORATION, ORGANIZATION

EXPLORACIÓN, ORGANIZACIÓN

4. ADJECTIVE NOUN SUFFIXES

SUFFIX ADDED TO TO FORM

MEANING EXAMPLES

- ness Adjectives to abstract nouns

‘state’ ‘quality’ Meanness, happiness

- ity Adjectives to abstract nouns

‘state’ ‘quality’ Sanity, diversity, elasticity

COMPARISONS

ENGLISH SPANISHSANITY SANIDADDIVERSITY DIVERSIDADELASTICITY ELASTICIDAD

5. VERB SUFFIXES

SUFFIX ADDED TO TO FORM

MEANING EXAMPLES

- ify Nouns, adjectives to transitive verbs

‘causative’ Beautify, diversify, codify

- ize Nouns, adjectives to transitive verbs

‘causative’ Decimalize, symbolize

- en Adjectives to:Transitive verbs

Intransitive verbs

‘Make more causative’‘Become’

Ripen, widen, deafen, sadden, quicken

COMPARISONS

ENGLISH SPANISHDIVERSIFY, CODIFY, AMPLIFY

DIVERSIFICAR, CODIFICAR, AMPLIFICAR

HOSPITALIZE, LEGALIZE, MODERNIZE

HOSPITALIZAR, LEGALIZAR, MODERNIZAR

ACTIVITYMatching the root with the

correct suffixExplaining the meaning of the

suffix and how it modifies the root

Writing a sentence using the matched word

6. NOUN ADJECTIVE SUFFIXES

SUFFIX ADDED TO TO FORM

MEANING EXAMPLES

- ful Abstract nouns to gradable adjectives

‘full of…’ ‘having…’ ‘giving’

Useful, pitiful, successful, helpful

- less Nouns to adjectives ‘without’ ‘not giving’

Speechless, restless, careless

- ly Concrete nouns to gradable adjectives

‘Having the qualities of’

Beastly, manly, cowardly, worldly

- like Concrete nouns to gradable adjectives

‘Having the qualities of’

Childlike, cowlike, statesmanlike

- y Concrete mass nouns to gradable adjectives

‘like’ ‘full of’ ‘covered with’

Meaty, sandy, creamy, hairy

- ish Proper and countable nouns to:Non gradable andGradable adjectives

‘Belonging to’‘having the character of’

Swedish, TurkishFoolish, selfish, modish

COMPARISONS

ENGLISH SPANISHMEATY, SANDY, SILKY

CARNOSO, ARENOSO, SEDOSO

GROTESQUE, DANTESQUE

GROTESCODANTESCO

7. ADJECTIVE SUFFIXES IN BORROWED AND NEO-CLASSICAL WORDS

SUFFIX USED TO FORM EXAMPLES

- al, - ial, - ical Primarily non-gradable adjectives

Criminal, cultural, editorial, musical

- ic Gradable or non-gradable adjectives

Atomic, emphatic, heroic, specific

- ive, - ative, - itive Gradable or non-gradable adjectives

Attractive, explosive, productive, sensitive

- ous, - eous, - ious Primarily non-gradable adjectives

Ambitious, erroneous, vivaciousGrievous

INTERNET ACTIVITY

http://www.sadlier-oxford.com/phonics/grade2_3/suffixes/suffix.htm

8. OTHER ADJECTIVE SUFFIXES

SUFFIX ADDED TO TO FORM

MEANING EXAMPLES

- able Transitive verbs to adjectives

‘Passive’ Acceptable, readable

- ish Gradable adjectives to gradable adjectives

‘Somewhat’ Reddish, tallish, poorish

- ed Nouns or noun phrases to adjectives

‘having…’ Walled, pointed, giant-sized, blue eyed.

9. ADVERB SUFFIXESSUFFIX ADDED TO

TO FORMMEANING EXAMPLES

- Ly Adjectives to adverbs of manner, viewpoint

‘In a…manner’ Happily, strangely, oddly

- ward (s) Prepositional adverbs and nouns to adverbs of manner and direction

Manner and direction of movement

Onward, backwards, eastwards

- wise Nouns toAdverbs of manner

Viewpoint adverbs

‘In a manner of…’

‘as far as….is concerned’

Crabwise, clockwise.Weather-wise, education-wise

INTERNET ACTIVITY

http://elc.polyu.edu.hk/CiLL/eap/2004/u2/pg35suffixes.htm

Thank you for your

participation