It is important to note that a suffix is an element that is attached to a word and in most cases changes the meaning of the word and its role in speech.
As a rule, noun suffixes in English are combined with specific words that you just need to remember. However, there are a number of rules that must be followed in order to be fluent in the language.
How many suffixes does English have?
There are a huge number of noun suffixes in English, and they all have their own meaning. Therefore, it is very important to understand them. You need to know that usually suffixes in English remain unstressed, but in certain situations they have primary stress throughout the word.
It is important to note that there are:
- The word-forming suffixes of nouns in English are responsible for creating new words that carry a different meaning. For example, the word collect, which means to collect when the suffix or is added, takes on a new meaning collector, which means collector.
- Formative suffixes are responsible for transforming a word into another form,for example, in the past. For example, the word cook, which in translation means cook, when adding the suffix ed, takes on the past form without losing the meaning of the word itself (cooked - cooked). There are only 5 such suffixes in English.
Using suffixes er, or, ar
These suffixes of nouns in English, as a rule, are attached to verbs and give the word the meaning of the performer of the action. Also, the suffixes er, or, ar can be used to designate a tool that performs a specific action. It is necessary to give a few examples to understand the situation clearly:
- Take the verb play, the translation of which is "play" and add the suffix er. As a result, we get the noun player, the translation of which is "player". In this example, you can see the difference when adding a suffix, because the word play, the translation of which was the word "play" turned into a noun player, the translation of which is "player".
- The verb collect (to collect) when adding the suffix or takes on the meaning of "collector".
- If you add the suffix ar to the verb beg, which means "to ask", the word will turn into a noun with the meaning "beggar".
The important point is that words such as father, brother, sister, daughter also apply to this rule, despite the fact that their meaning does not indicate their occupation. Although, to some extent, the logic is present here.
As for the rules of spelling, it is necessary to recall that there are verbs ending in the consonant e. In such a case, when adding the suffix er, only one letter r is added.
Interestingly, translators often have to resort to descriptive translation when they encounter these suffixes. For example, the noun lifter is often translated as a lifting device, or the word timer is translated as a device that calculates time.
Another interesting fact is that nouns that have the or suffix are often of French or Latin origin. For example, doctor, actor, etc.
Suffix -ist in English
The ist suffix is very popular, it gives the word the meaning of a professional figure in a scientific or political direction. This suffix in English is identical to our "ist", which has a similar meaning in Russian. The suffix ist can be attached to both nouns and adjectives.
Let's give an illustrative example when this suffix is used to denote a professional figure. For example, the noun psyshologist, the equivalent of which in Russian is the word "psychologist".
This suffix can also be used with musical instruments to indicate who plays them. For example, according to this principle, the word pianist was formed, which means "pianist" in translation.
The ist suffix can be used todesignation of the person who has a negative attitude towards a certain group of people, direction in society. A great example of this situation is the word racist, which means "racist" in translation.
Suffix -ian in English
This suffix can indicate the Latin or Greek origin of a certain word. The English use this suffix for:
- Designations of nationality or belonging to a particular country. For example, russian - Russian, Russian; ukrainian - Ukrainian, Ukrainian; bulgarian - Bulgarian, Bulgarian.
- This suffix can also be used to denote professions, but this is quite rare. For example, musician - a musician; librarian - librarian.
It is necessary to remember that nouns and adjectives, which indicate belonging to a particular country, nationality, are always capitalized in English, regardless of the suffix. This rule applies to all adjectives and nouns denoting nationality, and these words can have absolutely any suffix.
It's important to note that currently words with the ian suffix can also be translated as adjectives.
The suffix an is also related to the ian suffix, but this suffix is not so common. But it is worth noting that a fairly large number of words are formed with the suffix an and are actively used both in colloquial speech and in the official one.
Suffix -ing in English
This suffix forms nouns from verbs. The presence of the ing suffix can indicate:
- Action. For example, meet - meeting, meet - meeting.
- Result. For example, proceed - proceeding, continue - practice.
- Process. For example, build - building, build - construction.
- Material. For example, wad - wadding, stuffing - stuffing.
However, it is worth understanding the difference between gerund, verb and participle. All of them are used with the ending ing, but the differences between them are very significant. They show up in usage and meaning.
The suffix ing is, of course, also used for adjectives. First, adjectives with this suffix describe the subject to which they refer. For example, "interesting trip" would be translated as interesting trip.
This suffix can be used to indicate a reason. For example, something boring would translate as something boring.
Suffixes -ment, -ion, -ism in English
A number of these morphemes have similar properties. These suffixes can carry meaning:
- Movement, result or state. A vivid example is the verb move, which means "move" in translation. When the suffix - ment is added, it turns into a noun and acquires a new meaning - movement, which means "movement" in translation;
- Suffix - ism candesignate a system of views and beliefs. For example, racism (racism, racist), communism (communism);
- The suffix - ion can also have the meaning of action, process or result. For example, revolution - revolution; isolation - isolation; restriction - restriction. The presence of this suffix always indicates a Latin origin.
Suffix -ess in English
This suffix plays a very important role in the word formation of the English language, because it forms feminine nouns. For example, the noun poet, when adding the suffix -ess, takes the form of poetess and takes on the feminine gender, these words are translated as: "poet-poetess" or the noun sreward - the steward, with this suffix, becomes stewardess and takes on the feminine form.
This suffix is also called the "feminine" suffix because it is one of the few suffixes for the formation of feminine nouns.
Suffixes -hood, -ship in English
These suffixes indicate the age, relationship and condition of the person. In English, the use of these suffixes is a very popular phenomenon. A vivid example of this are words, for example, childhood, which translates as "childhood", motherhood, which means "motherhood", friendship, translated as "friendship".
It is important to note that the suffix - ship indicates a certain group, united by some sign or signs. This suffix can also indicateon the state of the relationship, for example, partnership, which means "partnership" in translation. Indicates a rank or position, such as lordship, which translates as "lordship". The suffix - ship can define skills or abilities, a vivid example of this is the word horsemanship, which, translated from English into Russian, will mean "the art of riding".
Morphemes -ness and -th
As for the suffix - ness, it serves to create nouns from adjectives. A striking example is the word cuteness, which translates as "attractiveness" is formed from the adjective "attractive", which in English will sound like cute.
The suffix - th plays an important role, because it indicates a noun with a quality value. For example, truth - truth, he alth - he alth.
Of course, there are a lot of different suffixes in English that have different meanings, but the article shows the most used of them.
