Suffixes

A suffix is a short group of letters added to the end of a word. Suffixes change what a word means or how it is used. For example, adding 'ful' to 'help' makes 'helpful'. Like prefixes, suffixes help us make new words.

Common Suffixes

English has many useful suffixes. 'Ed' often means the action happened in the past, like in 'walked'. 'Ing' means the action is happening now, like in 'walking'. 'Less' means without, like in 'fearless'. 'Er' can mean a person who does something, like in 'teacher'. Each suffix has its own job.

Changing Word Types

Suffixes can change a word from one type to another. For example, 'quick' is how something moves, but adding 'ly' makes 'quickly', which tells how. Adding 'ness' turns 'kind' into 'kindness', which is a thing. These changes help you use words in many different ways in sentences.

Fun Facts

• The suffix 'ology' means the study of something, like biology.
• Adding 'est' to a word means 'the most', like 'biggest'.
• Some suffixes come from old French or Latin words.

Did You Know?

One very long English word is 'antidisestablishmentarianism'. It has many suffixes and prefixes all stuck together in one word.