Suffix

<h2 id="examples">Examples</h2>
<h3>English</h3>
<i>Girls</i>—where the suffix <i>-s</i> marks the <a href="/facts/Grammatical_number/zzs5AV6v">plurality</a>.
<i>He makes</i>—where suffix <i>-s</i> marks the <a href="/facts/Grammatical_person/PfUA43oU">third person</a> <a href="/facts/Grammatical_number/zzs5AV6v">singular</a> <a href="/facts/Present_tense/Dlum8nSr">present tense</a>.
<i>It closed</i>—where the suffix <i>-ed</i> marks the <a href="/facts/Past_tense/WkdWorjX">past tense</a>.
<i>It's brighter</i>—where the suffix <i>-er</i> marks the <a href="/facts/Comparative/qS94y639">comparative</a>.
<h3>French</h3>
<i>De beaux jours</i>—where the suffix <i>-x</i> marks the <a href="/facts/Plural/3VjXP7VF">plural</a>.
<i>Elle est passablement jolie </i>—where the suffix <i>-e</i> marks the <a href="/facts/Feminine/FoKgaGgk">feminine</a> form of the adjective.
<h3>German</h3>
<i>mein Computer</i>—where the lack of suffixes is because its case, nominative, is "unmarked"
<i>meines Computers</i>—genitive case
<i>meinem Computer</i>—dative case
<i>meinen Computer</i>—accusative case
<h3>Russian</h3>
<i>мой компьютер—</i>where the lack of suffixes is because its case, nominative, is "unmarked"
<i>моего компьютера</i>—genitive case
<i>моему компьютеру</i>—dative case
<i>мой компьютер</i>—accusative case
<i>за-туш-и-ть свечу</i>—where first word has -и- suffix, -ть ending (infinitive form); second word with ending -у (accusative case, singular, feminine).
<i>добр-о-жел-а-тель-н-ый</i>—добр- root, -о- interfix, -жел- root, verbal -a- interfix, nominal -тель suffix, adjectival -н- suffix, adjectival -ый ending (nominative case, singular, masculine).
<i>выда-ющ-ий-ся</i>—here suffix -ся (reflexive) is so-called postfix as it is placed after the adjectival ending.
<h3><a href="/facts/Barngarla_language/VFLbECpr">Barngarla</a></h3>
<i>wárraidya</i> "<a href="/facts/Emu/Ev9T0LjP">emu</a>" — where the lack of suffixes is because its grammatical number, singular, is "unmarked"
<i>wárraidyalbili</i> "two emus" — dual
<i>wárraidyarri</i> "emus" — plural
<i>wárraidyailyarranha</i> "a lot of emus", "heaps of emus" — superplural<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a>: 227–228 
<h2 id="inflectional-suffixes">Inflectional suffixes</h2>
<p><a href="/facts/Inflection/mhXSXpmJ">Inflection</a> changes the grammatical properties of a word within its <a href="/facts/Syntactic_category/5KqpcMEk">syntactic category</a>. In several languages, this is realized by an inflectional suffix, also known as desinence. In the example:
</p>
I was hoping the cloth wouldn't fade, but it has faded quite a bit.
<p>the suffix <i>-d</i> inflects the <a href="/facts/Root_(linguistics)/VwkvmJxn">root</a>-word <i>fade</i> to indicate past participle.
</p><p>Inflectional suffixes do not change the word class of the word after the inflection.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> Inflectional suffixes in Modern English include:
</p>
<h3>Verbs</h3>
<ul><li>-s third person singular simple present indicative active</li>
<li><a href="/facts/-ed/6oGpx1Mz">-ed</a> past tense and past participle</li>
<li>-t past tense (weak irregular)</li>
<li><a href="/facts/-ing/bL0wg9x2">-ing</a> present participle and gerund</li>
<li><a href="/facts/-en/rYxXQKaG">-en</a> <a href="/facts/Past_participle/rYxXQKaG">past participle</a> (irregular)</li></ul>
<h3>Nouns</h3>
<ul><li>-s plural number</li>
<li>-en plural number (irregular)</li></ul>
<h3>Adjectives and adverbs</h3>
<ul><li>-er <a href="/facts/Comparative_syntax_in_English/qS94y639">comparative</a> degree</li>
<li>-est <a href="/facts/Superlative/he1zw790">superlative</a> degree</li></ul>
<h2 id="derivation">Derivation</h2>
<p><a href="/facts/Derivation_(linguistics)/1ED86Ao8">Derivational</a> suffixes can be divided into two categories: class-changing derivation and class-maintaining derivation.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> In English, they include
</p>
<ul><li>-ly (usually changes adjectives into adverbs, but also some nouns into adjectives)</li>
<li>-al /-ual (usually changes nouns into adjectives)</li>
<li>-ic /-ical (usually changes nouns into adjectives)</li>
<li>-ish (usually changes nouns into adjectives/class-maintaining, with the word class remaining an adjective)</li>
<li>-ful (usually changes nouns into adjectives)</li>
<li>-oid (usually changes nouns into adjectives)</li>
<li>-like (usually changes nouns into adjectives)</li>
<li>-less (usually changes nouns into adjectives)</li>
<li>-able/-ible (usually changes verbs into adjectives)</li>
<li>-ant (usually changes verbs into nouns, often referring to a human agent)</li>
<li>-tion/-ion/-ation (usually changes verbs into nouns)</li>
<li>-ment (usually changes verbs into nouns)</li>
<li>-ity (usually changes adjectives into nouns)</li>
<li>-ness (usually changes adjectives into nouns)</li>
<li>-fy (usually changes nouns into verbs)</li>
<li>-ise/-ize (usually changes nouns into verbs)</li>
<li>-ess (usually class-maintaining, with the word class remaining a noun)</li>
<li>-ism (usually class-maintaining, with the word class remaining a noun)</li>
<li>-ist (usually class-maintaining, with the word class remaining a noun)</li>
<li>-hood (usually class-maintaining, with the word class remaining a noun)</li>
<li>-logy/-ology (usually class-maintaining, with the word class remaining a noun)</li>
<li>-um (usually) museum; stadium; auditorium; aquarium; planetarium; medium</li>
<li>-wise From wīse ("manner, way, condition, direction")</li></ul>
<h2 id="altered-pronunciation-in-english">Altered pronunciation in English</h2>
<p>A suffix will often change the stress or accent pattern of a multi-syllable word, altering the phoneme pattern of the root word even if the root's morphology does not change.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> An example is the difference between "photograph" and "photography". In this case, the "-y" ending governs the stress pattern, causing the primary stress to shift from the first syllable ("pho-") to the antepenultimate ("-to-"). The unaccented syllables have their ordinary vowel sound changed to a schwa. This can be a particular problem for dyslexics, affecting their phonemic awareness,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> as well as a hurdle for non-native speakers.
</p>

<h2 id="external-links">External links</h2>
<ul><li> Media related to Suffixes at Wikimedia Commons</li></ul>

<h2 id="references">References</h2>

<ol>
<li id="fn:1"><p>Mead, Jonathan (1993). Proceedings of the 11th West Coast Conference on Formal Linguistics. Center for the Study of Language (CSLI). ISBN 978-1-881526-12-4. <a href="978-1-881526-12-4" target="_blank">978-1-881526-12-4</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:2"><p>Kremer, Marion. 1997. Person reference and gender in translation: a contrastive investigation of English and German. Tübingen: Gunter Narr, p. 69, note 11. <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:3"><p>Marchand, Hans. 1969. The categories and types of present-day English word-formation: A synchronic-diachronic approach. Munich: Beck, pp. 356 ff. <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:4"><p>Zuckermann, Ghil'ad 2020, Revivalistics: From the Genesis of Israeli to Language Reclamation in Australia and Beyond, Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199812790 / ISBN 9780199812776 <a href="/wiki/Ghil%27ad_Zuckermann" target="_blank">/wiki/Ghil%27ad_Zuckermann</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:5"><p>Jackson and Amvela (2000): Word, Meaning and Vocabulary; An Introduction to Modern English Lexicology. London, Athenaeum Press, p. 83 <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:6"><p>Jackson and Amvela (2000): Word, Meaning and Vocabulary; An Introduction to Modern English Lexicology. London, Athenaeum Press, p. 88 <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:7"><p>Nancy K. Lewkowicz, "Pronouncing Longer Words:  Don't Begin at the Beginning". Journal of Reading, Vol. 29, No. 3 (Dec., 1985), 226–237. <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/40029663" target="_blank">https://www.jstor.org/stable/40029663</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:8"><p>"Dyslexia Help: Success Starts Here". University of Michigan. <a href="http://dyslexiahelp.umich.edu/professionals/learn-about-dyslexia/diagnosing-dyslexia" target="_blank">http://dyslexiahelp.umich.edu/professionals/learn-about-dyslexia/diagnosing-dyslexia</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
</ol>

Suffix open-in-new

Suffix