Suffix and Prefix

Adding Suffixes and Prefixes

Verb	Noun	Adjective	Adverb
Beautify	Beauty	Beautiful	Beautifully
*	Honesty	Honest	Honestly

1. Article + Adjective + Noun –

This is a beautiful garden. His novels gained a huge popularity.

2. Article + noun –

He has done well in the examination. The kingdom of knowledge is unlimited.

3. Possessive Pronoun + Abstract Noun / Noun –

His truthfulness surprises me much.   

4. Modal Auxiliary (can, could, may, might, must, shall, should, will, would, need, dear, ought to) + Verb –

I can help you learn English. We should respect our teachers.

5. Be Verb + Adjective-

I am happy.

6. Preposition + Noun –

The lack of determination leads one to lose his confidence. Failure is the pillar of success.

7. Remain, feel, become, make, see, go, turn, find, get, look + Adjective –

I feel drowsy. I find the task difficult. He always remains busy.  

8. And / But –

He is calm and quiet. He is poor but honest. They lead a life burdensome with cares and anxiety.  

9. An Adverb modifies verb, adjective and adverb itself in a sentence. The old man walks slowly. (Modifies verb) The old man walks very slowly. (Modifies Adverb) This is a nicely written letter.   (Modifies Adjective). He tries sincerely to succeed in life. Determination keeps you mentally strong. My mother is very affectionate to me.   

10. The + superlative degree –

Bangladesh is the most beautiful country in the world.

11. Verb + Noun –

Money cannot buy happiness.

12. Be Verb + Noun –

There is scarcity of water.

13. Adjective + Noun –

Bangladesh is rich in natural beauties because of her climatic advantages.

14. Possessive Pronoun + Adjective + Noun –

Bangladesh is rich in natural beauties because of her climatic advantages.

15. Noun and Noun, Adjective and Adjective, Adverb and Adverb:

We need to ensure safety and security.

16. Subject + Verb:

Moreover, the six seasons enrich her panoramic beauties.

17. Be Verb + Passive –

The tourists are enchanted with the natural beauties of Bangladesh. The tourists spots should be modernised and well-communicated. Moreover, the safety of the tourists must be ensured. There a lot of industries have been located. Some special arrangement is made for their entertainment.

18. Subject (noun) –

As a result, communication is disrupted.

19. Preposition + Adjective + Noun –

The Japanese don’t try to gain anything through unfair means.   

20. Verb + Adverb + Adjective –

To remain physically fit, he has to avoid unhealthy food.

  

ENGLISH PREFIXES

Fore (before): forecast, foretell.

Gain (against): gainsay.

In (in): income, inland, inlay.

Mis (wrong, wrongly):  misdeed, mislead,

Over (above, beyond): overflow, overcharge

To-, this; to-day, to-night, to-morrow.

Un- not; untrue, unkind, unholy.

Un (to reverse an action): untie, undo, unfold.

Under (beneath, below): undergo, under ground.

With (against, back) withdraw, withstand.

Note:- There are only two prefixes of English origin that are still applied freely to new words, mis and un, the former with the force of the adjective bad and the latter with the force of a negative.

LATIN PREFIXES

Ab, (a, abs) d from, away; abuse, avert, abstract.

Ante (anti, an) (before) d antedate, anticipate, ancestor.

Con (col, com, cor) with, together; d contend, collect, combine, correct.

Contra (counter), (against;) d contradict, counteract, counterfeit.

Dis, (dif, di), apart; d disjoin, differ, divide.

Demi, half d demigod.

Extra (beyond) d extraordinary, extravagant.

In (il, im, ir), (not) d insecure, illegal, imprudent, irregular.

Male (mal), (ill, badly) d malevolent, malcontent.

Non (not) nonsense.  

Pre, (before) d prefix, prevent, predict.

Re, (back, again) d reclaim, refund, renew, return.

Semi (half) d semicircle, semicolon.

Super (above) d superfine, superfluous.

Vice, in the place of; viceroy, d vice-president

GREEK PREFIXES

A (an), without, not d atheist, apathy, anarchy. 

Anti (ant), against d antipathy, antagonist. 

Arch (archi) chief d archbishop, archangel, 

Auto (self) d autocrat, autobiography, autograph. 

Dia (through) d diagonal, diameter. 

En (em), in, d encyclopaedia, emblem. 

Eu, (well) d eulogy, euphony, eugenics. 

Ex (ec), (out of) d exodus, eccentric. 

Hemi, half d hemisphere. 

Homo (hom), like d homogeneous, homonym. 

Hyper (over, beyond) d hyperbole, hypercritical

Hypo (under) d hypothesis, hypocrite 

Mono (alone, single) d  monoplane, monopoly. 

ENGLISH SUFFIXES

 

OF NOUNS

(1) Denoting agent or doer

-- er (-ar, -or, -yer) beggar, sailor, lawyer

-- ter (-ther) ; daughter, father.

(2) Denoting state, action, condition, being, etc.

-- dom d freedom, martyrdom, wisdom.

-- hood (-head) d manhood, childhood, godhead.

-- lock (-ledge) d wedlock, knowledge.

-- ness d darkness, boldness, goodness, sweetness.

-- red d  kindred, hatred.

-- ship d hardship, friendship, lordship.

-- th d health, stealth

  

(3) Forming Diminutives.

-- el (-le) d satchel, kernel, girdle, handle.

-- en d maiden, kitten, chicken.

-- let d leaflet.

-- ling d duckling, darling, stripling, weakling.

-- lock d hillock, bullock.

OF ADJECTIVES

-- ed, having d gifted, talented, wretched, learned.

-- en, made of d wooden, golden, earthen.

-- fid, full of d hopeful, fruitful, joyful.

-- ish, somewhat like d boorish, reddish, girlish.

-- less, free from, without  d fearless, shameless,

-- ly, like d manly, godly, sprightly.

-- some, with the quality of d gladsome, quarrelsome.

-- ward, inclining to d forward, wayward.

-- y, with the quality of d healthy, greedy, thirsty, dirty.

OF VERBS

-- en, d weaken, sweeten, gladden, deaden,

-- se, d to make ; cleanse, rinse.

-- er, d chatter, glitter, glimmer, fritter, flutter.

OF ADVERBS

-- ly, like ; d boldly, wisely.

-- long, d headlong, sidelong.

-- ward, (-wards), d homeward, backwards,

-- way, (-ways); d straightway, anyway, always.

-- wise, manner, mode ; d likewise, otherwise.

Note:- We still feel the force of a few English suffixes. These are:-

-- er, denoting the actor or agent; as d driver.

-- hood d boyhood.

-- ness, ship, th, d loveliness, friendship, truth.

-- en, ful, ish, less, ly, some, ward, y, adjective and adverb, endings ; as, d golden, hopeful, oldish, helpless, manly, lonesome, homeward, mighty.

LATIN SUFFIXES

OF NOUNS

 (1) Denoting chiefly the agent or doer of a thing.

-- ain (-an, -en, -on) ; chieftain, artisan, citizen, surgeon. 

-- air, (-er, -eer, -ier, -ary ); preacher, engineer, financier, missionary.

-- ate (-ee, -ey, -y) ; advocate, trustee, attorney, deputy.

-- or, (-our, -eur, -er); emperor, saviour, amateur, inteipreter.

(2) Denoting state, action, result of an action.

-- age d bondage, marriage, breakage, leakage.

-- ance (-ence) d  assistance, excellence, innocence.

-- cy d fancy, accuracy, lunacy, bankruptcy.

-- ion d action, opinion, union.

-- ice (-ise) d service, cowardice, exercise.

-- ent d punishment, judgement, improvement.

-- mony d parsimony, matrimony, testimony.

-- tude d servitude, fortitude, magnitude.

-- ty d cruelty, frailty, credulity.

-- ure d pleasure, forfeiture, verdure.

-- y d misery, victory.

(3) Forming diminutives.

-- cule (-ule, -eel, -sel, -el, -le); animalcule, globule, parcel, damsel, chapel, circle.

-- et; d owlet, lancet, trumpet. 

-- ette ;  d cigarette, coquette.

(4) Denoting place.

-- ary (-ery, -ry); d dispensary, library, nunnery, treasury. 

-- ter (tre) ; d cloister; theatre.

OF ADJECTIVES

-- al d  national, legal, regal, mortal, fatal.

-- an (-ane) d human, humane, mundane.

-- ar d familiar, regular.

-- ary d contrary, necessary, ordinary, honorary.

-- ate d  fortune, temperature, obstinate.

-- ble (-ible, able) d  feeble, sensible, laughable.

-- esque; d  picturesque, grotesque.

-- id; d humid, vivid, lucid.

-- ile; d servile, fragile, juvenile.

-- ine; d feminine, canine, feline, divine.

-- ive; d active, attentive, shortive

-- lent; d corpulent, indolent, turbulent, virulent.

-- ose (ous); d dangerous, onerous, copious.

OF VERBS

-- ate; d  assassinate, captivate, exterminate. 

-- esce; d acquiesce, effervesce. 

-- fy; d simplify, purify, fortify, sanctify, terrify.

-- ish; d publish, nourish, punish, banish.

GREEK SUFFIXES

-- ic (-ique); d angelic, cynic, phonetic, unique.

-- ist; d artist, chemist.

-- isk; d asterisk, obelisk.

-- ism (-asm); d patriotism, despotism, enthusiasm.

-- ize; d civilize, sympathize, criticize.

-- sis (-sy); d crisis, analysis, heresy, poesy.

-- e (-y); d catastrophe, monarchy, philosophy.     '

Note:- We still feel the force of a number of suffixes of foreign, origin. These are :-  

Ee (French), added to nouns to denote, usually, the person who takes a passive share in an action; as, d employee, payee, legatee, mortgagee, trustee, referee.

Or, ar, er, eer, ier, denoting a person who perfoms a certain actor function; as, d emperor, scholar, officer, engineer, gondolier.

Ist, denoting a person who follows a certain trade or pursuit; as, d chemist, theosophist, artist, nihilist.

Ism, forming abstract nouns; as, d patriotism

Ble, forming adjectives that have usually a passive sense; as, d tolerable, bearable.

Ize orise, forming verbs from nouns and adjectives; as, d crystallize, moralize, baptize.

Md. Saiful Alam

B. A. Honours and M. A. in English

Lecturer of English

Queen’s College, Dhaka

E-mail: suman64924@gmail.com

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