It is important to note that the suffix is an element that is attached to the word, and in most cases changes the meaning of the word and its role in speech.
As a rule, suffixes of nouns in the English language are combined with specific words that simply need to be remembered. However, there are a number of rules that must be followed for competent language proficiency.
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 the English language remain unstressed, but in certain situations they have primary stress in the whole word.
It is important to note that there are:
- Word-forming suffixes of nouns in the English language are responsible for creating new words that have a different meaning. For example, the word collect , which in translation means to collect when adding the suffix or , 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 means cooking, when you add the suffix ed , takes on its past form without losing the meaning of the word ( 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. The suffixes er, or, ar can also be used to indicate a tool that performs a specific action. It is necessary to give a few examples in order 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 , whose translation 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", has turned into a noun player , the translation of which is "player".
- The verb collect (collect) when adding the suffix or takes on the meaning of "collector".
- If you add the suffix ar to the verb beg , which means “ask,” in translation, then the word will turn into a noun with the meaning “beggar”.
An important point is that words such as father, brother, sister, daughter also apply to this rule, despite the fact that their meaning does not mean their occupation. Although, to some extent, logic is present here.
As regards spelling rules, it is necessary to recall that there are verbs ending in a consonant e . In this case, when adding the suffix er , only one letter r is added.
Interestingly, translators often have to resort to descriptive translations when they encounter these suffixes. For example, the noun lifter is often translated as a lifter, or the word timer is translated as a device that calculates time.
Another interesting fact is that nouns that have the suffix or are often of French or Latin origin. For example, doctor, actor , etc.
The suffix -ist in English
The suffix ist 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 ist suffix can be attached to both nouns and adjectives.
We give a clear example when this suffix is used to denote a professional figure. For example, the noun psyshologist , the equivalent of which in the Russian language is the word "psychologist".
This suffix can also be used with musical instruments to indicate who plays them. For example, by this principle the word pianist was formed , which means “pianist” in translation.
The suffix ist can be used to denote a person who has a negative attitude to a certain group of people, a direction in society. An excellent example of this situation is the word racist , which means racist.
-Ian suffix in English
This suffix may indicate the Latin or Greek origin of a particular word. For the British, this suffix is used for:
- Nationality or country affiliation. For example, russian - Russian, Russian; ukrainian - Ukrainian, Ukrainian; bulgarian - Bulgarian, Bulgarian.
- This suffix can also be used to refer to professions, but this is a rather rare occurrence. For example, musician is a musician; librarian is a librarian.
It must be remembered that nouns and adjectives that indicate belonging to a particular country, nationality, in English are constantly written with a capital letter, regardless of the suffix. This rule applies to all adjectives and nouns denoting nationality, and these words can have absolutely any suffix.
It is important to note that currently, words with the suffix ian can also be translated as adjectives.
The relative suffix ian also includes the suffix an , but this suffix is not so common. But it is worth noting that a fairly large number of words are formed using the suffix an and are actively used both in colloquial speech and in official.
The suffix -ing in English
This suffix forms nouns from verbs. The presence of the suffix ing may indicate:
- Act. For example, meet - meeting, meet - meeting.
- Result . For example, proceed - proceeding, continue - practice.
- Process . For example, build - building, build - construction.
- The material . For example, wad - wadding, stuff - stuffing.
However, it is worth understanding the difference between gerund, verb, and participle. All of them are used with the ending ing , however, the differences between them are very significant. They appear in use and in meaning.
The ing suffix, of course, is also used to denote adjectives. First, adjectives with this suffix describe the subject to which they relate. For example, an interesting trip will translate as an interesting trip .
This suffix can be used to indicate a cause. For example, something boring will translate as something boring .
Suffixes -ment, -ion, -ism in English
A number of these morphemes have similar properties. These suffixes can make sense:
- Movement, result or condition. A striking example is the verb move , which in translation means "move". When a suffix is added, ment becomes a noun and acquires a new meaning - movement , which in translation means "movement";
- Suffix - ism can refer to a belief system. For example, racism (racism, racist), communism (communism);
- The suffix - ion can also have the meaning of an action, a process, or a result. For example, revolution is revolution; isolation - isolation; restriction - restriction. The presence of this suffix always speaks of Latin origin.
-Ess suffix in English
This suffix plays a very important role in the derivation of the English language, because it forms feminine nouns. For example, the noun poet, when adding the suffix - ess takes on the form poetess and takes on the feminine gender, these words are translated as: "poet-poetess" or the noun sreward - the steward, with this suffix, becomes a 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 is the word, for example, childhood , which translates as "childhood," motherhood , translated as "motherhood," friendship , translated as "friendship."
It is important to note that the - ship suffix indicates a specific group, united by any sign or signs. Also, this suffix can indicate the state of relations, for example, partnership , which means “partnership”. Indicates a rank or position, for example, lordship , which translates as "lordship." The suffix - ship can define abilities or skills; the word horsemanship is a striking example, which in translation from English into Russian will mean "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" derived from the adjective "attractive", which in English will sound like cute .
The suffix - th plays an important role, because it indicates a noun with the meaning of quality. For example, truth is truth, health is health.
Of course, in English there are a huge number of different suffixes that have different meanings, but the article shows the most used of them.