A. Typical noun suffixes:
1. (NOUNS INDICATING PERSONS) -er, as in - driver, employer, examiner, writer, player, occupier, runner, beginner, traveller and in compounds, on the pattern of shopkeeper, wage-earner, music lover. -er may sometimes indicate the thing that performs the action, as in cooker, dryer, lighter, roller, screwdriver, tape-recorder. -or, instead of -er, as in - actor, collector, editor, protector, sailor, visitor. -ее, as in - employee (someone who is employed); examinee, referee (someone who is referred to), refugee (someone who is forced to take refuge). -ar, as in - beggar, liar; -ant, as in - assistant, attendant, servant -ist, as in - chemist, scientist, typist.
- (abstract nouns derived from verbs)
-age, eg - breakage, drainage, leakage -al, eg - approval, arrival, refusal -ANCE, eg - acceptance, appearance, performance -ery, eg- delivery, discovery, recovery -ment, eg - agreement, arrangement, employment -sion, eg - collision, decision, division -tion, eg - education, organisation, attention, solution -ure, eg - departure, failure, closure 3. (abstract NOUNS DERIVED FROM ADJECTIVES) -ance, -ence, eg - importance; absence, presence -ity, eg - ability, activity, equality -ness, eg - darkness, happiness, kindness -th, eg - length, strength, truth
B. Typical adjectival suffixes: - able, eg - comfortable, drinkable, eatable, unsteerable; (regret) regrettable, (forget) unforgettable (but'preferable1), (rely) reliable, (deny) undeniable, (note) notable, (love) lovable', (but, when the base ends in -ee,-ce or –ge) agreeable, manageable, noticeable -al, eg. - cultural, medical, musical -ible, eg. - legible, sensible, visible -1C, eg. -atomic, heroic, scientific -ish, eg. - childish, foolish, selfish. The suffix -ish is often added, especially to adjectives of colour, eg - brownish, whitish, reddish, to convey the meaning 'not definitely brown but approaching that condition or quality'. -ive, eg. - attractive, expensive, productive -ful, eg. - careful, useful. beautiful but playful, skilful, wilful -less, eg. - careless, helpless, useless', -ly, eg. - brotherly, deadly, elderly, fatherly, friendly, goodly, likely, lively, lonely, lovely, lowly, motherly, poorly, -OUS, eg. - dangerous, poisonous, (courage) courageous; (space) spacious; (vigour) vigorous; gaseous, piteous -Y, eg. - dirty, dusty, sleepy, funny, muddy, woody, woolly, stony. Many adjectives are formed on this model, especially when the base is a monosyllabic mass noun. Other typical adjective endings are found in suburban, elegant, circular, wooden, dependent, martial, economical, pretentious.
C. Typical verb suffixes: -ate, pronounced /eit/, as in - approximate, calculate, educate, estimate, separate. -en, added mainly to monosyllabic adjectives or nouns: adjective verb black fat wide blacken fatten widen. NOUN height length strength heighten lengthen strengthen -ify, as in - certify, identify, simplify -ise, -ize (preferred thus in American English), as in - modernise, publicise, recognise. D. Typical adverbial suffixes: -LY, eg. – clearly, frequently, recently, careful(ly), skilful(ly), civil(ly), cool(ly), (busy) busily, (happy) happily, (dry) drily, (day) daily, (gay) gaily, (able) ably, (suitable) suitably, (gentle) gently, (simple) simply, (wise) wisely, (sole) solely, (due) duly, (true) truly, (whole) wholly; eg: ' 1. Your writing is clear. You write clearly. 2. Frequent accidents are those that happen frequently. 3 .Recent events are those that have occurred recently. -ALLY, eg. - automatic(ally) basic(ally) scientific(ally) A-, eg - aboard, abreast, abroad, afar, afresh, aloud, anew, apart, ashore, aside, astray, as in: aboard 4 They have gone abroad astray.