Suffix

Suffix is a morpheme that is added at the end of a word to form a derivative (e.g. *-ation*, *-fy*, *-ing*, *-itis*). Suffixes may be derivational, like English *-ness* and *-ation*, or inflectional, like English plural *-s* and past tense *-ed*. They can carry grammatical information (inflectional suffixes) or lexical information (derivational suffixes). An inflectional suffix often changes the grammatical function of a word. A derivational suffix usually applies a distinct semantic effect, such as creating a new word or changing grammatical function.

Types of Suffixes

Suffixes come in two distinct types: inflectional and derivational.

Inflectional Suffixes

Inflectional suffixes change the grammatical function of a word. For example, in English, the '-s' suffix can be added to a noun to indicate plurality (e.g. cat/cats), or to a verb to indicate third person singular present tense (e.g. run/runs).

Derivational Suffixes

Derivational suffixes create new words or change grammatical function. For example, the suffix '-ness' can be added to an adjective to form a noun (e.g. happy/happiness), and the suffix '-ly' can be added to an adjective to form an adverb (e.g. quick/quickly).

Examples

Suffixes are used in many languages, including English. Here are some examples of suffixes and their functions:

• '-ed' is an inflectional suffix used to indicate past tense in English verbs (e.g. play/played).
• '-ing' is an inflectional suffix used to indicate present participle in English verbs (e.g. run/running).
• '-ness' is a derivational suffix used to form nouns from adjectives (e.g. happy/happiness).
• '-ly' is a derivational suffix used to form adverbs from adjectives (e.g. quick/quickly).

See also

• Prefix
• Affix
• Morphology (linguistics)

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