SUFFIXES

A suffix changes the meaning of the word it is joined to by changing its part of speech; e.g. we can add –ity to the adjective national to make the noun nationality.

We often need to change the spelling, for example, urgent becomes urgency.

A few suffixes, particularly at the end of adjectives, have meaning; e.g. –less always indicates ‘without’: meaningless, homeless, hopelessly.

Here are the most common noun suffixes you should remember. Nouns are mostly made from verbs, adjectives or other nouns by adding a suffix.

Noun formation

Suffix	Meaning	Example
- er, -or	обозначение деятеля	worker, doctor, speaker
- ness	свойство, качество	darkness, kindness, happiness
- ty, ity	абстрактные существительные	gravity, activity, equality
- ment	абстрактные существительные	development, treatment
-ion, -tion, -sion,-ssion	абстрактные существительные	revision, commission, revolution
-ance, -ence	абстрактные существительные (процесс, состояние, свойство)	importance, difference, ignorance, distance, silence
-ancy, -ency, -cy	абстрактные существительные (качество, состояние или условие)	expectancy, vacancy, tendency, legacy, privacy
-ery, -ary, -ry	абстрактные и собирательные существительные	machinery, soldiery, jewellery
-dom	абстрактные и собирательные существительные	kingdom, freedom, boredom, wisdom
-ure, -ture,-sure	отглагольное существительное	pressure, mixture, departure, failure
-al	отглагольное существительное	denial, refusal, proposal
-hood	абстрактные существительные	motherhood, brotherhood, childhood
-ship	абстрактные существительные (отношение к чему-либо)	friendship, relationship, fellowship
-th	1. отглагольные существительные со значением процесса, состояния 2. качества, свойства абстрактного понятия	1. death, breath truth, length, width
-ism	абстрактные существительные	Marxism, socialism
-an, -ian	1.национальная принадлежность 2. профессия	1. Russian, American 2. electrician, technician, politician
-ist	1. принадлежность к какому-либо течению; 2) профессия	moralist, terrorist, communist artist, dentist
--ant,-ent	обозначение деятеля	applicant, servant, accountant, assistant, student
-ful	значение объема	handful, spoonful, pocketful
-let	значение уменьшительности	booklet, leaflet
-age	акт или факт действия (от глаголов)	breakage, leakage, marriage, usage
-ess	принадлежность к женскому роду	actress, lioness, stewardess, waitress
-ee	лицо, на которое направлено действие	payee, interviewee, employee, trainee, refugee
-ics	принадлежность к науке	physics, mechanics, mathematics
-our	состояние или деятельность	labour, behaviour
-y	абстрактные и собирательные существительные (от глаголов)	discovery, emergency, inquiry
-ique	существительные французского происхождения	technique, boutique

EXERCICES

1. Use the word in bold to form the noun which refers to the person who does that job.

1. A person who acts for a living is called an ____________________________.

2. A _______________________is someone who earns money from writing music.

3. She didn't become famous as a ______________until her 17th novel was published.

4. At the end of the interview the _______________asked if he could be shown around the company.

5. The waiter asked the _____________________ if she would help him deal with a difficult customer.

6. An _______________________is someone who will be able to go through your accounts and work out how much money you have.

7. Football is popular all over the world and many boys want to become ______________________.

8. He works 12 hours a day. He is a hard ________________________.

9. She used to be a good ______________________, she swam a lot when she was young.

10. My mother works in the library, she’s a very efficient _____________________ .

11. Politics is Nina’s favourite sphere – she wants to become a ____________________ .

12. Ann is studying history. She is a good __________________________.

13. I can’t play the piano. I’m not a ______________________.

14. Patrick assists me in my work. He is my __________________________.

15. He deals with many economic problems. He is an ___________________ by profession.

2. Guess the occupation of each person.

1. I help people to learn things. T - - - - - -

2. I show customers the menu and bring them their food. W - - - - -

3. People come to my shop to buy medicine. C - - - - - -

4. I will repair your car for you. M - - - - - - -

5. If you want to change the colour of your room, I will do it for you. P - - - - - -

6. I help my boss by answering the phone, making appointments and writing letters.

S - - - - - - - -

7. I can operate an airplane. P - - - -

8. My duty is to receive visitors at the entrance of the office. R - - - - - - - - - - -

9. I can show you round the most interesting sights of a city. G - - - -

10. I am good at constructing bridges and buildings. E - - - - - - -

3. Complete the definitions as in the example.

1. An actor is a person who acts in films, plays and on TV.

2. A murderer is a person who …………………………………………………….… .

3. A ballet dancer is a person who ………………………………………………… .

4. A film director is …………………………………………………………………. .

5. A bank manager is …………………………………………….…………………… .

6. An employer is …………………………………………………………………... .

7. A pop singer is ………………………………………………………………….. .

8. A translator is …………………………………………………………………….. .

9. A lorry driver is…………………………………………………………………….. .

10. A photographer is …………………………………………………………………. .

11. An artist is ………………………………………………………………………… .

12. A teacher is ………………………………………………………………………… .

4. – ER or – EE? Choose the correct variant.

1. The first fully printed banknote in England was issued in 1855 – until that time the cashier had to write the name of the payer / payee and sign each note individually.

2. Tax payers / payees are not satisfied with the tax system in Russia.

3. There are many programs which a trainee / trainer can receive to get a better idea of the company and the job.

4. I applied for the job of personnel trainee / trainer.

5. All employees / employers at our company are high-skilled professionals.

6. Employees / Employers are mostly interested in your experience and suitability for the job.

7. The interviewer / interviewee was asked if he had any questions or points he would like to know.

8. The interviewer / interviewee asked dummy questions to see the applicant’s ability to react.

9. Examiners / examinees are subject to different practical tests.

10. My examiner / examinee was a very strict professor.

11. When a received the letter I couldn’t recall the addressee / addresser at first.

12. “Addressee / addresser not known” was written on the envelope.

13. The Trustee / Truster Savings Bank was a British financial institution which specialized in accepting savings deposits from the poor.

14. A trustee / truster invests people with power of attorney.

5. Complete the sentences with nouns formed from verbs, adjectives or other nouns in italics.

1. I decided this. It was my ___________________________.

2. Don’t be so anxious. Control your _______________________________.

3. Ann is a socialist. She believes in _______________________________.

4. We all want to be happy. We all need ___________________________.

5. Her health has improved. The _____________________________is very noticeable.

6. Who discovered this? Who made this __________________________?

7. We’ll all arrive. Meet us on _______________________________.

8. I was a child then. That was in my ______________________________.

9. She’s absent. Can you explain her __________________________________?

10. Be more efficient. Improve your ______________________________________.

11. Don’t be so curious. Control your ___________________________________.

12. I refused their offer. My _______________________________________was final.

13. Can you explain it? Is there an _____________________________________?

14. Don’t argue. I don’t want an ________________________________________.

15. We couldn’t agree. We didn’t come to the _______________________________.

16. We investigated the murder. During this _________________________we questioned many people.

17. He suggested that I study French. I liked his ____________________________.

6. Make nouns from these words.

1. My teacher says there has been a big (IMPROVE)_______________________ in my English lately.

2. The recipe says you only need to add a (SPOON) ______________________of salt.

3. Why did you do that? I thought you had more (INTELLIGENT) ______________________than that.

4. The singer gave a brilliant (PERFORM) _____________________on stage yesterday.

5. Have you seen her magazine (COLLECT) _____________________? She must have over 200 editions.

6. On hearing the news, everyone was overcome with a feeling of (SAD) ____________________________ .

7. You will be given marks for your (ACCURATE) ______________________and also on how fluent you are.

8. She has the (ABLE) ______________________ to pass the exam first time round providing she works hard.

7. Make abstract nouns from the words in the box. Put them in the correct columns.

absurd achieve adult combine complex deep excite free friend friendly generous imagine member mother owner prosperous recognize tender ugly wide wise
-ment	-ion	-ness	-ship	-ity	-dom	-hood	-th

8. Complete the sentences by forming an abstract noun from the word in brackets.

1. His face was so red with anger that I thought he would have a heart attack (ANGRY).

2. The cat purred with ______________________ as it drank the cream ( SATISFY).

3. Rose has a rather difficult _________________________ with her father (RELATE).

4. His writing shows a great deal of ____________________________ (SENSITIVE).

5. Sal hasn’t ever known true_______________________________ with Bill (HAPPY).

6. Dick hasn’t much of a sense of ____________________________(HUMOROUS).

7. Patrick is looking forward to his __________________________________(RETIRE).

8. Penny always showed great __________________________________ to me (KIND).

9. I wonder if women will ever achieve full __________________________ (EQUAL).

10. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced _______________________________ (BORE).

11. This work is spoilt by the student’s ___________________________ (CARELESS).

9. Complete the word in each sentence with a suffix from the box.

-er -let -ess -hood -ship -ful -ery

1. After two years of friendship, Kate got to know David really well.

2. If you don’t speak the language you feel more like a foreign ….…… .

3. Sarah spent a very happy child ……. …on a small island.

4. I asked a steward ……….. what time the plane arrived.

5. Every teenage ………….. knows that parents worry a lot.

6. Don’t forget to add a spoon ………….. of sugar and some milk.

7. We live in a beautiful neighbour ………….. on the outskirts of the city.

8. Tina picked up a hand …………..of snow and threw it in my face.

9. Under the floor there was a rumbling sound of machine…….…….. .

10. The college sent Sue a small book …………….. describing its courses.

10. Complete the sentences with a noun ending in –NESS made from a word in the box. Make any necessary changes.

dark friendly happy lonely short sick silly thin tired thorough

1. The shortness of the journey surprised me, as I thought it would be longer.

2. Sue was impressed by the _____________________ of everyone in her new school.

3. We knew it was going to rain because of the _____________________ of the sky.

4. Old Mrs. Holt’s ______________________ was cured when she was given a pet cat.

5. The doctor told Peter that his ______________________ was a result of overwork.

6. Wendy’s teacher was impressed by the_________________________ of her work.

7. We wished the bride and groom _____________________ in their new life together.

8. Joe’s teachers began to grow tired of his ___________________________in class.

9. I felt rather cold when I arrived because of the ______________________of my clothes.

10. Jean took a travel ______________________________pill, and then she felt much better.

11. Complete each sentence with a noun made from the verb given.

1. There are over one million inhabitants in this city

Inhabit

2. Greg often suffers from ___________________________ in the school holidays.

BORE

3. This is the tallest ______________________________ in the whole of the country.

BUILD

4. Some students can’t find suitable ___________________________________ .

ACCOMMODATE

5. I was upset by Carol’s __________________________________ to help me.

REFUSE

6. It took Richard years to become a successful ___________________________ .

ACT

7. Every ____________________________ in this company has received a pay rise.

EMPLOY

8. You need a lot of ________________________________ to write a good story.

Imagine

9. Don’t forget to turn off the ______________________________ before you leave.

COOK

10. I saw an interesting _______________________________ in the local paper.

ADVERTISE

11. I need your ______________________________________ before they can do it.

SIGN

12. Did Paul give an ______________________________________ for his actions?

EXPLAIN

13. I’m sure this new film is going to be a great ______________________________.

SUCCEED

14. The leaflet gives a brief _________________________________ of each place.

DESCRIBE

15. Olga broke the vase during an _________________________with her husband.

ARGUE

16. Most people have no real ___________________________________in ghosts.

BELIEVE

17. The children’s _______________________________at the concert was excellent.

BEHAVE

18. You have to fill in an ____________________________form if you are interested.

APPLY

19. Hard as he tried, he was unable to find _______________________ to the problem.

SOLVE

20. They put a lot of __________________________ on him to agree to their demands.

PRESS

21. Don’t you think the drama group put on a good _____________________________?

PERFORM

22. I hope you will take into _________________________ what I have just said to you.

CONSIDER

23. The service was so bad that he wrote an angry letter of ________________________.

COMPLAIN

24. There’s an __________________ of impressionist paintings at the gallery this month.

EXHIBIT

25. Language is a means of _________________________________.

COMMUNICATE

26. They bought some ___________________________________ for their new house.

FURNISH

27. They didn’t like my __________________________________so we stayed in.

SUGGEST

28. His ______________________________ were slow and deliberate.

MOVE

29. I’ve made some very important __________________________ about my life.

DECIDE

30. More than a hundred ____________________________are taking part in the game.

COMPETE

31. The factory’s ____________________________ has increased since the last year.

PRODUCE

32. The __________________________didn‘t like the play, but the public loved it.

REVIEW

33. I went to the police to report the ______________________________of my wallet.

LOSE

34. It’s difficult to make accurate _________________________ about the weather.

PREDICT

35. As a sales _______________________________________ I have to travel a lot.

REPRESENT

36. Harry asked for a _____________________________and the cashier gave him one.

RECEIVE

37. ________________________________is a serious matter, you have to think about it.

MARRY

38. Helen’s mind is full of all kinds of unusual ___________________________.

KNOW

39. Tina had no __________________________________that anything was wrong.

SUSPECT

40. The scientist made a very interesting ________________________________.

DISCOVER

12. Complete each sentence with a noun made from the adjective given.

1. I’m telling you the _______________________________________! I swear!

TRUE

2. Do you think you have the _________________________ to climb this mountain?

ABLE

3. In spite of her _________________________________, Jane continued her journey.

HUNGRY

4. The teacher wanted to know what my greatest _________________________ was.

AMBITIOUS

5. You need more _____________________________to take part in public conferences.

CONFIDENT

6. Do you have _________________________ in translating English texts into Russian?

DIFFICULT

7. World-wide _______________________________came to Van Gogh after death.

FAMOUS

8. No one knows the exact _____________________________of the water here.

DEEP

9. You have to have a lot of ___________________________to go fishing.

PATIENT

10. We measured the ___________________________________of the room with a ruler.

LONG

11. George won a medal for ______________________________________.

BRAVE

12. These measures provide financial ___________________________________.

SECURE

13. Combine the suffixes on the right with the verbs or adjectives on the left, and then complete the text below.

improve televise elect educate weak manage govern stupid

-ment -ity -ion -ness -ation

In his first broadcast on (1)________________since he won the (2)________________last month, the Prime Minister promised to make health and (3) __________________two of his top priorities. An in a strong attack on the previous (4) ___________________, he said that the present (5) __________________of the British economy was caused entirely by their (6) __________________and bad (7) ___________________. He said he would act immediately and he hoped that the British people would be able to see clear signs of an (8) _________________in the economy by the end of the year.

14. Complete the texts with suitable nouns.

1. Lord Byron (1788-1824) didn’t live a long life. He was an aristocrat a fashionable man. But he loved (1) ___________________ and a simple country life. His (2)_________________attracted Britain and all Europe. He brought to his (3)_________________ romanticism of his times. He was talented and handsome, noble and brave. (4)___________________ admired him. In 1812 he became famous after the (5)_____________________of his autobiographic poem “Childe Harold”.

1. FREE

2. PERSON

3. POET

4. LONDON

5. PUBLIC

2. I always wanted to be a great (1)____________________. I had the dreams of discovering a new drug that would save the lives of hundreds of people. Unfortunately I was never good at (2)____________________ at school and the teacher used to be very cross with me. After a while I decided I would become an (3)__________________ and design an amazing new (4)__________________ which would become a household name. A few weeks later I had a brilliant idea for a pen that would write upside down. To my (5)___________________ a friend of mine told me that it was not a new (6)____________________.

1. SCIENCE

2. CHEMIST

3. INVENT

4. PRODUCE

5. DISAPPOINT

6. DISCOVER

3. The trade union (1) ____________________ has a long and important history in Britain, but since 1980 the influence of trade unions has declined dramatically. Trade union (2)____________________ has fallen because of changes in the structure of (3)________________ , including (4)_____________________, the shift away from manufacturing, the rise in smaller firms, the increase in part-time employment, and the constructing out of work. The Conservative government restricted unions’ (5)_____________________ to launch strikes and made unions legally responsible for the actions of workers; this has considerably reduced union power and substantially decreased the number of strikes, called (6)_______________________.

1. MOVE

2. MEMBER

3. EMPLOY

4. PRIVATE

5. ABLE

6. STOP

ADJECTIVE FORMATION. PARTICIPLE FORMATION

Suffix	Meaning	Example
- able, -ible	1.обладающий некоторым качеством 2. возможность осуществления	comfortable, reliable readable, eatable, detectable, usable
- ful	наличие качества	beautiful, meaningful,
- an, -ian, ean	национальная принадлежность, принадлежность к идеологическому течению, научной школе и т. п	Russian, Arabian,
- ant, ent	cоответствующие существитель-ные имеют суффиксы –ance и -ence	patient, relevant, intelligent, resistant, different
-ar	обладание чем-то, сходство с чем-то	Similar, circular
-ary, -ory	действие, процесс, результат	secondary, contrary, elementary, compulsory, obligatory, explanatory
-ate	качество, признак	deliberate, considerate
-ed	1. обозначающий форму 2. обозначающий характер или состояние 3. сложнопроизводные прилагательные	arched educated, good-mannered broad-shouldered, blue-eyed, many-sided, ill-informed
-ese	национальная принадлежность или язык	Japanese, Chinese
-al	подобие, сходство, обладание некоторым сходство	additional, accidental, cultural, central, formal, official
-ic, ical	научное значение	economic, scientific, basic, identical
-ish	1.национальная принадлежность; 2. слабая степень качества	British, Turkish, Spanish childish, reddish
-ive	относящийся к, принадлежащий, связанный с	creative, native, active
-less	отсутствие данного признака	motionless, speechless, careless, hopeless
-ly	признак, образованный от существительных	friendly, manly, hourly
-ous	признак, качество	dangerous, serious, curious, courageous, famous
-y	имеющий качество того, что обозначено основой	funny, pretty, dirty, cloudy, sunny, hungry, rainy
-en	сделанный из чего-либо	wooden, golden

The Present Participle (-ing) describes what somebody or something is (it answers the question “What kind?”).

The Past Participle (-ed) describes how somebody feels (it answers the question “How do you feel?”).

Compare these examples:

It’s a very tiring job. (What kind of job? – Tiring).

He is very tired. (How does he feel? – Tired).

EXERCICES

1. Give the adjectives of the nationalities.

1. Europe – European

2. Russia _______________________________________________

3. England ______________________________________________

4. America ______________________________________________

5. Asia ________________________________________________

6. The Ukraine __________________________________________

7. Scandinavia ___________________________________________

8. Australia ____________________________________________

9. Poland ________________________________________________

10. Spain ________________________________________________

11. India __________________________________________________

12. Canada _______________________________________________

13. Egypt _______________________________________________

14. Japan ________________________________________________

15. Sweden ______________________________________________

16. China ________________________________________________

2. Add the correct suffix: -ABLE or –IBLE. Make necessary changes.

1. The coffee was undrink ____ .

2. My bed is very comfort_______ .

3. Her shoes were very unsuit ______ .

4. The film was very enjoy ______ .

5. My working hours are flex _______ .

6. The buses are usually rely _____ .

7. The doctor’s writing was incomprens _______ .

8. These cups are unbreak_________ .

9. This number is divis____ by 5.

10. The noise from the outside was terr_____.

11. Your advice sounds sens________.

12. My family is very hospit______.

13. The weather is unpredict ______.

14. Brenda’s new book is really remark_____________.

15. John takes good care of the children and is very respons___________.

16. I find your aunt a very disagree_____________ person I’m afraid.

17. The pie looked very good, but it wasn’t very easily digest_______________.

3. Complete the following dialogues with adjectives ending in –LESS.

1. a) Did you find the book useful?

b) No, it was completely ­­­­­­________________________.

2. a) Did the injection hurt?

b) No, fortunately, it was ___________________________ .

3. a) Has he got somewhere to live?

b) No, the poor man is _____________________________________ .

4. a) That was a very silly mistake, wasn’t it?

b) Yes, it was __________________________________of me – I wasn’t concentrating.

5. a) I don’t know what to do! I have no hope!

b) Don’t give up, I think the situation is not __________________________________.

6. a) I can’t see any meaning in his words.

b) I agree. They seem to be _________________________________________.

7. a) Was the journey long?

b) Oh, yes. I was so tired. I thought the trip was ____________________________.

8. a) Is your husband already bald?

b) Well, not yet, but he is getting ______________________________________.

9. a) Have the doctors cured him?

b) Unfortunately, not. The disease was __________________________________.

10. a) Is your necklace expensive?

b) I’ve no idea. But for me it’s ____________________________because it was my grandmother’s gift.

11. a) People who throw out their pets don’t have a heart.

b) Such _________________________________________people are not happy.