Suffixe

In linguistics, a suffix (also sometimes called a postfix or ending) is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns or adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs. Particularly in the study of Semitic languages, a suffix is called an afformative, as they can alter the form of the words to which they are fixed. In Indo-European studies, a distinction is made between suffixes and endings.
Suffixes can carry grammatical information (inflectional suffixes) or lexical information (derivational suffixes). An inflectional suffix is sometimes called a desinence.
Some examples from English:
- Girls, where the suffix -s marks the plural.
- He makes, where suffix -s marks the third person singular present tense.
- It closed, where the suffix -ed marks the past tense.
Many synthetic languages—Czech, German, Finnish, Latin, Hungarian, Russian, Turkish, etc.—use a large number of endings.
Suffixes used in English frequently have Greek, French or Latin origins.

Inflectional suffixes
Inflection changes grammatical properties of a word within its syntactic category. In the example:
The weather forecaster said it would clear today, but it hasn't cleared at all.
the suffix -ed inflects the root-word clear to indicate past tense.
Some inflectional suffixes in present day English:
-s third person singular present
-ed past tense
-ing progressive/continuous
-en past participle
-s plural
-en plural (irregular)
-er comparative
-est superlative
-n't negative

Derivational suffixes
In the example:
"The weather forecaster said it would be clear today, but I can't see clearly at all"
the suffix -ly modifies the root-word clear from an adjective into an adverb. Derivation can also form a semantically distinct word within the same syntactic category. In this example:
"The weather forecaster said it would be a clear day today, but I think it's more like clearish!"
the suffix -ish modifies the root-word clear, changing its meaning to "clear, but not very clear".
Some derivational suffixes in present day English:
-ize/-ise
-fy
-ly
-able/-ible
-ful
-ness
-less
-ism
-ment
-ist
-al
-ish



Exercise :

1. I must go to the dentist's but I am scared because my tooth is so (….)
2. You won't buy this motorbike, it isn't (….) Enough
3. Don't lose your time ! It's (….) ! All sort of medecines have been used already!
4. It's horrible ! So many (….) people in the streets in the middle of winter !
5. You should take that medecine: it won't do you any harm, it's (….)
6. We enjoyed the peace of the mountains : there was nobody. It was so (….)
7. She was wearing a (….) wedding-dress ! We took lots of photos!
8. He is as (….) at riding as his father now. Unfortunately he hasn't any skills at swimming.
9. We were obliged to correct their letter : it meant nothing at all. (….)
10. How happy we were when she said she had passed her exam with success! She was (….) !
11. Stop being so (….) ! You are now 16 years old!
12. The poor woman who was (….) would have liked to adopt an orphan.
13. He knew it was very fragile and he was very (….) when he brought it home.
14. You should talk to her. I know you' ll find the words, you are so (….)
15. I fell asleep in the middle of his speech : it was so long! It was (….)
16. You weren't very (….) when you told her you didn't like the colour of her hair!
17. Mary is very (….) at home, she always gives a hand with the housework.
18. You can throw it away, it doesn't work anymore: it's (….)
19. Don't be afraid of his dog! he's big but (….)
20. Poor Jimmy is very (….) ! He hasn't sold any CD's this year!


ANSWER KEY :

1. Painful
2. Powerful
3. Useless
4. Homeless
5. Harmless
6. Peaceful
7. Beautiful
8. Skilful
9. Meaningless
10. Successful
11. Childish
12. Childless
13. Careful
14. Tactful
15. Endless
16. Tactful
17. Helpful
18. Useless
19. Harmless
20. Unsuccessful