Suffix example sentences

Related (6): prefix, affix, ending, morpheme, inflection, derivation

"Suffix" Example Sentences

Adding the suffix -ing to run gives you running.
She couldn't figure out what the suffix meant, so she looked it up in the dictionary.
The suffix -tion appears in words like creation, nation, and station.
My English teacher explained that a suffix changes the part of speech of a word.
I always forget whether to double the consonant before adding a suffix.
The suffix -able means capable of, like in the word readable.
He studied Latin roots and suffixes to improve his vocabulary.
What suffix would you add to happy to make it an adverb?
The medical term had a Greek suffix that nobody in the room recognized.
Learning suffix patterns helped her decode unfamiliar words while reading.
That suffix doesn't exist in English, so the word looks completely made up.
The suffix -ness turns adjectives into nouns, like kindness or sadness.
I realized the suffix -ful appears in beautiful, wonderful, and careful.
My son asked why some words need a suffix and others don't.
The suffix -ment transforms verbs into nouns, like in the word enjoyment.
She wrote down every suffix she encountered in her reading journal.
Understanding the suffix -less helped him figure out the word homeless.
The suffix -er can mean someone who does something, like a teacher.
When you add the suffix -ly to an adjective, you usually get an adverb.
He kept adding the wrong suffix and making the word sound ridiculous.
The suffix -ity changes adjectives into abstract nouns like reality.
Nobody bothered to explain what that suffix actually meant in context.
The suffix -ous appears in dangerous, famous, and nervous.
I spent an hour teaching my daughter about prefix and suffix combinations.
That suffix is so common you probably use it every single day.
The suffix -ive turns some verbs into adjectives, like creative.
She recognized the suffix -ism in words like capitalism and realism.
The suffix -ure creates nouns from verbs, like in the word departure.
He didn't know that adding a suffix could completely change pronunciation.
The suffix -ous and the suffix -ious both mean full of something.

Common Phrases

suffix meaning
add a suffix
suffix pattern
suffix rule
common suffix
Greek suffix
Latin suffix
prefix and suffix
suffix -ing
suffix -tion
suffix -ness
suffix -able

Examples by Level

The suffix -ing makes the word running.
A suffix is letters at the end of a word.

She added the suffix -ed to make the past tense of the verb.
The suffix -ness changes happy into happiness.

Understanding common suffixes really helps you guess the meaning of new words.
He realized that the suffix -ful appears in dozens of everyday adjectives.

The suffix -ity transforms adjectives into abstract nouns, though the pronunciation often shifts.
She'd memorized enough suffix patterns that unfamiliar vocabulary no longer felt completely intimidating.

The morphological productivity of the suffix -ness in English allows for the creation of novel nominalizations from virtually any adjective.
Recognizing the etymological origin of a suffix often illuminates subtle semantic distinctions between seemingly synonymous terms.

What distinguishes productive suffixes from their fossilized counterparts is precisely their capacity to generate neologisms that speakers intuitively recognize as grammatically well-formed.
The suffix -ity, borrowed from Latin through French, exemplifies how morphological systems evolve through contact and cultural transmission across centuries.

Examples by Scenario

🏠 Everyday Life

My kid came home asking why the suffix -ly turns adjectives into adverbs.
I noticed the suffix -ness in kindness, sadness, and silliness all over her homework.

💼 Workplace

The copywriter kept adding the wrong suffix and making the product name sound awkward.
During the meeting, someone mentioned that the suffix -ment was key to understanding the company's new terminology.

📊 Business

The marketing team realized that the suffix -able in sustainable resonated better with consumers than the original phrasing.
Our brand consultant explained how the suffix -tion in innovation positioned us as forward-thinking.

🛒 Buying / Shopping

I read the label and noticed the suffix -free on everything from sugar-free to gluten-free products.
The packaging used the suffix -proof so much that I wondered if anything actually was waterproof.

✈️ Travel

While traveling in Spain, she noticed that the suffix -ción appeared on signs everywhere, similar to English -tion.
The tour guide explained that the suffix -ness in English had no direct equivalent in the local language.

📚 Education

The teacher explained that adding the suffix -er to teach gives you teacher, which is someone's job.
My student finally understood why the suffix -ous means full of when she saw dangerous, famous, and nervous together.

❤️ Relationships

He teased her about using the suffix -ish to describe everything — like when she said the color was bluish.
They bonded over their shared confusion about when to use the suffix -ful versus the suffix -less.

📰 News / Politics

The political analyst noted that the suffix -ism appeared constantly in discussions of socialism, capitalism, and nationalism.
The news report highlighted how the suffix -able in affordable housing had become a central campaign promise.

💻 Technology

The programmer explained that the suffix .com comes from the word commerce, which is why websites use that suffix.
The AI language model struggled with the suffix -ize in words like digitize and customize.

📝 Formal Writing

The research paper demonstrated that the suffix -ity is essential for converting adjectives into measurable abstract nouns in academic discourse.
The grammar guide specified that the suffix -ous should be used when describing qualities inherent to the subject, as opposed to the suffix -ious.