Why do we need suffixes

Far or a long way? Farther , farthest or further , furthest? Fast , quick or quickly? Fell or felt? Female or feminine ; male or masculine? Finally , at last , lastly or in the end? First , firstly or at first? Fit or suit? Following or the following? For or since? Forget or leave? Full or filled?

Fun or funny? Get or go? Grateful or thankful? Hear or listen to? High or tall? Historic or historical? House or home? How is …? If or when? If or whether? Ill or sick? Imply or infer? In the way or on the way? Late or lately? Lay or lie? Lend or borrow? Less or fewer? Look at , see or watch? Low or short? Man , mankind or people?

Maybe or may be? Maybe or perhaps? Nearest or next? Never or not … ever? Nice or sympathetic? No doubt or without doubt? No or not? Nowadays , these days or today? Open or opened? Opportunity or possibility? Opposite or in front of? Other , others , the other or another? Out or out of? Permit or permission?

Person , persons or people? Pick or pick up? Play or game? Politics , political , politician or policy? Price or prize? Principal or principle?

Quiet or quite? Raise or rise? Remember or remind? Right or rightly? Rob or steal? Say or tell? So that or in order that? Sometimes or sometime? Sound or noise? Speak or talk? Such or so? Towards or toward? Adding suffixes to words can be tricky to learn and master, but learning six basic suffix spelling rules will help you know how to use suffixes correctly.

Keep in mind that there are some exceptions to each of the suffix rules. Adding suffixes to some base words that end with a consonant requires doubling the last letter, but only in certain situations.

When a word ends in a short vowel sound followed by a single consonant, the last letter of the word will need to be doubled before the suffix is added. When a word has more than one syllable and ends with the letter "l," you will need to double the "l" when adding the suffix. The rule for dropping the final silent "e" in a word is based on whether the first letter of the suffix is a vowel or consonant.

When a word ends in a silent letter "e" and you are adding a suffix that begins with a vowel, then drop the final "e. There are a few words that meet the criteria for dropping the silent "e" with a vowel suffix, but with which the "e" has to be kept. When the base word ends in the letters "ce" or "ge" and the suffix begins with the letters "a" or "o," the final "e" should stay. There are a few scenarios that require keeping the "y" at the end of a word when adding a suffix.

When a word ends with "y" and has a vowel before the "y," then keep the "y" when adding a suffix. Another time to keep the "y" is if the suffix starts with the letter "i.

There are times that the "y" at the end of the word has to be changed to an "i" in order to add a suffix. When the word has a consonant before the "y" at the end, you will need to change the "y" to "i" before adding the suffix. With suffixes, the end of the word may change. You will come across the many different suffixes and prefixes used in English the more you use it, so try to read and practice as widely as possible!

Look out for them in your everyday activities, and see if you can spot the root word in each example. March 3, But what exactly are prefixes and suffixes? And how can you use them? What is a prefix?