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Suffix Meaning Examples

-able able to, having the quality of comfortable, portable

-al relating to annual comical

-er Comparative bigger, stronger

-est Superlative strongest, tiniest

-ful full of beautiful, grateful

-ible forming an adjective reversible, terrible

-ily forming an adverb eerily, happily, lazily

-ing denoting an action, a material, or a gerund acting, showing

-less without, not affected by friendless, tireless

-ly forming an adjective clearly, hourly

-ness denoting a state or condition kindness, wilderness

-y full of, denoting a condition, or a diminutive glory, messy, victory
Points to remember:
Some common suffixes are -ed, -ing, and -ly. The suffix -ed changes verbs to the past
tense.
In the sentence “Sandy shoveled the snow,” the -ed suffix creates the past tense of the
verb to shovel. The -ing suffix makes the verb take place in the present, as in the
following sentence: “Sandy is shovelling the snow.”
The suffix -ly is commonly added onto adjectives to form adverbs (words that describe
verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs). Examples of adverbs with the -ly suffix
include joyfully, quickly, and loudly.
The suffixes -s and -es make words plural, as in foxes, lamps, and chairs.
Rules for Adding Suffixes

When you add a suffix to a word, the original word usually keeps its original spelling. However,
there are some exceptions to this rule: If the original word is one syllable and ends with a
single consonant, double the last letter. For example, tip becomes tipping or tipped,
and run becomes running.
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