Suffixes that Form Adjectives

Suffixes that Form Adjectives

Hello English learners! Welcome to a new lesson. We will learn about suffixes that form adjectives.

Adjectives are words that describe or modify nouns and pronouns. We can use them to give information about size, material, shape, texture, etc. They are usually placed before a noun:

It was a tall house.

but they can also go after the verb be:

The house was tall.

We often use more than one adjective before a noun and we need to know in what order to set them. 

Find more about the order of adjectives here

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Suffixes that form adjectives

Suffixes are groups of letters that can be added to the end of a word to change its meaning or its grammatical function. We can add a suffix like -able, -al, -ic, -ing, -ive, -some, -ful, -less, -ous, -y to nouns, verbs or adjectives to form another adjective.

Suffix -able

The suffix -able refers to the ability or capability of doing or being something.

• The food in the restaurant was excellent and the wine was drinkable.
• Thank you very much for the most enjoyable evening.
• The London Underground is a cheap and reliable form of transport.
• The weather is changeable these days. One just doesn’t know what to wear.
• There are discounts available for the plane tickets.

Find out more about the suffix -able on this link.

Suffixes that Form Adjectives

Suffix -al

We normally add the suffix -al to the root word to describe qualities, characteristics or actions.

• The presenter got emotional during his speech.
• Sandra picked up her personal belongings and left the office.
• You can use whatever seasonal fruit for this recipe.
• The party’s political ideas were quite extreme.
• There was a great exhibition at the National Gallery.

Suffix -ic

We add the suffix -ic to a noun to form an adjective meaning relating to.

• The actor in the film had a magic wand.
• Our neighbour had some eccentric habits.
• The traffic today is chaotic.
• The book had both an entertaining and didactic tone.
• The text John was reading was full of archaic words.

Suffix -ing

We add the suffix -ing to the verbs to describe the condition or state of something.

• There were plenty of exciting incidents during our journey.
• The museum featured some fascinating exhibits.
• Nail biting is such an annoying habit, isn’t it?
• Simon had a really tiring day.
• I don’t know how to turn on the vacuum cleaner. The manual is so confusing.

Suffixes that Form Adjectives

Suffix -ive

We can add the suffix -ive to nouns and verbs to form an adjective meaning tending to do something or doing something.

• Mary was very active, even in her old age.
• Monica did a course in creative writing.
• Mark had small, expressive eyes.
• Bob was a sensitive child.
• Mine workers have to wear protective clothes.

Suffix -some

The suffix -some forms adjectives that indicate a large amount or degree of something.

• Selling cars was a tiresome business for Hugh.
• Last night’s concert was really awesome.
• Brad was a handsome young man.
• Celia suffered from a troublesome cough.
• Sara felt very lonesome after her husband left her.

Suffix -ful

The adjective suffix -ful means full of, having the qualities of.

• Some old people tend to be forgetful.
• The woman’s face looked worried and sorrowful.
• Careful preparation is the key to success in exams.
• The couple exchanged meaningful looks.
• The two countries’ representatives tried to find a peaceful solution for their dispute.

Suffixes that Form Adjectives

 

Suffix -less

We use the suffix -less to indicate the lack of something.

• Peter felt lonely and hopeless.
• This land is useless for growing plants.
• The intervention was short and painless.
• There was an endless queue of people waiting.
• A careless driver hit the dog.

Find out more about the adjectives ending in -less on this link

Suffix -ous

The suffix -ous means full of something.

• The prince made a generous donation to the charity.
• Tourist guides don’t like adventurous tourists.
• That town was famous for apples.
• Barbara had a nervous temperament.
• The hurricane uprooted numerous trees.

Find out more about the adjectives ending in -ous here

Suffix -y

We add the suffix -y to nouns and adjectives to form an adjective meaning having a quality of.

• It will be a sunny day on Saturday. We could go on a picnic.
• Robert told us a funny story.
• Turn on the heating. My feet are icy cold.
• The middle of the boiled egg is runny.
• Cloudy sky drove us off the beach.

Suffixes_that_Form_Adjectives_PDF_Exercises

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