Suffixes as a rule function in any one part of speech often forming a derived stem of a different part of speech as compared with that of the base, e.g. careless a — cf. caren; suitablea — cf. suitv, etc.
A suffix closely knit together with a base forms a fusion retaining less of its independence than a prefix which is as a general rule more independent semantically, cf. reading — ‘the act of one who reads’; ‘ability to read’; and to re-read — ‘to read again.'
Suffixation is the formation of words with the help of suffixes, which usually modify the lexical meaning of the base and transfer words to a different part of speech.
Some suffixes do not shift words from one part of speech into another, but usually transfer a word into a different semantic group, e.g. a concrete noun becomes an abstract one, e.g. child — childhood, friend — friendship, etc.
A suffixis a derivational morpheme following the root and forming a new derivative in a different word class (-en, -y, -less in heart-en, heart-y, heart-less).
Suffixes can be classified into different types in accordance with different principles:
According to the lexical-grammatical character of the base suffixes are usually added to, they may be:
deverbal suffixex (those added to the verbal base): -er (builder); -ing (writing);
denominal suffixes (those added to the nominal base): -less (timeless); -ful (hopeful); -ist (scientist); -some (troublesome);
deajectival suffixes (those added to the adjectival base): -en (widen); -ly (friendly); -ish (whitish); -ness (brightness).
According to the part of speech formed suffixes fall into several groups:
According to the part of speech formed suffixes fall into several groups:
