Verb & Adverb Suffixes

","library":"fa-solid"},"toggle":"burger"}" data-widget_type="nav-menu.default">

Share

Verb & Adverb Suffixes

Afixes 1 1

We use a prefix at the beginning of the word to change the meaning and a suffix at the end of a word when we often use them to change the type of word. Understanding when to use prefixes and suffixes correctly are an important part of doing the word formation exercise , which is Part 3 in the Use of English exam.

To complete this series of posts on word building we’ll look at verb and adverb suffixes.

You can find a list of other posts on prefixes and suffixes on the First Exam Corner page.

Adverb Suffixes

Adverbs are the simplest types of words to form. To create many adverbs we add -ly to an adjective form.

For example

  • Quick -ly We just add -ly to the adjective.
  • Careful -ly We now have two ‘l’s but only with the adverb.
  • Happi-ly We need to change the form of the adjective first so y->i.

Irregular adverbs

There are also a number of adverbs which have a different form and meaning.

  • -ate
  • -en
  • -ise/-ize
  • -fy

activate
brighten
apologise/ize
justify

Verb Suffixes

  • -ate
  • -en
  • -ise/-ize
  • -fy

activate
brighten
apologise/ize
justify

Verb Suffixes using -en

The meaning of the suffix -en is to “make” and we use adjectives or nouns +en to create new verbs.

For example

bright -> brighten

dark -> darken

Note: We can also use en as a prefix. For example the verb ensure means to make sure.

Here are some further examples

  • sweet
  • light
  • deep
  • red
  • white
  • deaf

In this group of adjectives we use the noun form to create the new verb

  • strong -> strength -> strengthen
  • long -> length -> lengthen
  • high -> height -> heighten
More Posts

Using Relative Clauses

In this post we will take a look at relative clauses and how we can use them in English. Share What are Relative Clauses? Relative clauses are parts of a

Using Passive Forms

Share In this post we’ll take a look at using passive forms in English and why we use them. Why do we use the passive form? The passive form is

Using Question Tags

Share In this post we’ll take a look at question tags. Question tags are short questions which we add to the end of a statement to turn it into a

Futures – The forms we use

Share In this post we’re going to look at how to talk about the future. There are lots of different ways to talk about the future in English so let’s

Proficiency Exam Corner

Share Proficiency Exam Corner Share Proficiency Exam Corner Share More Posts Read More Using… Read More Using Topic Sentences Share In the Cambridge Advanced and Proficiency writing exams,… Read

Would Rather & Would Prefer

Share Would Rather & Prefer In this post we will look at how to use would rather and would prefer and the way we use each of them. They are quite similar to

[WpProQuiz 18]