Suffixes
The endings that build new words, how they change word class, and the spelling changes to watch.
The answer
A suffix is a group of letters added to the end of a word to make a new word or a new form of it, such as help + ful = helpful.
Examples
The puppy was very playful.
-ful turns a noun or verb into an adjective.
We are helping Grandad in the garden.
The darkness made the woods spooky.
-ness turns the adjective dark into a noun.
Please speak quietly.
-ly turns the adjective quiet into an adverb.
How to spot it
- Cover the end of the word. If the part left is a root word (help in helpful), the ending is a suffix.
- Many suffixes change the word class: teach (verb) becomes teacher (noun), and hope becomes hopeful (adjective).
- Some suffixes just change the form: -s makes a plural, -ed makes the past tense.
The common mistake
Forgetting the spelling changes.
Drop the e before -ing (hope, hoping), double the last letter after a short vowel (run, running), and change y to i (happy, happiness).
When it is taught
- First met
- Year 1
- On the pupil word list
- Year 2, as “suffix”
Year 1 adds -s, -es, -ing, -ed and -er where the root word does not change. Year 2 names suffix and adds -ness, -er, -ful, -less and -ly. Year 5 turns nouns and adjectives into verbs with -ate, -ise and -ify.
Try a question
Add a suffix to care to make an adjective that means full of care.
Show the answer
Answer: careful
The suffix -ful means full of, and it turns care into an adjective: a careful driver.
Practise it
An interactive exercise where your child builds a word from a prefix, a root word and a suffix.
Related terms
- Practise the 11+ skill: Apply a prefix or suffix
- Practise the 11+ skill: Form a plural
More grammar terms
Questions parents ask
Is -ing a suffix?
Yes. It is one of the first suffixes children learn, in Year 1: help, helping.
Why does happy become happiness?
When a word ends in a consonant and y, the y usually changes to i before a suffix: happy, happiness; carry, carried.
Why is it hopeful but hoping?
A suffix starting with a consonant (-ful) keeps the e: hopeful. A suffix starting with a vowel (-ing) usually drops it: hoping.
Grammar turns up in 11+ English too
Many 11+ English papers include grammar and punctuation questions alongside comprehension. The free diagnostic checks maths, English and both kinds of reasoning, and shows what to practise next. No card is required.