3.- Words you need. Adjectival suffixes.
Let's start defining adjectival suffixes. A suffix is a particle which is added at the end of a word to form a derived word; in this case we are going to focus on those particles which are added to nouns or verbs to form a new derived adjective. For example:
- Attract (verb) + -ive (suffix) > attractive (adjective).
- Profession (noun) + -al (suffix) > professional (adjective).
The most common suffixes added to verbs or nouns to form adjectives are the following ones:
| SUFFIX | EXAMPLE |
|---|---|
| -al | National, professional, natural, musical, accidental, economical, financial. |
| -ent | Different, excellent. |
| -ive | Attractive, Effective, repetitive. |
| -ous | Continuous, dangerous, famous, adventurous, ambitious. |
| -ful | Beautiful, peaceful, careful. |
| -less | Endless, homeless, careless. |
| -able | Drinkable, avoidable, knowledgeable, fashionable, comfortable. |
| -ible | Edible. |
| -ed / -ing | Bored, boring, banking. |
| -ic | Angelic, volcanic, economic. |
| -istic | Realistic. |
| -ous | Poisonous. |
| -y | Healthy, creamy, messy. |
Ejercicio Resuelto
Click to read the Spanish translation.
A piece of advice
Do you know the difference between these pairs of adjectives?
- Historic – Historical
- A historic occasion (having significance in history)
- A historic city (A place which is important because it is old and interesting)
-
Historical evidence / historical event (connected with history or with the past)
- Economic – Economical
- Economic growth / economic development (having to do with the economy of a country or region)
- Economical holidays (not costing or spending much money)
You should know
To practice adjectival suffixes it's very important to do vocabulary exercises like the ones you can find in the following links: