Grammatical Suffixes in English

Study Notes

Grammatical Suffixes

Suffixes are added to word roots to create parts of speech like adjectives and nouns.
Examples of suffixes include: -ac, -al, -ar, -ary, -eal, -ic, -ior, -ous, -tic, -ia.

Adjective Suffixes

-ac: pertaining to (e.g., cardiac - pertaining to the heart)
-al: pertaining to (e.g., neural - pertaining to a nerve)
-ar: pertaining to (e.g., muscular - pertaining to muscle)
-ary: pertaining to (e.g., pulmonary - pertaining to the lungs)
-eal: pertaining to (e.g., esophageal - pertaining to the esophagus)
-ic: pertaining to (e.g., thoracic - pertaining to the chest)
-ior: pertaining to (e.g., posterior - pertaining to the back)
-ous: pertaining to (e.g., cutaneous - pertaining to the skin)
-tic: pertaining to (e.g., acoustic - pertaining to hearing)

Example Word Analysis

cardi/ac (KAR-de-ak): pertaining to the heart
cardi: heart
neur/al (NU-ral): pertaining to a nerve
neur: nerve
muscul/ar (MUS-kū-lär): pertaining to muscle
muscul: muscle
pulmon/ary (PUL-mō-nĕr-ē): pertaining to the lungs
pulmon: lung
esophag/eal (e-sof-ā-jē-ăl): pertaining to the esophagus
esophag: esophagus
thorac/ic (thō-răs-ik): pertaining to the chest
thorac: chest
poster/ior (põs-tē-rē-or): pertaining to the back
poster: back, behind, posterior
cutane/ous (kū-tā-nē-ŭs): pertaining to the skin
cutane: skin
acous/tic (a-kōōs-tik): pertaining to hearing
acous: hearing

Noun suffixes

-ia: condition (e.g., pneumonia - lung condition)

Description

This quiz explores the various grammatical suffixes used to form adjectives and nouns in English. Through examples and definitions, you'll learn about suffixes like -ac, -al, and -ous, enhancing your understanding of parts of speech. Test your knowledge on how these suffixes modify word roots.