| A prefix added before a base word can reverse or modify the meaning of the word |
happy → unhappy
government → nongovernment
circle → semicircle
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| A suffix is an ending that changes the class of a word |
keen → keenness
liquid → liquefy
mercy → merciful
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Inflections are suffixes that go with particular classes of words and express grammatical meanings, such as singular or plural, present or past tense, and degrees of comparison
-’s inflection on common and proper nouns makes them possessive (see also Apostrophes)
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a parent’s smile
Mona Lisa’s smile
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-s/es/ies inflections on nouns make them plural, whereas on verbs they make them singular and present tense
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bun → buns
suffix → suffixes
fairy → fairies
[plural nouns]
burn → burns [present tense verb]
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| -(e)d inflections on many lexical verbs (known as regular verbs) marks them as past tense (see also Irregular verb inflections) |
I cook → I cooked [past tense verb] |
| -(e)d inflections make the past participle, which, when combined with an auxiliary verb, shows that the action has been completed |
I have [auxiliary verb] cooked [-ed inflection]
The cake was cooked
[auxiliary verb + past participle = completed action]
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| -ing inflections on lexical verbs make the -ing participle, which shows that the action is continuous. (In traditional grammar, it was called the present participle) |
The temperature is [auxiliary verb] rising
[-ing inflection]
[auxiliary verb + -ing participle = continuous action]
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| -er and -est inflections on adjectives and adverbs are used to make comparisons (see Comparisons with adjectives and Comparisons with adverbs) |
kind → kinder → kindest
[adjective → comparative → superlative]
fast → faster → fastest
[adverb → comparative → superlative]
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