Suffixes
Reading standard 1.8
Use knowledge of suffixes to determine the
meaning of words.
Suffixes
• Today we are going to use suffixes to
determine the meaning of words.
• Determine= figure out
• What are we going to do today?
• What are we going to determine?
Suffixes
• My cousin is taller than me. Is your cousin
taller than you?
• Who is the tallest person in your house?
• Are you a helpful student?
A suffix is a word
part added to the
end of a base
word.
A suffix also
changes the
meaning of a
word.
Suffixes We
Know
Examples
-er person or thing that
does something
farmer
-or -doer
actor
-er more than (2 things)
sweeter
-est- to the greatest
extent
sweetest
-ful- full of something
-less without
-able, -ible can be
handful
useless
buildable
reversible
WARNING! Non examples
Just because a word ends with er, est, ful, or another suffix
doesn’t mean it is a suffix. If there is no base word, then
it’s not a suffix.
Non Examples
1.The panda had a lot of anger towards the fish.
If there is no base word, then it’s not a suffix.
Ang is not a base word, so er is not a suffix in this case.
2. The police are trained to arrest people.
Arr is not a base word, so est is not a suffix in this case.
3.The polluted water looked awful.
Aw is not a base word, so ful is not a suffix in this case.
Importance
• Why is it important to know suffixes?
• The pictures will help you determine the
meaning of the words.
Suffixes
Farmer- the –er changes
“farm” to “someone who
farms”
Actor-the –or changes the
word from “act” to “someone
who acts”
Suffixes
Sweetest- the –est changes
the word to mean the most
sweet
handful- the –ful
means full of
Suffixes
strongest
useless
Suffixes
buildable
reversible
Directions
•
•
•
•
Read the sentence.
Think: “What is the sentence about?”
Look at the prefix definition.
Choose and write the best prefix for the
sentence.
Practice
• Choose and write the best suffix that
completes the sentence.
1. Is your room_____ than my room?
(a) colder (b) coldest (c) coldier
2. That was the ______ story I ever read.
(a) funnier (b) funnyest (c) funniest
Practice
3. Becky has a _____ of oranges in her hands.
(a) handdful (b)handful ©handfull
Review
• A suffix is a word part added to the
end of a base word.
• A suffix also changes the meaning of
a word.
• REMEMBER! If there is no base word,
then it’s not a suffix.