-er
-est
-ful
-less
-able
-er
Copyright Deb Hanson© 2013
What does “fix” mean?
When we think of “fix”, we usually think of
repairing something that is broken or not
working correctly.
The men are fixing the car.
Can it mean anything else?
What does “fix” mean?
“Fix” can also mean to attach or secure an
object to another object.
The man will fix the mirror to
the wall.
An affix is a group of
letters that is fixed
(or attached) to a word.
An affix fixed to the
beginning of a word is
called a prefix.
It adds meaning to the word.
un happy = not happy
means
“not”
Unhappy must
mean “not happy”.
An affix fixed to the end
of a word is called a
suffix.
It adds meaning to the word.
care ful = full of care
means
“full of”
Careful must mean
“full of care”.
Today we are focusing on
SUFFIXES!
Suffixes are fixed to the end of words.
careful
What is the base word? What is the suffix?
care
ful
Let’s figure out what
the suffix “-ful” means!
careful
helpful
colorful
powerful
shameful
thankful
full of
full of
full of
full of
full of
full of
care
help
color
power
shame
thanks
“-ful” sometimes means……
Full of
What is another way to write this
sentence?
That painting is full of color.
I can change “full of color” to “colorful”.
That painting is colorful.
Let’s figure out what
the suffix “-less” means!
careless
helpless
colorless
powerless
shameless
thankless
without care
without help
without color
without power
without shame
without thanks
“-less” means……
without
What is another way to write this
sentence?
The baby monkey is without a mother.
I can change “without a mother” to
“motherless”.
The baby monkey is motherless.
Did you notice that “-ful” and
“-less” create antonyms?
If a person is “powerful”,
he is “full of power”.
If a person is “powerless”,
he is “without power”.
Another example…
If a person is being “careful”,
he or she is acting “full of care”.
If a person is being “careless”,
he is acting “without care”.
-ful= full of
thankful
colorful
joyful
harmful
helpful
-less= without
thankless
colorless
joyless
harmless
helpless
Let’s figure out what
the suffix “-er” sometimes means!
newer
older
shinier
messier
funnier
taller
more new
more old
more shiny
more messy
more funny
more tall
“-er” sometimes means……
MORE
What is a better way to write this
sentence?
I am more tall than my sister.
I need to change “more tall” to “taller”.
(Using “more tall” in this sentence is
not acceptable English.)
I am taller than my sister.
Let’s figure out what
the suffix “-est” means!
newest
oldest
shiniest
messiest
funniest
tallest
most new
most old
most shiny
most messy
most funny
most tall
“-est” means……
MOST
What is a better way to write this
sentence?
I am the most tall kid in my family.
I need to change “most tall” to “tallest”.
(Using “most tall” in this sentence is
not acceptable English.)
I am the tallest kid in my family.
When to use –er and –est…
-er
 Used to compare TWO
people or things
Pam can run faster than Shane.
-est
 Used to compare MORE
THAN TWO people or
things
Manuel won the medal for being
the fastest boy in the third grade.
Let’s figure out what
the suffix “-er” sometimes means!
painter
writer
winner
player
worker
firefighter
a person who paints
a person who writes
a person who wins
a person who plays
a person who works
a person who fights
fires
“-er” sometimes means……
a person
who
What is another way to write this
sentence?
My mom is a person who carries
the mail.
I can change “a person who carries the
mail” to “mail carrier”.
My mom is a mail carrier.
A closer look at the suffix “-er”
 First, we learned that –er can mean “more”.
In my opinion, math is easier than writing.
 Then, we learned that –er can mean “a person who”.
My dad is a good golfer.
How do you know which meaning
is being used?
Look at the context of the sentence!
My dad is older than my mom.
What does the suffix –er mean in this
sentence?
You’re comparing two people. In
this sentence, -er means “more” !
How do you know which meaning
is being used?
My sister is a really good swimmer.
What does the suffix –er mean in this
sentence?
In this sentence, -er means “a
person who” !
Let’s figure out what
the suffix “-able” means!
fixable
readable
washable
payable
livable
laughable
able to be fixed
able to be read
able to be washed
able to be paid
able to be lived in
able to be laughed
about
“-able” means……
able to
be
What is another way to write this
sentence?
The glass vase is able to be broken.
I can change “able to be broken” to
“breakable”.
The glass vase is breakable.
Let’s practice!!
1. Find the suffix in the sentence.
A dictionary can be very helpful at times.
2. Write it down on your board.
helpful
3. Underline the suffix. Draw an arrow under the suffix.
helpful
4. Write the meaning of the suffix under the word.
helpful
full of
(Note: Look for the 6 suffixes that we have learned about in this Power Point.)
You try it!
Brad was beginning to feel
hopeless.
hopeless
without
I like to use bendable
straws.
bendable
able to be
The sun seems brighter
today. It’s hurting my eyes!
brighter
more
That was the tastiest burger
ever!
tastiest
most
The rainbow was beautiful.
beautiful
full of
Mrs. Jones is a great teacher.
teacher
a person who
I wish the music was quieter!
I can’t hear you!
quieter
more
Sam and Tate are great
dancers!
dancer
a person who
If the world was colorless, it
would be a boring place.
colorless
without
The tuba is the heaviest
instrument in our band.
heaviest
most
She is a good babysitter.
She is very dependable. (2)
babysitter
a person who
dependable
able to be
The reporter talked to the
winner of the race. (2)
reporter
winner
a person who
Most forest fires are
preventable.
preventable
able to be
I think a snake is scarier
than a bat.
scarier
more
Suffixes are understandable!
understandable
able to be