LinguisticsLesson 1 of 2 in the course Prefixes and suffixes

Suffixes: Inflection, Derivation, and Pronunciation

5 flashcards · 5 quiz questions · 5 match pairs · 5 fill-in sentences · English

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Summary

A suffix is an affix added after a word’s stem or base. Suffixes can show grammatical information, such as tense or number, or create a new word or change its word class. They can also affect pronunciation and stress.

A suffix is a type of bound morpheme: it carries meaning or grammatical information but does not normally function as an independent word. It is placed after a stem or base, as in hope + -ful → hopeful.

All flashcards

What is a suffix?
A bound morpheme placed after a stem or base that carries meaning or grammatical information.
How do inflection and derivation differ?
Inflection marks grammatical properties without changing syntactic category; derivation forms a new word and may change its meaning or category.
What is a suffixoid or semi-suffix?
A word-final element intermediate between a free word and a fully bound suffix; English -like is an example.
What is class-maintaining derivation?
Derivation that forms a new word while keeping the base’s word class, as in noun-forming -ist.
How can suffixes affect pronunciation?
They can alter stress and vowel sounds; in photograph and photography, primary stress shifts from the first syllable to the third.

Quiz questions

  1. Where is a suffix placed in relation to a stem or base?Answer: After the stem or base.
  2. What does an inflectional suffix do to a word’s syntactic category?Answer: It leaves the word in the same syntactic category.
  3. What grammatical functions do the suffixes -s have in girls and makes, respectively?Answer: Plural number in girls; third-person singular present tense in makes.
  4. In French jolie, what does the ending -e mark?Answer: Feminine agreement.
  5. What stress change occurs between photograph and photography?Answer: Primary stress shifts from the first syllable to the third.

Based on the Wikipedia article Suffix, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Adapted into a summary, flashcards and quizzes.

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