Improve Your Vocabulary with Verb Suffixes

As I've mentioned previously (here), suffixes, at the end of words, in English are neither as interesting nor as important for vocabulary study as prefixes, at the beginning of words, because in English, the stress or accent tends to fall on the beginning of the word.

Although prefixes are heard more clearly, while suffixes are almost lost, since many native speakers of English slur word endings, suffixes still are important for vocabulary study, as you can see in the use of suffixes to form verbs (words that express action or being) as well as to make different forms of verbs.

You can find an index of all my articles on prefixes and suffixes and other topics relating to the English language here.

The suffix -ize

Adding perhaps the most controversial of all suffixes, -ize, forms verbs. Examples include anesthetize, climatize, fantasize, and theorize. There is nothing wrong with the fine old prefix -ize, which British author Thomas Nashe (1567-1601) championed.

But, -ize has been suspect for some time. In the nineteenth century, British writers began to spell this suffix -ise. To quote from a British website (source), "Species change over time, Darwin theorised."

Writers in the United States, however, have continued to use the original suffix, -ize, as on the PBS website (source): "Darwin theorized how those modifications occurred."

Although the suffix -ize is criticized in the United States (and criticised on the other side of the pond), and some people still balk when asked to prioritize, the suffix -ize is a useful part of our language and deserves a place in any vocabulary study.

The suffix -en

Adding the suffix -en to adjectives also forms verbs, which have the meaning "to cause to become." Examples include dampen, moisten, sharpen, and shorten. To complicate matters, as far as I can tell, -en is added only to adjectives with Germanic origins.

The amazing suffix -ing

Suffixes are added to verbs to change their forms as verbs. The suffix -ing is used to express ongoing action, with examples such as flying, reading, running, swimming, and writing.

A funny thing happens with the -ing form of verbs (called the present participle). It can be used as an adjective-reading glasses, running shoes, swimming pool, and writing implements-to describe something (such as glasses) used for an activity (such as reading). Used as an adjective, the -ing form of a verb-flying object, running gazelle-may also describe something (such as an object) performing an activity (such as flying).

The same form of the verb can be used as a noun (called the gerund). So, "Reading is fundamental" (more), and "Writing may not be the quickest way to become a millionaire" (more).

The suffix -ed (and the past tense)

Another suffix that changes the forms of verbs is -ed (just -d if the verb ends in -e), used to indicate that the action of the verb is in the past: talked, raked, and trimmed. This form is called the past tense (or past time).

Many English verbs, including all five examples used with -ing (flew, read, ran, swam, and wrote), change their spelling to form the past tense. In popular use, English verbs like talked, which add the suffix -ed, are called regular, and those like wrote, which change spelling, are called irregular.

Lexicographers (those who study words) use the terms weak and strong. The regular verbs are weak, because they need to add -ed to form the past tense, while the irregular verbs are strong, able to indicate the past tense by changing their spelling.

The suffix -ed (and the past participle)

There is another past form of the verb formed by adding -ed to regular verbs, the past participle, which, as generations of English teachers have chanted, must be used with a helping verb (or auxiliary verb), such as have, has or had. Compare the meaning of "Victoria raked the yard yesterday" and "Victoria has raked the yard many times this year."

Irregular verbs, of course, must be strong (or cantankerous) enough to form the past participle without a suffix (flown, read, run, swum, and written). Again, compare the meaning of "Oliver wrote a check for the new computer" and "Oliver has written many checks for equipment that he did not need."

The past participle can be used as an adjective, to describe a noun (a word that names a person, place, or thing): a trimmed beard, a raked yard, and the written language. In other words, the past participle describes a thing (a beard) to which an action (trimming) has been done.