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

-or -doer

-er more than (2 things)

-est- to the greatest extent

-ful- full of something

-less without

-able, -ible can be

farmer

actor

sweeter

sweetest

handful

useless

buildable

reversible

WARNING! Non examplesJust 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.

SuffixesFarmer- the –er changes “farm” to “someone who

farms”Actor-the –or changes the word

from “act” to “someone who acts”

SuffixesSweetest- the –est changes the word to

mean the most sweet handful- the –ful means full of

Suffixesstrongest 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.