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What are noun suffixes? A summary of common noun suffixes in English

Some nouns are created by combining words with noun suffixes, in addition to the original nouns such as book, girl, etc. Here is a guide to using English noun suffixes.

I. What are noun suffixes?

What are noun suffixes? Noun suffixes are a group of letters added to the end of a word to turn it into a noun. For example:

The verb "teach" when added with the suffix "-er" becomes the noun "teacher".
The adjective "sad" when added with the suffix "-ness" becomes the noun "sadness".

II. List of the 15 most common noun suffixes

What are some common noun suffixes? PREP has put together a table with the top 15 noun suffixes to address this question.

Noun suffixes	Example	Meaning
-ness	happiness	the feeling of being happy
-ment	development	the process in which someone or something grows or changes and becomes more advanced
-tion/-sion	information	facts about a situation, person, event, etc.
-tion/-sion	recession	a period when the economy of a country is not successful and conditions for business are bad
-ity	creativity	the ability to produce or use original and unusual ideas
-ism	capitalism	an economic and political system in which property, business, and industry are controlled by private owners rather than by the state, with the purpose of making a profit
-ance/-ence	importance	the quality of being important
-ance/-ence	dependence	the situation in which you need something or someone all the time, especially in order to continue existing or operating
-hood	childhood	the time when someone is a child
-ship	friendship	a situation in which two people are friends
-age	marriage	a legally accepted relationship between two people in which they live together, or the official ceremony that results in this
-er/-or	singer	a person who sings
-er/-or	doctor	a person with a medical degree whose job is to treat people who are ill or hurt
-ist	artist	someone who paints, draws, or makes sculptures
-ity	university	a place where people study for an undergraduate (= first) or postgraduate (= higher level) degree
-cy	efficiency	the quality of achieving the largest amount of useful work using as little energy, fuel, effort, etc. as possible
-ing	reading	the skill or activity of getting information from books

List of the 15 most common noun suffixes

III. Noun formation in English

Therefore, how may noun suffixes be used with different parts of speech to form nouns? Let's explore the three primary ways below!

1. Verbs combined with noun suffixes

Formula:

Verb + noun suffix = noun.

For example:

Verb	Noun suffix	Noun	Meaning
Celebrate	-tion	Celebration	a special social event, such as a party, when you celebrate something
Depend	-ence	Dependence	the situation in which you need something or someone all the time, especially in order to continue existing or operating

2. Adjectives combined with noun suffixes

Formula:

Adjective + noun suffix = noun.

Example:

Adjective	Noun suffix	Noun	Meaning
Free	-dom	Freedom	the condition or right of being able or allowed to do, say, think, etc. whatever you want to, without being controlled or limited
Rich	-ness	Richness	the quality of having a lot of something that is valuable or interesting

3. Nouns combined with noun suffixes

Formula:

Noun + noun suffix = noun.

Example:

Noun	Noun suffix	Noun	Meaning
Scholar	-ship	Scholarship	an amount of money given by a school, college, university, or other organization to pay for the studies of a person with great ability but little money
Journal	-ist	Journalist	a person who writes news stories or articles for a newspaper or magazine or broadcasts them on radio or television

IV. Exercises on noun suffixes with answers

Let's practice the following exercises to gain more knowledge about noun suffixes!

1. Exercise

Exercise 1: Match the following noun suffixes with the appropriate verbs, nouns, and adjectives to form the correct nouns.

Verb/noun/adjective	Noun suffix
Careful Protect Social Popular Confident	-ity -ness -ence -ism -tion

Exercise 2: Complete the sentence with the suitable noun form

Her unique clothing style reflects her______(individual).
The professor's______(intelligent) is evident in the way he explains complex theories.
The Olympic team consisted of athletes from various countries, each proud of their______(national).
The concert provided an evening of great______(entertain) for the audience.
His______(obsess) with collecting rare coins has turned into a lifelong hobby.

Exercise 3: Choose the correct answer

The______patiently explained the complex mathematical concept.
1. Teach
2. Teacher
3. Teaching
The movie offers two hours of ______ for the audience.
1. Entertainment
2. Entertain
3. Entertaining
Can I get some _______ on uni courses?
1. Informative
2. Informing
3. Information
As the team leader, Sarah took on the ______of ensuring that each team member completed their tasks on time.
1. Responsibility
2. Irresponsibility
3. Responsible
We all watched in _______as he juggled three flaming torches.
1. Amazing
2. Amazed
3. Amazement
Different cultures and eras have different ideas of what makes someone a great _______.
1. Beautiful
2. Beauty
3. Beautifully
Unfortunately, I lost _______halfway through the film.
1. Interesting
2. Interested
3. Interest

2. Answers

Exercise 1	Exercise 2	Exercise 3
Carefulness Protection Socialism Popularity Confidence	Individuality Intelligence Nationality Entertainment Obsession	B A C A C B C

V. Crack the IELTS Exam With Confidence

Through this post, PREP hopes you have gained an understanding of 15 common English noun suffixes. If Want to learn the secrets to IELTS success, explore these powerful course today:

IELTS preparation: Master Every Section of IELTS

Master Tu Pham

Founder/CEO at Prep

Founder of Prep Smart Test Preparation Platform. With over 10 years of experience in teaching and test preparation, Mr. Tú has helped thousands of students achieve high scores in the IELTS exam. In addition, Mr. Tú Phạm is also a consulting expert in British Council programs and a speaker at many leading educational events, programs, and conferences.