Adjective Suffixes (From: http://www.grammar-quizzes.com/passive3a.

html)

Forming adjectives from other word forms

Noun Adjective word form

NOUN WORD FORM

Some adjectives are formed from nouns and others are formed from verbs. The word forms are from
Latin, Greek and other languages. There is no simple rule for adding suffixes, but there are common
patterns.
DET + NOUN (N)

The sky was a spectacle. (a very beautiful thing to see)

The sky was filled with colors.

The sunset was red.

We felt awe. (a feeling of inspiration and respect)

ADJECTIVE WORD FORM

Adding a suffix to a noun form is one way of forming an adjective. A suffix is a part added to the end
of a word to mark the word form. An adjective is often used after It is or It seems (stative verbs).
BE + ADJ DET + MODIFIER + N

It was spectacular. It was a spectacular sky.

It was colorful. It was a colorful sky.

It looked reddish. It was a reddish sky.

It was awesome. It was an awesome sight.

It + be + adjective (predicate adjective or predicate complement) See describing "be" (ascriptive
"be").
NP noun phrase; N noun; Det determiner; AdjP adjective phrase; Adj adjective
Also see Noun Suffixes changing adjectives to noun forms.

Common Suffixes noun to adjective

NOUN
SUFFIX NOUN ADJECTIVE NOUN ADJECTIVE
ADJECTIVE
accident accidental brute brutal region regional
-AL relating to
region regional person personal universe universal
custom customary
moment momentary caution cautionary
-ARY relating to quality
compliment
or place honor honorary diet dietary
complimentary
 beauty beautiful wonder wonderful awe awful
-FUL full of
skill skillful success successful delight delightful
athlete athletic base basic history historic
-IC having the nature of;
caused by photograph photographic science scientific rhythm rhythmic
history historical
magic magical logic logical
-ICAL having the nature
alphabet
of practice practical statistic statistical
alphabetical
fool foolish child childish self selfish
-ISH origin, nature
sheep sheepish pink pinkish girl girlish
power powerless friend friendless worth worthless
-LESS without
use useless home homeless penny penniless
like lifelike lady ladylike war warlike
-LIKE like
child childlike bird birdlike spring springlike
friend friendly cost costly month monthly
-LY like
day daily order orderly coward cowardly
poison poisonous danger dangerous nerve nervous
-OUS quality, nature
courtesy courteous mystery mysterious victory victorious
rain rainy fun funny dirt dirty
-Y like
mess messy dirt dirty spot spotty

Changing verbs to adjectives

Verb word form Adjective word form

VERB WORD FORM

Some adjectives are formed by adding a suffix to the verb form. A suffix is a part added to the end of a
word to mark the word form.
VERB

They create ideas.

She is expecting a baby.

They don't permit smoking here.

They urge us to come immediately.

Today's news interests me.

ADJECTIVE WORD FORM

Adjectives commonly occur after be verbs as predicate adjectives or predicate complements.

Adjectives also occur as modifiers to nouns (pre-position and post-position)
BE + ADJECTIVE MODIFIER TO A NOUN

They are creative. They have creative minds.

She is an expectant mother. We congratulated the expectant mother.

Smoking is permissible. allowed Smoking is a permissible activity.

The matter is urgent. This urgent matter needs your attention.

The news is interesting. We have interesting news.

I am interested. I am an interested reader.

Modifiers ending in -ed / -ing

Participial Modifiers -ed vs. -ing

PAST PARTICIPIAL MODIFIER -ED

The past participle modifies the noun that is the receiver of the feeling or emotion.

an amused child

The child receives the feeling of amusement.

Interested people can sign up for the class.

(The people feel interest in the subject.)

Bored speakers should find something exciting to say.

(The speaker feels boredom while speaking!)

Amused viewers enjoy the short films.

(The viewers feel the amusement.)

Overwhelmed students end up dropping a course or two . (The students feel overwhelmed.)
PRESENT PARTICIPIAL MODIFIER -ING

The present participle modifies the noun that is the source of the feeling or emotion.

an amusing ride

The ride causes amusement.

Interesting people will speak during the class.
(People cause others to feel interest.)

Boring speakers put their attendees to sleep.

(The speaker causes others to be bored.)

Amusing short films are shown at the animated film festival.

(The films cause the amusement.)

Overwhelming amounts of work are given to high school students. (The amount of work causes the
overwhelming.)

Common suffixes verb to adjective

SUFFIX VERB ADJECTIVE VERB ADJECTIVE VERB ADJECTIVE

agree agreeable expand expandable laugh laughable
-ABLE able, can do
pass passable remark remarkable pay payable
access accessible force forcible sense sensible
-IBLE able, can do
flex flexible permit permissible force forcible
please pleasant rely reliant ignore ignorant
-ANT performing agent
resist resistant vacate vacant comply compliant
excel excellent depend dependent confide confident
-ENT performing agent
urge urgent differ different equal equivalent
attract attractive create creative select selective
-IVE causing effect
posses possessive prevent preventive destruct destructive
amuse amusing excite exciting confuse confusing
-ING causing effect
relax relaxing surprise surprising amaze amusing
amuse amused excite excited confuse confused
-ED receiving effect
relax relaxed surprise surprised overwhelm overwhelmed
freeze frozen lighten lightened darken darkened
-EN receiving effect
braze brazen shorten shortened widen widened

Adjectives: Similar but Different

VERB SIMILAR BUT DIFFERENT PAIRS

It was an awesome movie. having a great quality, inspiring
AWE
It was an awful movie. having a terrible quality

We have two dependent children. needing someone for care

DEPEND
We have two dependable children. having a nature of completing promises
 The laughing child was playing. having a good nature
LAUGH
The laughable car was powered with tequila. impossible to be serious about
She has light hair. a natural quality
LIGHT
She has lightened hair. an unnatural/changed quality
He is a loving son. having a quality of giving love
LOVE
He is a lovable son. having a nature of attracting love
He is selective a bout what he eats. having a quality of being choosy

They are selling selected items. particular, carefully chosen

SELECT
Select people can live there. a small number, exclusive, wealthy
He is a sensible person. reasonable [sensible]
SENSE
He is a sensitive person. easily irritated or hurt [L. sensitivus]
NOUN SIMILAR BUT DIFFERENT PAIRS
It was childish behavior (behavior). having immature behavior, negative
CHILD
It was childlike behavior. qualities like a child, positive
We are confident about winning. sure [L.confidere]
CONFIDE
The message is confidential. private [L. confident]
It is a crisp day, today. cool and dry
CRISP
It is a crispy cracker. thin and crunchy (makes a pleasant sound)
We had a fun time at the movies. amusing
FUN
We saw a funny movie. causing laughter
The general made a tactical advance. military move [L. tacticus]

TACT He is a tactful politician. having skills handling situations [L. tactus] tact (n.) skill in
dealing with difficult or delicate situations
Your food is tasty. having a good taste
TASTE
You are a tasteful dresser. having good judgment for fashion
He is a worthy competitor. having good value, character
WORTH
He is a worthless competitor. having no value or importance

Suffixes -ic versus ical: Adjectives -ic and -ical

-IC

There is no particular way to know whether a word will use the -ic or the -ical ending. The suffix -ic
comes from French -ique, or Greek -ikos. and means having the nature of , or causing something.

academic, algebraic, arithmetic, artistic, athletic, catholic, domestic, dramatic, egoistic, emphatic,
energetic, fantastic, geometric, strategic, linguistic, majestic, neurotic, pathetic, pedagogic, phonetic,
public, semantic, syntactic, systematic, tragic
He buys classic cars. traditional, old style

His comic verse filled books. artistic comedy

His economic theory was proved unsound. of the science of economics

An electric motor powered the car. a particular machine

That was a/an historic moment. recorded in past history

The hysteric / hysterical woman was out of control. unable to control your behavior or emotions

The little girl played with a magic wand. of a mysterious source

He was a medic in the military. intern or doctor

He wrote in a poetic speech. imaginative, having the quality of poetry, like poetry

It's not politic to ask such questions wise

-ICAL

The -ical form is often added to a word that already has a final -ic. Such adjectives often have a
different or an additional meaning from the more basic -ic form.

alphabetical, alphanumerical, archeological, biblical, biological, chemical, chronological, critical,

cynical, ethical, grammatical, fanatical, illogical, logical, mathematical, mechanical, medical, musical,
pedagogical, physical, radical, surgical tactical, topical

We listen to classical music. from a cultural (sometimes Greek, Roman, European) source, or 18thC.

His comical verse entertained audiences. funny

He chose an economical car. inexpensive to use

Electrical equipment makes our work easier. general, mass

This is a/an historical moment. worthy of being recorded in history

The movie was hysterical. very funny, causing uncontrollable laughter

It was a magical experience. mysterious, wonderful, exciting

He did medical research. related to medicine

He wrote in a poetical manner. having the form of poetry

It was a political question. concerning government and politics

 Common Mistakes: Errors and Solutions
FOCUS SOLUTION
His answer was logical, but I didn't agree with him.
His answer was logic, but I didn't
agree with him.
Tip: If you want to know if a word is an adjective, place "very"
before the word. It's very logical. (OK) / It's *very logic*. (not
How can I tell if a word is an
OK)
adjective or a noun?

My dad likes to listen to classic My dad likes to listen to classical music on the car radio.
music on the car radio. This book is a classic. enjoyed by generations
Use this to refer to traditional Use "classical music" to refer to Beethoven, Bach, Haydn, etc.
music (not Bach and Beethoven)

Do you know where I can buy an Do you know where I can buy an economical car? (money saving,
economic car? affordable, gas saving?)

Hal is a tasteful dresser.

Use tasty for food. Use tasteful for fashion sense (dresses
Hal is a tasty dresser.
appropriately, has good fashion judgment).

It was a chilly, crispy day. It was a chilly, crisp day. (dry, low humidity)

Don't shout at my son. He's a very

sensible person. He's a very sensitive person. (easily hurt)

FORMACION DEL ADJETIVO

Puede efectuarse por adicin de sufijos, separables o no:

a) A PARTIR DE UN SUSTANTIVO

hope, esperanza hopeless, desesperanzado

grace, gracia graceful, gracioso
child, nio childish, aniado
rain, lluvia rainy, lluvioso
gold, oro golden, dorado, de oro
West, oeste Western, occidental
friend, amigo friendly, amistoso
pleasure, placer pleasurable, placentero
atom, tomo atomic, atmico

b) A PARTIR DE UN VERBO

to eat, comer to contribute, contribuir

to act, actuar to work, trabajar
 eatable, comestible contributive, contribuyente
active, activo working, que trabaja

c) A PARTIR DE OTRO ADJETIVO

blind, ciego blindfold, a ciegas

yellow, amarillo yellowish, amarillento
practic, prctico practical, prctico

Los sufijos son aquellas partculas que se le agregan a una palabra (despus, y no antes como los
prefijos), para de esta forma indicar en qu caso gramatical se encuentra, o modificar de
alguna manera su significad.

Un ejemplo en espaol: el sufijo s, o es. al agregarlo a una palabra, le da un significado

de plural ej: carro, carros

Los sufijos en ingls ms usados son los siguientes:

- able
forma adjetivos a partir de verbos. No se aplica a sustantivos. Significa able, ible :
-to reason/reasonable = razonar/razonable
-to drink/drinkable = beber/bebible (potable)

-ful
este sufijo es agregado a sustantivos para formar sustantivos y adjetivos. significan ada,
ado, ido, oso :
-color/colorful = color/colorido
-wonder/wonderful = maravilla/maravilloso

-y
este sufijo es utilizado en ingls con 3 propsitos: Se aade a sustantivos para
convertirlos en adjetivos y expresar semejanza o para indicar abundancia. Y en caso de
que un sustantivo finalice en e convierte la e simplemente en y. Significa ado, oso y
raramente significa able; Utilizado para obtener el disminutivo, para el efecto si finaliza
en consonante esta se repite. significa ito, ita.
noise/noisy = ruido/ruidoso
water/watery = agua/acuoso
anger/angry = enojo/enojado

- cal
Este sufijo convierte sustantivos. en adjetivos. Sustantivos terminados en c solamente
agrega al. Significa ico, ica
-medic/medical = mdico/mdico (a)
-alphabet/alphabetical = alfabeto/alfabtico(ica)

- ous
este sufijo equivale al sufijo oso, osa del espaol, con el trasformamos un sustantivo en
adjetivo y de acuerdo al procedimiento siguiente :
Sustantivos terminados en r basta agregar ous; los terminados en e cambian e por ous; el
terminado en y la cambia por i y agrega ous, al sustantivo terminado en o agrega us, los
terminados en on elimina la n y se reemplaza por us.
-fury/furious = furia/furioso
-danger/dangerous = peligro/peligroso
 - less
Este sufijo altera a los sustantivos para obtener adjetivos. Y es muy til con los
comparativos. Es un sufijo tipo negacin y el cual significa sin, in,.
-hope/hopeless = esperanza/sin esperanza
-worth/worthless = til/intil

- ish
El sufijo ish se le agrega a sustantivos para formar adjetivos y as indicar semejanza o
atenuacin.
Si el sustantivo termina en e cambia la e por i y se le agregas sh. Si el sustantivo finaliza
en y la conservara y se le agrega -ish. Si el sustantivo termina en consonante simplemente
se le agrega ish para obtener el adjetivo.
-boy/boyish = nio/como nio
-woman/womanish = mujer/como mujer, mujeril

Some more adjective endings:

able acceptable, available, capable, comfortable, desirable,

al abnormal, central, digital, conventional, personal, rational,
an authoritarian, bohemian, republican, urban, veteran,
ant arrogant, constant, distant, dominant, pleasant, relevant,
ar familiar, particular, popular, similar, regular, spectacular,
ary arbitrary, contrary, elementary, involuntary, revolutionary,
ate accurate, adequate, considerate, delicate, desperate,
ed complicated, connected, expected, related, sacred, united,
en barren, drunken, heartbroken, open, swollen, wooden,
ent absent, efficient, different, frequent, impatient, insolent,
etic diabetic, energetic, genetic, magnetic, pathetic, synthetic,
ful beautiful, careful, colorful, harmful, painful, successful,
ible audible, compatible, convertible, credible, impossible,
ic atomic, alcoholic, alergic, analytic, electronic, pacific,
ical alphabetical, asymetrical, biblical, biological, chemical,
id arid, avid, candid, frigid, humid, hybrid, rapid, rigid,
ile agile, docile, fertile, fragile, hostile, sterile, versatile,
ine alkaline, bovine, divine, feminine, masculine, genuine,
ish amateurish, childish, feverish, foolish, lavish, selfish,
less aimless, careless, fearless, flawless, friendless, harmless,
like alike, childlike, ladylike, lifelike, manlike, warlike,
ly brotherly. chilly, costly, deadly, ghostly, holy, kindly,
ory circulatory, compensatory, conciliatory, contradictory,
ous ambiguous, anonymous, dangerous, famous, nervous,
sive aggresive, adhesive, compulsive, evasive, impulsive,
some awesome, bothersome, tiresome, lonesome, gruesome,
tive addictive, attractive, constructive, corrective, defective,

EXERCISES:
http://www.tolearnenglish.com/exercises/exercise-english-2/exercise-english-12097.php
http://www.englishexercises.org/makeagame/viewgame.asp?id=3677
http://www.autoenglish.org/FCEUse/verbs2adjectives.htm
http://www.english-grammar.at/online_exercises/adjective_adverb/kingsley-manor.htm
http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/word_formation/nouns_adjectives/index.php
http://grammar.about.com/od/sentencestructures/a/Practice-In-Using-Adjectives-Formed-From-
Nouns-And-Verbs.htm