英语词根 后缀

英语的后缀具有很强的语法作用，加在词根上构成派生词，一般不改变词根的基本意义，而是改变词性。常用的后缀通常可以分为四个类型：

1. 名词后缀

-er/-or; -ar; -ant; -tion; -ing; -ment; -al; -ure; -ese; -ian; -ness; -ism; -ist; -y; -(i)ty; -th

(1) 动词加后缀-er; -or; -ar; -ant变为名词，表示“动作执行人”。

e.g. teach→teacher play→player dream→dreamer

employ→employer visit→visitor invent→inventor direct→director translate→translator lie→liar beg→beggar assist→assistant

inhabit→inhabitant apply→applicant

(2) 动词加-tion; -ing; -ment; -al; -ure 变为相应的名词形式，表示“行为的过程、结果”。

e.g. organize→organization inform→information

congratulate→congratulation

greet→greeting live→living save→saving move→movement amuse→amusement entertain→entertainment arrive→arrival

refuse→refusal

survive→survival fail→failure

depart→departure press→pressure

(3)名词加后缀-ese; -ian; -ist，表示“……地方的人”，“……地方的”。

e.g. China→Chinese Japan→Japanese Vietnam→Vietnamese

Australia→Australian Canada→Canadian music→musician piano→pianist violin→violinist science→scientist

(4)形容词加后缀-ness; -ism; -ist; -y; -(i)ty; -th变为名词。

e.g. sick→sickness foolish→foolishness happy→happiness

加-ism; -ist表示“……主义”“……主义者”。

material→materialism natural→naturalism material→materialist natural→naturalist difficult→difficulty honest→honesty

equal→equality

safe→safety true→truth dead→death

2. 动词后缀

-ify; -en; -ise (-ize)

(1)形容词加后缀-ify; -en; -ise (-ize)变为动词，表示“使成为……”。

e.g. simple→simplify pure→purify intense→intensify

quick→quicken

wide→widen sharp→sharpen

dramatic→dramatize modern→modernize

civil→civilize

(2)名词加-ify; -en; -ise (-ize)后缀变为动词，表示“使成为……”,“变为……状态”。

e.g. beauty→beautify class→classify sign→signify

length→lengthen

strength→strengthen organ→organize

system→systemize sympathy→sympathize

3. 形容词后缀

-able; -ible; -ful; -ous; -ent; -ant; -y; -ly; -ive; -al;-an; -ern; -ish;

-some

(1)动词加后缀-able; -ible; -ful; -ous; -ent; -ant; -y变为形容词，表示“可……的”，“能……的”。

e.g. move→movable suit→suitable change→changeable sense→sensible flex→flexible use→useful care→careful envy→envious vary→various depend→dependent

consist→consistent assist→assistant ascend→ascendant

wind→windy snow→snowy sleep→sleepy

act→active pass→passive

(2)名词加后缀-al; -an; -ern; -ly; -ish; -some变为形容词, 表示“有某种特征的”,“属于……的”。

e.g. music→musical medicine→medical America→American Europe→European east→eastern west→western north→northern man→manly year→yearly fool→foolish Turkey→Turkish

burden→burdensome trouble→troublesome

4. 副词后缀

多数形容词加-ly变为相应的副词。

e.g. careful→carefully beautiful→beautifully real→really

一些表示方向的形容词加-wise; -ward(s)变为相应的副词。

e.g. clock→clockwise other→otherwise up→upward(s)

down→downward(s) back→backward(s)

另外，还应注意几个问题：