Suffixes

-ish

(i) -ish sometimes means ‘with the qualities of’ e.g. boyish.

Put each of the following words in its correct place in the sentences below.
childish
girlish
amateurish
piggish
monkish

(a) He lives in one small room and he hasn’t many needs. He leads an almost ____ life.

(b) He is usually a very fine actor, but last night he was terrible, really _________

(c) He’s nearly eighteen but he still has very _______attitudes and interests.

(d) He behaved very badly at lunch. He really has __________ manners.

(e) She still wears rather young, fashions.

(ii) -ish often means ‘rather’, ‘about’, ‘more or less’ e.g. yellowish (more or less yellow),
eightish (about eight), slowish (rather slow). This use of -ish is colloquial, so is not often used in written English.

Put each of the following words in its correct place in the passage below, in which a man who has witnessed a crime describes to a police officer what he saw.

smallish
fairish
sevenish
greenish
twentyish
darkish
tallish

Well, it happened very quickly, officer. I was just leaving my office. It was fairly late, perhaps (a) ________ and I couldn’t see very well because it was already getting (b) _________ . A man came out of the bank. He had (c)________ hair. His age, well,
he was (d) _________ or maybe twenty-five. I couldn’t guess his height, but he was (e) ________. He had a suitcase and he got into a car, not a very big one, (f)_________ in fact. The colour? I think it was (g) _________ . Sorry I can’t be more exact.

2 -ful -less

-ful means ‘having’, ‘with’ e.g. careful, colourful

-less means ‘without’, ‘lacking’ e.g. careless, windowless

Put each of the following words in its correct place in the sentences below.

thoughtful
harmful
successful
friendless
thoughtless
harmless
beautiful
waterless

(a) The Sahara Desert is a vast _______area which runs from east to west across Africa.

(b) Smoking is ______to your health.

(c) This present is just what I want and need. How ____________of you.

(d) I hope you are_____________ in your exams.

(e) Don’t be afraid of the dog. He’s _____________

(f) It was very _________ of you to play the radio so loud so late at night.

(g) She’s very ___________ . Three artists have painted her.

(h) I was alone and _____________ in a strange city.

3 -er -ee

-er usually has an active meaning e.g. examiner (a person who examines, i.e. sets an examination)

-ee usually has a passive meaning e.g. examinee (a person who is examined, i.e. takes an examination)

Put each of the following words in its correct place in the sentences below.

interviewer
trainer
employer
interviewee
trainee
employee

(a) I was given a pay rise of £1,000 by my ______________

(b) A football team normally has a ______________ to keep the players fit

(c) A television _______should always give the ____________a proper chance to express his or her opinions.

(d) That company has 200 people working in its factory. My brother works there and I, too, am an _______________

(e) At the moment he’s a management ____________ . If he’s successful, he’ll be given his first responsible position in January.

4 -proof

-proof means ‘safe against’, ‘able to resist’ e.g. a fireproof door.

Put each of the following words in its correct place in the sentences below.

waterproof
soundproof
bulletproof
heatproof
shockproof
childproof
foolproof

(a) The windows of the President’s car were made of ___________glass in case of an assassination attempt

(b) Our tent wasn’t completely ___________ and the rain came through.

(c) The soldiers were given ____________watches.

(d) These dishes are ________________. You can put them in the oven.

(e) The bank’s security system is completely _____________. It can’t possibly go wrong.

(f) The car locks should be ____________, otherwise my young sons will open them during a journey and fallout

(g) The recording studio was completely ____________

5 -ful

-ful is often used to indicate quantity e.g. a pocketful (the contents of a pocket) of coins.

Put each of the following words in its correct place in the sentences below.

houseful
cupful
tankful
handful
mouthful
teaspoonful

(a) Put a large __________of rice in boiling water, then add a little salt, just a _______

(b) At Christmas we had a ____________ of visitors.

(c) The foreign tourist put a _________of money in front of the taxi driver and said, ‘Is this enouqh?’

(d) After just one ________________ I knew she was a wonderful cook.

(e) A ____________ of petrol should take this car over 200 miles.

6 -er -or -ar

From the verbs below make nouns describing people by adding -er; -or or -ar to the end and making any other necessary spelling changes.

e.g. liberate liberator
drum drummer

(a) teach

(b) direct

(c) beg

(d) interpret

(e) translate

(f) collect

(g) sail

(h) murder

(i) operate

(j) demonstrate

(k) inspect

(l) act

(m) buy

(n) edit

(o) work

(p) donate

(q) visit

(r) produce

(s) travel

(t) compete

7 Instructions as above.

(a) sing
(b) govern
(c) announce
(d) admire
(e) decorate
(f) rob
(g) survive
(h) supply
(i) control
(j) investigate
(k) ski
(l) instruct
(m) elect
(n) write
(o) photograph
(p) swim
(q) contribute
(r) create
(s) manage
(t) lie

8 -ist -ian

From the nouns below make other nouns describing people by adding -ist or -ian to the end and making any other necessary spelling changes.

e.g.
Brazil Brazilian
violin violinist

(a) motor
(b) electricity
(c) Paris
(d) Christ
(e) piano
(f) history
(g) Buddha
(h) economy
(i) art
(j) bicycle
(k) guitar
(l) politics
(m) science
(n) music
(o) psychiatry
(p) terror
(q) magic
(r) flower
(s) comedy
(t) beauty
(u) journal
(v) parachute
(w) language
(x) archaeology

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