{"id":25589,"date":"2021-03-29T09:00:11","date_gmt":"2021-03-29T14:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.allaboutlearningpress.com\/?p=25589"},"modified":"2021-03-29T15:53:05","modified_gmt":"2021-03-29T20:53:05","slug":"suffixes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.allaboutlearningpress.com\/suffixes\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Teach Suffixes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome to our mini teaching guide on suffixes! In this post, you\u2019ll find many different tools to help you teach suffixes to your child, as well as downloadable resources and activities. Let\u2019s dig in!<\/p>\r\n\r\n

What Is a Suffix?<\/h2>\r\n\r\n

A suffix is a word part that is placed at the end of a base word. Common suffixes include ED, ING, and EST. Take a look at more suffix examples below.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\"Suffixes\r\n\r\n

A suffix often transforms a word into a new part of speech. In the examples above, baby<\/span><\/em> (a noun) is changed to babyish<\/span><\/em> (an adjective);\u00a0run<\/span><\/em> (a verb) is changed to runner<\/span><\/em> (a noun).<\/p>\r\n\r\n

The Four Most Common Suffixes<\/h2>\r\n\r\n

The most common suffixes are S, ES, ED, and ING. These four suffixes are the most useful for beginning readers and spellers to learn because they appear frequently in words, and their meanings are easy to understand and remember.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

\r\n\"-s\r\n

Suffix S\u00a0and ES\u00a0indicate plurals.<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
\r\n

\r\n\"-ed

Suffix ED indicates past tense.<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
\r\n

\r\n\"-ing

Most often, suffix ING is added to verbs to indicate that something is happening in the present.<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n

Interested in seeing more suffixes? Here\u2019s a list of 30 common suffixes<\/a> you can download and print.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\"click<\/a>\r\n \r\n

Adding Suffixes Is Different from Adding Prefixes<\/h2>\r\n\r\n

When adding a prefix to a word (Check out our mini guide on teaching prefixes!<\/a>), you simply add the prefix to the beginning of the base word (as in un<\/span>happy<\/span><\/em>). The spelling of the base word never changes. Super easy, right?<\/p>\r\n\r\n

But adding a suffix to a word isn\u2019t quite as straightforward. That\u2019s because when you add a suffix, the base word often changes. For example:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\"Suffixes\r\n\r\n

Thankfully, there are some solid guidelines to follow when adding suffixes to words. Before we dive into those rules, though, let\u2019s take a quick look at the two types of suffixes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Two Types of Suffixes<\/h2>\r\n \r\n

You may have noticed on the free download<\/a> that the suffixes are divided into two categories.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\"Two\r\n\r\n

It\u2019s important for kids to recognize whether a suffix is a consonant<\/span> suffix or a vowel<\/span> suffix since the rules for adding them to base words are different.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Rules for Adding Suffixes<\/h2>\r\n\r\n

Rule 1: Add a consonant suffix<\/span> directly to the base word.<\/h3>\r\n \r\n \"The\r\n\r\n

Rule 2: Check the base word before adding a vowel suffix<\/span>.<\/h3>\r\n

Here are the first three guidelines we teach for adding vowel suffixes.<\/p>\r\n