4.1 Recognizing Spanish Suffixes
In the chapter dedicated to forms of verbs we covered three important suffix forms of Spanish that are the equivalent in English of our infinitive forming prefix TO.
Thus,
TO play becomes JUGAR
TO run becomes CORRER and
TO sleep becomes DORMIR
In this chapter, we will turn our attention to other forms of Spanish that will provide us with a greater vocabulary, and a greater understanding of the language as a result of the awareness of the meanings of its prefixes, roots, and suffixes.
Now, Suffixes are lexical units (parts of a word) that are attached to the end of a word to form a new word with a different meaning. Most suffixes in the different languages allow the creation of nouns and adjectives from verbs or other parts of speech.
A few examples of the most frequently found suffixes that change Verbs into Nouns (the Name of the action rather than the action itself) are the following:
| Suffix | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -ción | All verbs ending in AR-ER-IR | Grabar - Grabación |
| -dicción | Verbs ending -decir | Contradecir - Contradicción |
| -ido | Many verbs ending in AR | Ladrar – ladrido, Chillar-Chillido, Zumbar - Zumbido |
| -miento | Some verbs ending in AR-ER-IR | Casar -casamiento, Crecer-Crecimiento, Seguir- Seguimiento |
| -ón | Some verbs ending in AR | Empujar – Empujón, Resbalar-Resbalón |
Spanish Suffixes used to create Nouns derived from adjectives:
| Suffix | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -dad/ -tad | Create abstract nouns | Humilde-humildad; malo-maldad; sucio-suciedad |
| -bilidad | Changes adjectives ending in -ble | Amable-amabilidad; estable-estabilidad; culpable-culpabilidad |
| -edad | changes some bisyllable adjectives or those that end in -io or -ia | Breve-brevedad; nuevo-novedad; notorio-notoriedad |
| -ez | Creates abstract nouns | Sencillo-sencillez; tímido-timidez; brillante-brillantez |
| -eza | Creates abstract nouns | Bello-Belleza; triste-tristeza; grande-grandeza |
| -ismo | Speaks to a doctrine, system, movement or character trait | Social-Socialismo; individual-individualismo; Egoísta-egoismo |
And Suffixes used for words that refer to professions, instruments and roles or tasks. They will form Nouns and adjectives.
| Suffix | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -dor | Professions and roles | Presentar-Presentador; Trabajar-Trabajador |
| -dero | Professions and objects | Pan – Panadero; Colar-Coladero; fregar-fregadero |
| -ero | Professions, occupations, utensils | Pastel-pastelero; portar-portero |
| ista | Professions and conditions | Pensión-pensionista; ocular-oculista |
Suffix Resources
- The Most Useful Spanish Suffixes and Prefixes by Keith at Latin America Spanish Cafe
- Latch On: 18 Spanish Suffixes You’ll Never Want to Let Go Of by Francisco J. Vare at FluentU
