Question 1
The teacher spoke quietly to the nervous student.
💡 'Quiet' + '-ly' becomes 'quietly', an adverb describing how she spoke.
Year 7 — Vocabulary
Suffixes
Recognise common suffixes, understand how a suffix can change a word's word class, and use suffixes accurately in your own writing.
Understand
A suffix is a group of letters added to the END of a word. Unlike most prefixes, a suffix often changes what word CLASS a word belongs to — turning a verb into a noun, or an adjective into an adverb, for example. Knowing common suffixes helps you both build new words and use the correct form of a word in a sentence.
“Her kindness surprised everyone who met her.”
The adjective 'kind' becomes the noun 'kindness' by adding the suffix '-ness', which turns a quality into a noun naming that quality.
Spot it
Which suffix has been used, and what word class does it create?
Question 2
His careless mistake cost the team the match.
💡 'Careless' means without care — the mistake happened because care was missing.
Question 3
The movement gained momentum as more people joined.
💡 'Move' + '-ment' becomes 'movement', a noun naming a process or organisation.
Think about it
The word 'happy' is an adjective. What suffix could you add to turn it into a noun meaning 'the state of being happy' — and what does that tell you about what suffixes actually do?
Try it
Choose the word class the suffix creates.
The company's rapid expansion surprised even its own directors.
Question 1
The suffix '-sion' in 'expansion' turns the verb 'expand' into which word class?
💡 'Expansion' names a process — that's typically a noun's job.
Practise
For each word, identify the suffix and its effect.
Question 1
'Sensible' is an example of the suffix...
Question 2
'Darken' is an example of the suffix...
Question 3
'Friendship' is an example of the suffix...
Question 4
Add a suffix to 'beauty' to make an adjective meaning 'full of beauty'.
💡 The suffix means 'full of'.
Question 5
'Modernise' is an example of the suffix...
Question 6
'Optimist' is an example of the suffix...
Apply
Read the passage, then answer the questions below.
Leadership demands more than confidence. The most effective leaders show genuine kindness, remain adaptable under pressure, and communicate decisions clearly, even when those decisions are unpopular. Weakness in any of these areas can quickly undermine a team's trust.
Question 1
"Leadership" uses the suffix -ship. What word class does it create?
💡 It names a role or state — a noun's job.
Question 2
"clearly" uses the suffix -ly. What word class does it create?
💡 It describes HOW the leaders communicate — an adverb's job.
Question 3
Find the word in the passage built with the suffix '-ness' and type it.
💡 Look near the end of the passage, describing an absence of a positive quality.
Challenge
The passage pairs 'kindness' and 'weakness' — both nouns built with '-ness', but with opposite meanings. Explain in one or two sentences why using the same suffix for both words is effective in this context, given the passage is contrasting good and bad leadership.
Review
A quick mastery check — 3 questions.
Question 1
'Government' uses which suffix, and what does it create?
Question 2
'Childish' uses which suffix, and what does it create?
Question 3
'Simplify' uses which suffix, and what does it create?
Want to practise building words from prefixes, suffixes and roots? Try the word-family builder →