BBC官网英语学习:名词后缀归纳-By Roger Woodham
-ness is one of a number of noun suffixes. It is used to make nouns from adjectives, although not every adjective can be modified in this way. Here are some common adjectives whose noun forms are made by adding -ness:
| happy | sad | weak | good | ready | tidy | forgetful |
Note the spelling change to adjectives that end in -y:
- Everybody deserves happiness in their life. To be
happy is a basic human right.
- There was a lot of sadness in the office when people
learned of his illness.
- His readiness to have a personal word with everybody
at the funeral was much appreciated.
- He is such a forgetful person. Such forgetfulness
cannot be excused.
- If you want to work for such an organisation, you are expected to maintain a high standard of tidiness in your appearance.
-ity (nouns from adjectives)
-ity is another noun suffix that is formed from adjectives. Here are some adjectives whose noun forms are made in this way:
| possible | probable | responsible | complex | hilarious | scarce |
Note the spelling changes that occur in these conversions:
- Everything was possible, but the probability,
or even possibility, of Jason returning home unharmed was
remote.
- I was given a great deal of responsibility in my new
job.
- It was a complex operation but such complexities
are common in cardiac surgery.
- Her behaviour was hilarious but hilarity is
not easily tolerated in a convent school.
- The scarcity of water was serious, but all natural
resources were scarce.
-tion, or, less frequently -sion (both pronounced with a 'sh' sound on the initial letter) are noun suffixes that are used to make nouns from verbs. Here are some common verbs whose noun forms are made by adding -tion:
| admit | alter | inform | decide | describe | multiply |
Note that adjustments that are necessary to the spelling in each case:
- He admitted he had lied and this admission
landed him in court.
- The dress will have to be altered and I'm going to
have the alteration done professionally.
- I informed the police that I had seen one of the robbers
in Margate and this information led to the arrest of the
gang.
- I decided to give myself up. The decision was
easy. My description was in all the newspapers. And I had
been on the run for three weeks.
- Multiplication is the easiest part of arithmetic -
much easier than addition, subtraction or division.
-ment is another suffix that is used to make nouns from verbs and occasionally from adjectives:
| enjoy | replace | appoint | arrange | merry |
- Enjoyment is the most important thing in life and
you simply don't know how to enjoy yourself.
- You will need to replace the broken part and unfortunately
replacements cost ￡350.
- I don't know if I shall be appointed to the job but
I have an appointment to see the manager this morning.
- I had arranged to be there early so that all the arrangements
would be in place by the time Yuan arrived.
- Everyone was quite merry by now. Such merriment
had not been seen in my mother's house for a long time.
-ance and -ence are suffixes that are used to make nouns from adjectives and sometimes from verbs:
| absent | silent | independent | important | admit | appear | exist |
- Her absence was not noticed during the silence
of prayer.
- The importance of independence for teenagers
should not be underestimated.
- Admittance to the theatre is not permitted once the
show has started.
- His appearance did not permit him to be admitted.
- His existence as a writer was threatened when people
stopped buying his books.
-ship (abstract nouns denoting different kinds of relationships)
| relationship | friendship | partnership | membership |
- His friendship with Carole slowly turned into a relationship.
- I'm going to go into partnership with SIP and that will automatically give me membership of the golf club.
-hood (abstract nouns denoting different kinds of 'families')
| childhood | motherhood | neighbourhood | priesthood |
- Childhood and motherhood/fatherhood are two
very important stages in our lives.
- The neighbourhood was extremely quiet and the priesthood was attractive to many in this peaceful environment