Adding Suffixes

Worksheet Description

The “Adding Suffixes Forms New Words” worksheet focuses on teaching students how to form new words by adding specific suffixes to base words. It introduces two suffixes: “-age” which means action or process, and “-al” which means pertaining to. Students are given a list of base words, such as “drain,” “fiction,” and “marry,” and are instructed to add either of the suffixes to create a new word with a related but different meaning. Examples are provided to demonstrate how the addition of a suffix changes the word, as seen with “orphan” becoming “orphanage” when “-age” is added, and “music” becoming “musical” with the addition of “-al.”

This worksheet aims to teach students about the role of suffixes in word formation and how they can change the function and meaning of a word within the English language. By adding “-age” or “-al” to the provided base words, students practice creating nouns that denote an action, state, or process, or adjectives that describe a relation or connection to the base word. This activity helps to broaden students’ vocabulary and enhances their understanding of morphological patterns in English. It also reinforces the idea that many words in English are formed through the combination of base words and affixes, allowing for a rich and diverse vocabulary.