English Vocabulary in Use Elementary » Unit 59: Suffixes

Word List
  • beautiful
  • calculator
  • cooker
  • endless
  • happily
  • happiness
  • instructor
  • quickly
  • sadness
  • sandy
  • sunny
  • swimmer
  • useful
  • useless
  • worker
Exercises

59.1 ‣ Which of the example words from the opposite page do these pictures illustrate?

59.2 ‣ Find the adjectives and match them with the nouns they go with in the box. Some adjectives can go with more than one noun.

  1. electric
  2. worker
  3. fast
  4. beautiful
  5. cooker
  6. sandy
  7. weather
  8. sunny
  9. car
  10. hard
  11. idea
  12. useful
  13. book
  14. endless
  15. swimmer
  16. beach
  17. guitar
  18. smile
  19. picture
  20. fun
  21. useless
  2. _____
  3. _____
  4. _____
  5. _____
  6. _____
  7. _____
  8. _____
  9. _____

59.3 ‣ Complete the sentences using the word in brackets and a suffix.

  1. Can I use your bottle , please? (open)
  2. I’m tired because I slept very _____ last night. (bad)
  3. The waiter was very _____ and explained everything on the menu. (help)
  4. Thank you very much for all your _____. (kind)
  5. It’s important not to make _____ mistakes in your writing. (care)
  6. It was wet and _____ most of last week. (wind)
  7. I did the homework very _____. (easy)
  8. Do you know a good _____ who could do some work on our house? (build)

59.4 ‣ What do you think these words and phrases mean? Use the information about suffixes from the opposite page to help you.

  1. a hair dryer
  2. a traveller
    _____
  3. slowly
    _____
  4. hopeful
    _____
  5. rainy
    _____
  6. painless
    _____
  7. badly
    _____
  8. a tin opener
    _____
  9. a footballer
    _____
  10. snowy
    _____
Answer Key
A ‣ Suffixes

Suffixes come at the end of words. They help you to understand the meaning of a new word. Here are some common suffixes.

suffixmeaningexamples
er, or (noun)personworker, swimmer, instructor
er, or (noun)machine, thingcooker, calculator
ful (adjective)full ofuseful, beautiful
less (adjective)withoutuseless, endless
lymakes an adverb from an adjectivequickly, happily
nessmakes an abstract noun from an adjectivehappiness, sadness
ymakes an adjective from a nounsandy, sunny

He’s a hard worker. He works 12 hours a day.

She’s a very good swimmer. She was in the Olympic team.

Her tennis is much better now that she has a new instructor.

We’ve got a new gas cooker so the food should be delicious!

Can we use our calculators in the maths test?

Thanks for the information. It was very useful.
What a beautiful photo. I think it will win the competition.

This book is no help at all – it’s useless.
I can’t finish this book – it’s endless.

He was late for work so he went quickly to the station.
They are happily married with two young children.

The mother was smiling with happiness as she held her baby in her arms.
They said goodbye with great sadness because they knew they would probably never meet again.

That beach is very popular with tourists because it is long and sandy.

It’s a lovely sunny day – let’s go to the beach.

Favorite Books
English Vocabulary in Use Upper-intermediate

The words you need to communicate with confidence. Vocabulary explanations and practice for Upper-intermediate level (B2) learners of English. Perfect for both self-study and classroom activities. Quickly expand your vocabulary with over 100 units of easy to understand explanations and practice exercises.

Read more
English Vocabulary in Use Advanced

The words you need to communicate with confidence. Vocabulary explanations and practice for advanced level (C1 to C2) learners of English. Perfect for both self-study and classroom activities. Quickly expand your vocabulary with over 100 units of easy to understand explanations and practice exercises.

Read more
Table of Contents