108. Formal and Informal Words

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REMOVE = TAKE AWAY

Many informal English words have a formal synonym, often of Latin origin

THE NATURE & USE OF FORMAL WORDS

Sometimes the difference between two words of similar meaning is not so much what they mean as where they are used (see 16. Ways of Distinguishing Similar Words, #1). This is the case, for example, with scapulas and shoulder blades, the former being common in medical English, the latter in everyday speech (see the end of 77. Apposition). Choosing the wrong alternative in a particular type of writing is often called an error of “appropriacy” (see 166. Appropriacy in Professional English).

A broad area of English that often expresses meanings with different words from those of ordinary speech (and occasionally with different grammar too) is professional, including academic, writing. Its special language is, in fact, the basis of the “formal style” that it is said to normally need. A very important point about this language is that it is not something impressive to achieve, but rather a means of avoiding certain kinds of undesirable language.

This nature of professional writing means that its mastery requires a knowledge of both words to avoid and words to replace them with. Some other posts within these pages offer a few suggestions in this area (see especially 46. How to Avoid “I”, “We” and “You” and 57. Indirect Questions in Formal Writing), but here I want to be more wide-ranging. Readers who are not sure how well they already know this topic can test their knowledge in the post 193. A Test of Formal Language Use.

An interesting feature of formal substitutes for unacceptably informal words is that they are very often derived from Latin, the language of the ancient Roman rulers of Europe 2000 years ago, rather than Old English. Most were imported into English via French after England came under French-speaking monarchs 1000 years ago (see 135. French Influences on English Vocabulary). This link between formal language and historical rulers of England makes sense because both represent power.

Thus, the focus here on usable words in formal writing involves a large number of words that come from Latin. Elsewhere within this blog, there is information about the spelling of “Latinate” words in English (in 45. Latin Clues to English Spelling), common abbreviations of Latin origin (130. Formal Abbreviations), common Latinate word beginnings (146. Some Important Prefix Types) and common word endings (172. Multi-Use Suffixes and 249. Action Noun Endings).

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FORMAL EQUIVALENTS OF TWO-WORD VERBS

A very large category of formal English words is verbs of a mostly Latinate nature that mean the same as everyday two-word verbs. Two-word verbs combine a simple English verb with either a preposition (making a “prepositional” verb like LEAD TO or COPE WITH – see 84. Seven Things to Know about Prepositions, #6) or an adverb (making a “phrasal” verb like MAKE OUT or GIVE UP – see 139. Phrasal Verbs). Prepositional verbs always have a following noun (”object”), which must follow the preposition, whereas phrasal verbs may have no object, and if there is one, it may come before the adverb as well as after.

Latinate verbs have various recognizable features. Many are combinations of a Latin preposition, such as ex-, con- or ab-, and a simple Latin verb like -duc , -tain or -pel (see 45. Latin Clues to English Spelling). Ability to be made into a noun with -ment, -ence, -ance, -al, -sion, -tion or -ation (see 249. Action Noun Endings) is also a good clue.

Here are some common two-word verbs and their more formal equivalents. Highlighting shows links to additional information elsewhere.

1. Prepositional Verbs

ASK FOR = REQUEST
COME AFTER = SUCCEED
COME UP TO = REACH / ATTAIN
DEAL WITH = MANAGE
GO BEFORE = PRECEDE
GO OUT OF = EXIT
LEAD TO = CAUSE
LOOK AT = REGARD
LOOK FOR = SEEK
LOOK INTO = INVESTIGATE
LOOK LIKE = RESEMBLE
MAKE UP = COMPRISE
PUT UP WITH = TOLERATE
REFER TO = CONSULT
SETTLE FOR = CHOOSE
SPEAK TO = ADDRESS
TALK ABOUT = DISCUSS / CONSIDER (see 42. Unnecessary Prepositions)
THINK ABOUT = CONSIDER / PONDER
THINK OF = CONCEIVE
WORK ON = DEVELOP

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2. Phrasal Verbs

BREAK DOWN = FAIL / COLLAPSE
BREAK OFF = SUSPEND / ADJOURN
BREAK UP = DISINTEGRATE
BRING IN = INTRODUCE
COME BACK = RETURN
COME/GO IN = ENTER
FIND OUT = DISCOVER / DETERMINE / IDENTIFY
GET AWAY = ESCAPE
GIVE/BRING BACK = RETURN
GIVE IN = YIELD
GIVE OFF = EXUDE
GIVE OUT = DISTRIBUTE
GIVE UP = QUIT
GO AHEAD = PROCEED
GO AWAY = DEPART
GO ON = CONTINUE
LINK UP = CONNECT
LOOK OVER = PERUSE (see 284. Words with a Surprising Meaning, #14)
MAKE OUT = DISCERN
MAKE UP = INVENT
PUT/SET DOWN = DEPOSIT
PUT ON = APPLY
SET OUT (1) = DISPLAY
SET OUT (2) = DEPART
SLOW DOWN = DECELERATE (See 254. Tricky Word Contrasts 10, #3)
TAKE AWAY = REMOVE
TAKE IN = DECEIVE / ABSORB
TAKE ON = OPPOSE
THROW AWAY = DISCARD
THROW OUT = EJECT

A notable trend among phrasal verbs is the likelihood of those with back to match Latinate verbs with re-. Thus, GO BACK = RETURN, GET BACK = REGAIN, LOOK BACK = REVIEW, PUSH BACK = REPEL and GIVE/ SEND / TAKE BACK = RETURN.

English has many other two-word verbs with a formal equivalent. If in formal writing you can think only of a two-word verb for the meaning you want, you can try consulting a thesaurus for a one-word equivalent. Note, though, that some two-word verbs contain a Latinate verb and are likely as a result not to be informal. Examples are ALLUDE TO, APPROVE OF, DEPEND ON, DISPENSE WITH, DISPOSE OF, INSIST ON and RESULT IN.

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FORMAL QUANTITY WORDS

Quantity words are another area of English with multiple formal and informal equivalents. One major subgroup is “degree” adverbs, which show the strength of an accompanying verb, adjective or adverb, as in the following informal use of pretty with the adjective difficult:

(a) Language learning is pretty difficult.

In formal writing, this use of pretty can be replaced by the neutral quite or the formal-sounding Latinate word moderately. Other informal degree adverbs are a bit, a lot and really. Their respective equivalents in formal writing include a little, considerably and extremely (for a fuller discussion, see 194. Adverbs that Say How Much and 193. A Test of Formal Language Use, #26).

There is also a pronoun use of a bit and a lot, e.g. earns a bit/a lot. Here, a bit is replaceable by a little or a small amount, while a lot has different alternatives depending on whether it represents a plural or uncountable noun: very many or a great many in the first case, very much or a great deal in the second. Here is an example of a plural equivalent:

(b) Poisonous snakes are abundant, but a great many are very shy.

A lot is additionally used informally with of as a kind of vague number before a noun (see 95. Making Statements More Uncertain 1). In formal writing, it can be replaced by many or various, or the very formal-sounding Latinate word numerous.

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OTHER FORMAL EQUIVALENTS

The verb GET is another informal word that is especially productive of formal alternatives. This is because it has so many different meanings. In the following sentences, a different formal equivalent of GET is needed each time:

(c) The atmosphere seems to be getting hotter all the time.

(d) Visitors can get a pass from the main office.

(e) British citizens get a letter from the Monarch when they reach 100.

(f) It is easy to get a flight from Jakarta to Australia.

(g) The treatment of cancer is getting better all the time.

In (c), one can use becoming or growing, neither of which is Latinate. In (d), the word is obtain, in (e) receive, in (f) catch or arrange and in (g) improving. For comparisons of GET and HAVE, see 116. Rarer Uses of HAVE.

Adverbs that have dropped their -ly ending – for example go slow instead of go slowly (see 120. Six Things to Know about Adverbs, #6) – are also too informal for professional writing. Restoring the -ly is simple enough. One other informal adverb is maybe, more formally rendered as perhaps or possibly (see 26. One Word or Two? under “Other Choices that Depend on Word Class”).

Care should be taken to choose the right alternative to the informal adjective big. Speakers of Latin-derived languages – Catalan, French, Italian, Portuguese, Rumanian, Spanish – tend to replace it incorrectly with important or significant because similar-looking words in those languages can have the meaning of big. In English, these words are more about role than size (see 198. Indicating Importance). The main formal synonyms of big are large, great and major (not huge, which means very big – see 16. Ways of Distinguishing Similar Words, #3).

Large seems to be preferred with concrete nouns like room, vehicle or animal, and great must be used when there is a suggestion of “imposing”, “special”, “famous” or “wonderful” (e.g. Alexander The Great, great amenities). Otherwise, with non-concrete (abstract) nouns, a choice between large and great often seems to depend on the noun being described, in other words to be a matter of “collocation”. Here are some typical abstract partners of large and great (the underlined ones also allow major):

Abstract Nouns Requiring “large”

 a factor, a group, a kind, a number, a quantity, a role, a scale, a space, a surplus, a value.

Abstract Nouns Requiring “great”

accuracy, an achievement, charm, a deal, a difference, dignity, a discovery, an effect, importance, interest, a loss, meaning, a mistake, a need, relevance, resolve, responsibility, significance, success, a success, understanding, value, a welcome.

Abstract Nouns Allowing Either

an amount, an extent, a part, a range, a rate, a step.

Two nouns that sometimes need to be avoided in formal writing are thing (countable) and stuff (uncountable). Replacements often depend on context, but common thing words include object, item and idea, and stuff words include material, substance and matter. For a discussion of where thing can be used in formal writing, see 260. Formal Written Uses of “Thing”.

Lastly, the words good and bad, which each possess numerous meanings, are often replaced with more precise Latinate equivalents. Words meaning good include appropriate, attractive, beneficial, desirable, effective, enjoyable, pleasant, suitable and virtuous, while equivalents of bad include damaging, harmful, problematic, troublesome, undesirable, unhealthy, unpleasant and unwanted. More can be found with a thesaurus.

107. The Language of Opinions

Opinions can be expressed without opinion-showing language – but they often have it

CHARACTERISTICS OF OPINIONS

Opinions are beliefs whose truth is not proven, so that they can be disagreed with. In this sense they are the opposite of facts. Consider the following:

(a) Rice is eaten more in Asia than in Europe.

(b) Rice is tastier than potatoes.

The second of these is an opinion: taste cannot be measured scientifically (see 163. Ways of Naming Properties), and many people will believe the opposite – that potatoes taste better than rice. Sentence (a) could be an opinion too. However, unlike (b) it can be proven with statistics. If this has been done, a fact is being stated, and disagreement is ill-advised.

One important kind of opinion is statements about the future. These cannot usually express facts because the future is hardly ever certain (see 96. Making Statements More Uncertain 2 and 147. Types of Future Meaning).

There is nothing in the language of either (a) or (b) to suggest that they might be opinions. It is our general knowledge – knowing, for example, that tastes are personal and unmeasurable – that enables us to identify opinions. Yet English does possess some words that can, when necessary, assist readers to recognise a statement as an opinion – just as it possesses “connectors” (or their synonyms) to help readers recognise less-obvious cross-sentence meanings (see 18. Relations Between Sentences).

This post is about the variety of language that writers can choose from in order to be sure their reader knows an opinion is being given. Some of the language tends to be associated with reported opinions – expressed by other people than the writer – while some mostly accompanies the writer’s own opinions. For information about a common use of opinions in formal writing, see 167. Ways of Arguing 1.

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MARKING OTHER PEOPLE’S STATEMENTS AS OPINIONS

Writers quite often need to report something said by someone else (see 22. Multiple Speakers in a Text). There is often a need as well to identify the reported person. Typical ways of linking the two types of information include reporting verbs, nouns and adjectives, plus preposition phrases and brackets (see 79. Fitting Quotations into a Text). Some of these additionally mark a reported statement as an opinion.

Here are three examples of reporting verbs (underlined). Which one is opinion-indicating?

(c) Fawzi (2011, p.2) states that race is not a major factor in sporting success.

(d) Smith (2014, p. 42) argues that success in professional football depends on financial backing.

(e) As Fernandez (2013, p. 167) confirms, sporting success depends on numerous factors.

It is argues in (d) that marks the reported point as an opinion. Of the others, confirms suggests it is a fact, while states is neutral.

Besides ARGUE, opinion-showing reporting verbs include (DIS)AGREE, ALLEGE, ASSERT, ASSESS, ASSUME, BE CONVINCED, BELIEVE, CLAIM, CONSIDER, CONTEND, DEEM, DOUBT, FEEL, HOLD, JUDGE, MAINTAIN, OPINE, PROPOSE, RECOMMEND, SPECULATE, SUGGEST, SUPPOSE, SUSPECT and THINK (see 150. Verb Choices with Reported Speech).

The underlined verbs above additionally suggest the writer’s disagreement with the reported opinion (see 152. Agreeing & Disagreeing in Formal Contexts). All of the verbs can be used either before that or after as, though there are others that cannot (see 279. Grammatical Differences between Citation Verbs).

Reporting verbs that suggest or definitely assert that the accompanying statement is a fact rather than an opinion include ACKNOWLEDGE, CONFIRM, DEMONSTRATE, ESTABLISH, IDENTIFY, INDICATE, KNOW, MAKE CLEAR, NOTE, OBSERVE, POINT OUT, PROVE, REALISE and SHOW (for more on NOTE and REALISE, see 132. Tricky Word Contrasts 4). Verbs that are neutral about whether the statement is a fact or opinion include CONCLUDE, EMPHASISE, MENTION, SAY, STATE, STRESS and WRITE.

Nouns with a reporting function are also quite numerous (see 287. Speech and Thought Nouns). Many are related to a report verb. Those that suggest an opinion is being reported include assertion, assessment, assumption, belief, case, claim, contention, conviction, feeling, judgement, opinion, position, speculation, suggestion, supposition and view.

Opinion nouns often follow a “source-showing” possessive noun naming the opinion holder (e.g. Smith’s opinion – see 58. Optional Apostrophe Endings), or are the subject of a verb like HAVE, HOLD or MAKE (see 173. “Do Research” or “Make Research”?):

(f) Smith (2014, p.42) holds the opinion (makes the case) that success in professional football depends on financial backing.

Note also the idiomatic expression is of the opinion/view that….

Adjectives with a reporting function are relatively rare. Examples are aware, certain, convinced, dismissive and doubtful (see 300. Adjective Indicators of Indirect Speech). Again, some but not all are opinion-indicating. Of the listed examples, all are except aware.

In contrast to reporting verbs, nouns and adjectives, preposition phrases that can mark a reported statement as an opinion are not very numerous. The main ones seem to be according to and in the opinion of. Also worth mentioning is as far as (NAME) is concerned – an expression with a conjunction (as) rather than a preposition.

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MARKING ONE’S OWN STATEMENTS AS OPINIONS

There is a much wider range of language available for marking one’s own statements as opinions. Much of it is paraphrases of I think/feel that, or in my opinion, which are often felt to be too informal for professional writing (see 46. How to Avoid “I”, “We” and “You”). The main types of paraphrase are detailed below; readers are also referred to 96. Making Statements More Uncertain 2.

One notable absentee from the following list is the prepositional phrase according to. Its use is not advised partly because it would need to be followed by either informal me or clumsy this writer, and partly because I feel it implies disagreement with the reported opinion – illogical when that opinion is one’s own.

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1. Sentences Starting with “it”

The detailed grammar of this kind of sentence is analysed in these pages in 103. Representing a Later Statement with “it”. One way to indicate an opinion with it is by starting it seems that:

(g) It seems that India’s growth will accelerate.

It seems… is additionally usable with a following adjective, either of probability (possible, likely, unlikely, probable, certain) or reasonability (arguable, feasible, tenable, reasonable). All of these adjectives can as well follow it is…. For details of it is possible…, see 181. Expressing Possibility.

The adjectives certain, likely and unlikely can also follow seem(s) or is/are without a starting it, the verb after them then being placed after to instead of that (India’s growth seems likely to accelerate: see 299. Infinitives after a Passive Verb). Certain used in either way is not necessarily fact-indicating: it often asserts instead the speaker’s certainty about their opinion (see 226. Words with Complicated Grammar 2, #2).

Another common opinion indicator after it is can be with an argument verb like argued, contended, held or maintained. Using is instead of can be must be avoided because that shows a report (of either someone else’s opinion or the writer’s in another location: see 22. Multiple Speakers in a Text). This use of can be is what I have elsewhere called “ownership-showing” (see 237. Auxiliary Verbs in Professional Communication, #4).

A related expression is it could be that…: an introducer of a very speculative idea, often attempting to explain something said just before (see 289. Exotic Grammar Structures 8, #2).

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2. “May” Combined with “But”

This combination (and various synonyms) is analysed elsewhere in this blog in 51. Making Concessions with “May”. An example is:

(h) Cars MAY be faster than bicycles BUT they pollute the environment.

The underlined statements are opposing facts implying opposing opinions (that cars are good/bad). The use of may…but indicates that the writer holds the second implied opinion (against cars). To express no opinion, one would have to use on the one hand… on the other… .

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3. Opinion-Showing Adverbs

Various adverbs are commonly added to statements to mark them as opinions (see 121. Sentence-Spanning Adverbs, #3). One major group indicates different degrees of probability. In decreasing order they include in all likelihood, most likely, probably, possibly, perhaps and conceivably. A famous beer advertisement, for example, speaks of “probably the best lager in the world”.

Another adverb group suggests certainty. Examples are certainly, definitely, no doubt, surely, undoubtedly, undeniably and unquestionably. As with the adjective certain, they indicate an opinion because they associate certainty not with the idea they are helping to express but with the speaker (see 224. Asserting the Truth of what you Say, #1). For more on no doubt, see 157. Tricky Word Contrasts 5 (#1). 

Another useful group of adverbs is apparently, nominally, plausibly, seemingly and arguably. The first four acknowledge the untrustworthiness of the writer’s senses (see 319. Superficiality), while the last simply means “I believe”. Two adverbs like these that do not mark a statement as one’s own opinion are superficially and debatably. These are more negative, and accompany someone else’s opinion, usually in order to cast doubt on it (see 13. Hidden Negatives and 152. Agreeing and Disagreeing in Formal Contexts).

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4. Other Modal Verb Uses

Modal verbs can signal an opinion not just in the already-described ways with can and may, but also by indicating different degrees of truth probability like adverbs. Perhaps the most useful is may, suggesting a 50% probability. Alternatives are should showing 90% (but only usable with opinions about the future), may well showing 70%, might 30%, and could 10% (see 237. Auxiliary Verbs in Professional Communication, #2). As an illustration, sentence (g) could have may well accelerate instead of it seems that…will accelerate.

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5. Ordinary Verbs

Two ordinary verbs that seem particularly able to function like may are SEEM and APPEAR. In the following example, does not seem to corresponds to may not:

(i) Race does not seem (to be) a major factor in sporting success.

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6. “One can” + Reporting Verb

This combination is similar to the above-mentioned use of it with can be and a passive reporting verb. Thus, instead of it can be argued, there is the possibility of saying one can argue. Note again the importance of including can. Some might say the active after one sounds better than the passive after it; but a problem is that one can sound excessively formal (see 211. General Words for People).

106. Word-Like Suffixes

Some added letters at the end of a word can also make a word by themselves

DEFINITION OF ENGLISH SUFFIXES

A suffix is a kind of subdivision found in some words. It is likely to be:

(i) Added onto the end of an existing English word, modifying its meaning.

(ii) Meaningful.

(iii) Present in numerous different words.

(iv) Unable to be used alone as a word.

Well-known examples of suffixes are -s on nouns and verbs, -ness and -tion on some nouns, -ing and -fy on verbs, and -ly on some adverbs. A major reason for studying suffixes is that familiarity with them can make it easier to guess the meanings of unfamiliar words in a text (see 177. How to Guess Meanings in a Text).

Some suffixes are considered to belong to grammar, others to vocabulary. Grammar ones normally create different forms of the same word, vocabulary ones new words altogether. The suffix -s is of the former kind – see and sees are different forms of the same verb SEE, showing respectively plural and singular meaning. The suffix -ly, on the other hand, is of the latter kind: sad and sadly are two different words, one an adjective and one an adverb.

The last of the four characteristics above helps suffixes to be differentiated from “roots” – meaningful word parts that are more than just additions to another word, such as -work in homework (see 26. One Word or Two?). However, some word endings that may be best thought of as suffixes (of the vocabulary-like kind) can also occur by themselves. One reason for still classifying them as suffixes is that they are very widely used in different words.

This post is about suffixes that resemble roots. I wish first to examine the occurrence of -ful and -less, which are quite widespread in English, and then to consider some others that are not so frequent. Other posts that contain information about suffixes are 41. Unexpected Vowels in Derived Words,  135. French Influences on English Vocabulary,  172. Multi-Use Suffixes,  249. Action Noun Endings,  255. Nouns Made from Adjectives and 304. Adjectives Made from a Verb. For information about prefixes, see 146. Some Important Prefix Types.

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THE SUFFIXES “-ful” AND “-less”

The suffixes -ful and -less can be used at the end of numerous English nouns to change them into adjectives. For example, the noun joy can be made into the adjectives joyful and joyless. The former means “happy” (“full of joy”), the latter “unhappy” or “unattractive” (“lacking joy”). Most -ful and -less adjectives can then be made into new nouns by the addition of -ness (e.g. joyfulness: see 255. Nouns Made from Adjectives).

Unfortunately, the use of -ful and -less is not trouble-free. The main problems are that many nouns do not allow them at all, that some words with -ful are nouns rather than adjectives, that some nouns allow only one of the two suffixes but not both, and finally that some words ending in -ful or -less , such as baleful and reckless, are not also a word when the ending is removed.

Words with -ful that are nouns rather than adjectives include spoonful, cupful, glassful and mouthful. The ability of a particular English suffix to make words of different classes is not so unusual (see 172. Multi-Use Suffixes). Fortunately, -ful nouns are quite easy to recognise from the fact that the noun they are made from is usually the name of a container.

Probably the best way to learn which nouns allow -ful and -less and which do not is simply to gain exposure to as much English in use as possible. However, there can also be merit in seeing many examples of the words presented together in lists. Here is a sample of adjectives with -ful. Those that can replace -ful with -less are underlined.

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Adjectives Ending in “-ful”

awful, baleful, bashful, beautiful, bountiful, careful, colourful, delightful, doubtful, dreadful, dutiful, eventful, faithful, fateful, fearful, forceful, frightful, harmful, hateful, helpful, hopeful, hurtful, joyful, masterful, meaningful, merciful, mindful, painful, peaceful, pitiful, playful, plentiful, powerful, remorseful, resentful, respectful, restful, rightful, spiteful, stressful, successful, tactful, tasteful, tearful, thankful, thoughtful, truthful, useful, vengeful, wishful, wistful, wonderful, wrongful, youthful, zestful.

Adjectives that one might expect to end with -ful but in fact have a different suffix include angry, risky, dirty, irksome, troublesome, charitable, problematic, flawed and loving.

Adjectives ending in -less seem slightly more numerous than the -ful ones. In the following list, the underlined ones again have a -ful equivalent.

Adjectives Ending in “-less”

aimless, *blameless, *bloodless, bottomless, careless, ceaseless, childless, *cloudless, clueless, colourless, defenceless, *doubtless, *effortless, emotionless, endless, expressionless, faithless, *faultless, *fearless, *flawless, hapless, *harmless, heartless, heedless, helpless, hopeless, joyless, landless, lifeless, meaningless, merciless, mindless, *motionless,*odourless, *painless, penniless, pitiless, pointless, powerless, *priceless, reckless, relentless, remorseless, restless, ruthless, senseless, sleepless, soundless, speechless, tactless, tasteless, tearless, thankless, thoughtless, *timeless, *tireless, *topless, toothless (etc.), useless, worthless.

The “(etc.)” in this list next to toothless is because many other names of body parts besides tooth can have -less, for example headless and hairless. An interesting feature of the list as a whole is that most of the words are negative in their meaning (see 13. Hidden Negatives and 16. Ways of Distinguishing Similar Words, #2). Exceptions are marked *.

It is unfortunately not always the case that -ful and -less create opposite meanings in the way that they do in joyful and joyless. Important exceptions include:

doubtful = “doubting” or “untrustworthy”) / doubtless = “undoubtedly”
helpful = “providing help” / helpless = “unable to act”
hopeful = “hoping” / hopeless = “not giving hope”
pitiful = “deserving pity” / pitiless = “not feeling pity”
remorseful = “feeling regret” / remorseless = “unstoppable”
thankful = “grateful” / thankless = “unrewarding”
useful = “possessing a good use” / useless = “inept” or “failing”

Special care is needed with useless, which can cause offence. To meet the politeness demands of formal writing, a preferable alternative is something like not very useful or of no use (see 166. Appropriacy in Professional English).

For more on doubtless, see 157. Tricky Word Contrasts 5, #1. For more on useless, hopeless, priceless and hateful, see 284. Words with a Surprising Meaning, #3, #6, #8 and #12. For more on hopeful, see 296. Tricky Word Contrasts 12, #2.

Another suffix with similar meaning to -less is -free. It is found (with a hyphen in front) in words like sugar-free, risk-free and trouble-free. The suggestion here is always positive – a feature that makes -free a particular favourite with advertisers!

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OTHER ROOT-LIKE SUFFIXES

Suffixes like -less, -ful and -free are different from those like -ly and -ness in that they closely resemble ordinary words. However, they seem better classifiable as suffixes than as roots like -work because they combine with ordinary words more widely than roots do.

Here is a list of some interesting word-like suffixes that I have gathered. Many need to follow a hyphen in the same way that -free does (rules for having or not having a hyphen are hard to find – see 223. Uses of Hyphens, #3 and #4). Most of the suffixes in the list create adjectives, but some (indicated) make adverbs.

-ABLE (or -IBLE): advisable, understandable, accessible, divisible (for a valuable use of this suffix, see 27. How to Avoid Passive Verbs)

-EVER: however, whenever, whatever (see 272. Uses of “Ever”)

-FRIENDLY: child-friendly, user-friendly, car-friendly

-LIKE: childlike, insect-like, soldier-like, flu-like (see 149. Saying How Things are Similar)

-PRONE: accident-prone, disaster-prone, flood-prone

-PROOF: accident-proof, fireproof, waterproof, idiot-proof, leak-proof

-RICH: butter-rich, cash-rich, vitamin-rich, colour-rich, time-rich 

-SHY: camera-shy, crowd-shy, publicity-shy

-SOME: fearsome, gruesome, handsome, irksome, tiresome, troublesome

-STYLE/-FASHION (adj/adv.): American-style, sports-style, skyscraper-style

-TIGHT: watertight, airtight

-TYPE: flu-type, racing-type, British-type

-WIDE (adj/adv.): countrywide, nationwide, institution-wide

-WISE(1) (manner- or direction-showing adv.): crabwise, lengthwise, clockwise

-WISE(2) (= “regarding” adv.): accommodation-wise, cost-wise (see 121. Sentence-Spanning Adverbs)

-WORTHY: newsworthy, noteworthy, praiseworthy

In addition, there are suffix-like verbs in the -ing or -ed “participle” form (see 52. Participles Placed Just after their Noun), such as -looking after adjectives like fierce-, good-, old-, rough-, sad-, suspicious and young-. Combinations with these act not as verbs but as adjectives (see 245. Adjectives with a Participle Ending).

Participle additions as a whole are surprisingly common (see 320. Special Participle Uses, #2). However, many of the examples probably form compounds rather than roots with a suffix, because the combinations tend not to be fixed. Nevertheless, there are some, such as -looking, that do seem to make a sufficient variety of fixed combinations to be considered suffixes. Other examples of common combinations are as follows. I leave it to readers themselves to decide how suffix-like each use is.

One typical use is for naming physical properties of things (e.g. water-borne, action-packed, bitter-tasting, rough-feeling – see 163. Ways of Naming Properties).

Outside of property-naming, –ing seems more likely than -ed. Examples are -taking (pains-, liberty-), -seeking (pleasure-, answer-), -grabbing (money-, headline-), -causing (trouble-, disease-), -supporting (government-, football-), -seeming (innocent-, friendly-), -loving (fun-, sport-), -setting (trend-, example-), -breaking (law-, record-), -sounding (positive-, promising-) and -eating (meat-, ant-). For more, see 223. Uses of Hyphens, #4.