The Everything Spanish Grammar Book: All The Rules You Need To Master Espanol (Everything®) (33 page)

•
extra–
over, outside of, exceedingly

•
in–
(
im–
before “b” or “p”;
i–
before “l” or “r”) inside, on the interior; may carry a meaning of deprivation

•
inter–
between, among

•
para–
with, to the side of, against

•
per–
a prefix of intensity; may signify “badly”

•
pre–
prior to, priority, beforehand

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pro–
by or instead of, before, moving forward, denial or contradiction, in favor of

•
re–
repetition, moving backwards, intensification,

FACT

•
sub–
below; may also indicate inferiority

•
uni–
one, alone

Following with the Suffix

A suffix
(sufijo)
is a morpheme that is attached to the end of a root. Suffixes often establish the word’s grammatical role in the sentence— whether it’s a noun, verb, or adjective:
divertirse
(to have fun),
diversión
(fun, a hobby),
divertido
(fun). The following list includes the more commonly used suffixes—knowing these suffixes can help you figure out the meanings of words you’re not familiar with—or you can even try creating new words yourself.

•
–aje
forms a noun from another noun; English equivalents are –ship and –age

•
–ancia
a suffix that forms nouns; direct English equivalent is –ancy

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–anza
forms a noun, often from a verb; English equivalents include –ance, –ion, and –ity

•
–ario
a noun suffix that indicates a profession or place; English equivalents are –er, –ian, and –ry

•
–arquía
a suffix meaning “rule” or “government”; the English equivalent is –archy

•
–ble
this suffix forms adjectives; it plays the same role in Spanish as it does in English

•
–cida/-cidio
another noun suffix meaning “killing”; direct English equivalent is the suffix –cide

•
–ción
a noun suffix; its direct English equivalent is –tion

•
–dad
This suffix often turns an adjective into a noun; the English equivalents are –ty and –hood

FACT

•
–ear
a suffix that helps turn a noun into a verb

•
–ense
a suffix that is added to a country’s name to create the adjective of nationality

•
–ería
a noun suffix indicating a place (often a shop)

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–ero/–era
may indicate a profession or role; English equivalents include –er and –or

•
–esa/–iz/–isa
indicates profession in the feminine; English equivalent is –ess

•
–eza
a suffix used to turn an adjective into a noun; an English equivalent is –ty

•
–icio/–icia
a noun suffix; English equivalent is –ice

•
–ificar
a suffix that forms verbs and means turn into”; English equivalent is –ify

•
–ismo
a noun suffix that refers to a “theory” or “ideology”; English equivalent is –ism

•
–ista
a noun suffix that is often used to indicate profession or role; English equivalent is –ist