Suffixes -ful, -less, and -ness

Read and understand three common suffixes that build describing and naming words.

A suffix is a word part added to the end of a base word. It often changes what kind of word it is. 'Ful' means full of: careful means full of care, and joyful means full of joy. 'Less' means without: careless means without care, and fearless means without fear. Notice that 'ful' and 'less' are opposites!

'Ness' turns a describing word into a naming word for a state or quality: kind becomes kindness, and dark becomes darkness. Try 'helpfulness'. Peel the suffixes: help, then ful, then ness. It means the quality of being full of help. Recognizing suffixes helps you read the end of a long word without stumbling.

• 1-ful = full of; -less = without.
• 2-ness turns a describing word into a naming word.
• 3Suffixes can stack: help-ful-ness.