SUFFIXES- - other rules

When adding a suffix to a one-syllable word, if the root word ends in only one consonant and has only one vowel before it, and if the suffix begins with a vowel, then the consonant ending the root word will be doubled.

For example, when adding -ing to can, we double the n to end up with canning,  swimming,  running. Or begged, hottest, reddish, flatten, stopped, druggist, shipper, trekker, etc. 

This doubling of the consonant keeps the pronunciation from changing, as in:  hop + ing = hopping;  not  hope + ing = hoping (the o is long because of the i). 

Common endings beginning with vowels: -ing, -ice, -ous, -er, -ish, -ist, -ed, -age, -ible, -est, -ance, -ant, -able, -ably, -y, -al, -en, -ence, -ent, -ancy, -ency

The rule for multisyllable words is the same, but applies only when the last syllable of the root is accented, like in beginner and concurring, but not in begins or forgetful. 

Examples: 

For words ending in silent e, when the suffix begins with a vowel, that silent e is usually dropped before adding the suffix. For example, in take and -ing, we drop the silent e off of take, then add the suffix, and end up with taking.

Generally we do not let two vowels come too close together when we add a suffix beginning with a vowel,  so in many words wwe must drop the final “e”:   such as in mistake + able = mistakable, coming, famous, forgivable, desirable, moving, surer, smoking, bridal, gluable, nervous, behavior, believable… 

But we DO NOT DROP THE FINAL “e” IF THE MEANING of the word could change, or it could be misread:  singe +ing = singeing not singing.  Or ageing, blueing, lungeing, routeing, hoeing, twingeing, syringeing, forseeable, mileage, sizeable, etc.

Sometimes we DO NOT DROP THE FINAL “e” when it helps keep the “c” or “g” sounding soft:   knowledge + able = knowledgeable, courageous, peaceable, replaceable, traceable, noticeable…

SUFFIXES     … when the word ends in “y”????

An English word can consist of three parts: the root, a prefix, and a suffix. The root is the part of the word that contains the basic meaning, or definition of the word. The prefix is a word element placed in front of the root, which changes the word's meaning or makes a new word. A suffix is a word element placed after the root, which changes the word's meaning as well as its function.

When adding a suffix to a word ending in y, if there is a vowel before the y, just add the suffix. For example, obey + -ed becomes obeyed. If there is a consonant before the y, we will usually change the y to an i before adding any suffix (except -ing and -ish.) For example, angry + ly becomes angrily, and baby + -ing becomes babying, carry +ed= carried.

Common Suffixes

Suffixes	Meaning	Example
-er	doer	I work as a computer programmer.
-able	able	These glass bottles are recyclable.
-ous	full of	Driving on the freeway can be dangerous.
-ness	state of being	At night, the earth is covered in darkness.
-ful	full of	The witness gave an honest and truthful testimony.
-ly or -y	like	James whistled happily on his way home from school.
-ment	state of	Mary sighed with contentment.

For nouns ending in the letter y, to form the plural replace the ending y with ies. For example: (change the y to I and add es) such as in:

Examples:   baby/babies, story/stories, poppy/poppies, baby/babies, daisy/daisies, spy/spies, lady/ladies

Note that for words ending in y preceded by a vowel (a complex vowel sound), an s is simply added, as usual. For example:

day/days,  toy/toys, essay/essays, turkey/turkeys, chimney/chimneys, play/plays, joy/joys, valley/valleys, alley/alleys, volley/volleys