Suffixes
—mania creates a noun that denotes a mental illness or an enthusiasm.
bibliomania, megalomania
—maniac creates an adjective from the noun, meaning affected by mania.
nymphomaniac
—manship creates a noun denoting a skill.
craftsmanship, horsemanship, workmanship
—mycin denotes an antibiotic made from fungi or mould.
erythromycin, streptomycin
—ment creates a noun that expresses an action, whether the means, the product, or the result of an action.
astonishment, fragment, treatment
—ment creates a noun from an adjective to express a state of being.
astonishment, resentment
—meter creates a noun denoting something that measures.
barometer, odometer, thermometer
—metric creates an adjective relating to measurement.
barometric, geometric
—metry creates a noun to describe the procedures or science of measuring.
geometry, trigonometry
Consonant — vowel combinations
ma mass am ram
me met em embrace
mi mine im him
mo more om come
mu must um yum
my mynah ym symbol
Exercises
- Define the words in the list of suffixes.
- Make a list of prefixes starting with the letter M.
- Think of four new words with a suffix or a prefix starting with M, and make a sentence with them.
- Make your own list of words for each Consonant–Vowel Combination. Which combination is the most difficult?
Special reading assignment
- My mother matched most of the Meissen porcelain with melamine dishes.
- Amusing monsters marched merrily in the musical.
- Most monkeys are long-tailed primates that live in trees. Apes, by contrast, do not have tails.
This blog entry is an excerpt from an upcoming book, English Manual: Letter by Letter, to be published soon.
Note: If you like monkeys and history, you may like to read the e-book, Edwardian Annotated Pets and How to Keep Them. This book, written in 1907, Edwardian England includes information on 17 different monkey species popular as pets.
English Manual: Letter by Letter 