H. Suffixal Homophones
Some suffixes, both inflectional and derivational, have homophonous forms
(identical in pronunciation).
Homophone: a word pronounced the same as another but differing in meaning, whether spelled the same
or not.
Inflectional morpheme {-ER cp}
deriva'onal suffix {-­‐ER n} 1. agent –er; a;ached to verbs conveys a meaning of “that which performs the ac'on of the verb stem” hunter, fisher, camper, golfer, player 2. It is may a;ached to nonverbal stems conveys general meaning of “that which is related to” proba5oner, New Yorker, teenager, freighter deriva'onal suffix {-­‐ER rp} It conveys the meaning of repetition
chatter, mutter, flicker, glitter, patter
Verbal inflectional suffix {-ING vb}
nominal derivational suffix
{-ING nm}
a derivational suffix to form nouns
It permits the addition of an inflectional
suffix to close it off; the noun plural {-s pl}
adjectival morpheme
{-ING aj}
a derivational suffix to form adjective
a charming woman
weddings, meetings, readings
How to distinguish the verbal {-ING vb} from the {-ING adj}?
1.  The verbal {-ING} can occur after as well as before the noun it modifies.
I saw a burning house.
I saw a house bringing.
2. The adjectival {-ING aj} can preceded by a qualifier such as very, rather, quite,
the comparative and superlative more, most, and seems
It is a very comforting thought.
This is a more exciting movie.
* I saw a rather burning house.
That snake seems interesting.
* That snake seems crawling.
Verb inflec*onal {-­‐D pp} adjectival derivational {-D aj}
Helen was excited about her new job
She was a devoted mother.
It can be modified by qualifiers such as very, rather, quite, the comparative and
superlative more, most, and by seems.
A rather faded tapestry hung over the fire place.
*The very departed guests had forgotten their dog.
The tapestry seems faded.
*The guests seem departed.
Adverbial derivational suffix {-LY av}
It is added to most adjectives to form adverbs of manner.
rich, richly; kind, kindly; formal, formally; happy, happily
Derivational suffix adjectival morpheme {-LY aj}
1. It is added to monosyllabic nouns to form adjectives that are inflected with -er, -est.
love, lovely; friend, friendly; man, manly
2. It is added to nouns to form adjectives that are not inflected with -er, -est.
king, kingly; beast, beastly; scholar, scholarly; mother, motherly; leisure, leisurely 3. It is added to a few adjectives, giving alternate adjectival forms that are inflected
with -er, -est.
dead, deadly; live, lively; kind, kindly; sick, sickly
She spoke kindly to the children.
She was a kindly woman; in fact, she was the kindliest woman in the village. 4. It is added to a short list of “time” nouns to form adjectives that are not inflected
with -er, -est.
day, daily; hour, hourly; month, monthly