When it comes to suffixes, do you look for patterns?
Unfortunately, you must also look for exceptions!
This is because suffixes often break English grammar patterns.
Today, find out which verbs don’t follow the pattern with the -ion suffix in English.
Conversation
Aubrey asks Lindsay about the last time she had a really good conversation.
Lindsay shares that she recently spent the day with friends hiking.
They had many good conversations going up the mountain.
Aubrey shares that she has good conversations weekly during Open Conversation Club.
OCC is a meet-up for speaking practice that is available to students in any All Ears English course.
She gets to talk with AEE listeners from around the world and learn about them.
Converse or conversate?
Both native speakers and language learners make the mistake of saying ‘conversate’ instead of ‘converse.’
Mistakes like these are made when suffixes break the pattern.
Often we add -ion to an adjective to create a noun.
However, this doesn’t work for every adjective!
In this series, Lindsay and Aubrey will talk about the most common verbs that don’t follow the expected pattern.
Here in Part 1 they’re discussing -ion and in Part 2 they’ll cover -ness.
Don’t get thrown off by suffixes
It’s easy to get thrown off when you rely on patterns to understand suffixes.
If you are aware of exceptions to these patterns you can avoid common errors.
The following are some tips you can take note of.
#1: Can’t always drop -ion
For many nouns, we drop the suffix -ion to create a verb.
Here are some examples:
- Donation – donate
- Education – educate
However this isn’t always the case, which can cause errors.
Let’s take the word ‘conversation’ as an example.
You can’t turn it into ‘conversate’ as this word doesn’t exist.
Instead, the verb is ‘converse’ which means to talk.
Another example is the word ‘electrification.’
Instead of ‘electrificate’ which would follow the pattern, the verb instead is ‘electrify.’
This means charging with electricity.
It also has an idiomatic meaning of sudden excitement.
#2: Can’t always add – ion
We add the suffix -ion to many verbs in English to create their noun form.
Here are some examples:
- Locate – location
- Create – creation
However, we don’t do this with every verb, which can cause English learners to make mistakes.
Here is a sample sentence that is wrong:
“We were tired because of the inclination on the hike.”
Instead of adding ‘ion’ to the noun include to create ‘inclination’, this has a completely different meaning.
Inclination means the tendency to act or feel a particular way.
Here is a sample sentence using the word ‘inclination’:
“I have no inclination to work today.”
Synonyms are desire, tendency or propensity.
Other confusing suffixes
Another example is ‘convict’ and ‘conviction.’
‘Convict’ as a verb means the act of declaring someone guilty of a crime.
As a noun, ‘convict’ refers to a person who is found guilty of a crime.
Then a ‘conviction’ is a formal declaration that someone is guilty of a crime.
‘Conviction’ has a second meaning of a firmly held belief or opinion.
Here is an example of the second meaning of ‘conviction’:
“I’ve always had a firm conviction that everyone deserves justice.”
Roleplay
Here is a quick roleplay from Lindsay and Aubrey using today’s tips about suffixes.
In this scenario, Lindsay and Aubrey are at the beach.
Lindsay: This is quite the incline! It’s hard to pull the wagon in the sand.
Aubrey: I need to have a conversation with my kids about staying close.
Lindsay: Yeah, their inclination is to wander pretty far.
Aubrey: Gigi’s hunting seashells. She’s absolutely electrified every time she sees one!
Takeaway
Unfortunately, we can’t always trust patterns in English.
A suffix like -ion can’t be added to every verb.
Today’s tips will help you avoid this common error.
However, don’t let minor errors like this cause you to avoid making connections!
As you take in English and practice speaking you’ll hear suffixes used correctly.
Keep consuming English content via podcasts, movies and books.
Remember, Connection NOT Perfection!™
What are other words with suffixes you find confusing?
Mention it in the comments below.
