Common Suffixes

Listen to the following words to see if you can predict the stress pattern:

Scientific

Solidify

Photography

Technological

Biology

Mysterious

Financial

Fatality

Distribution

Technician 

 

Rule: Stress the syllable before the suffixes: -ic, -ify, -y, -ical, -ogy, -ious, --ial, -ity, -tion, -ian

(Additionally, stress the syllable before the suffixes: -omy, -edy, -istry, -metry, -ive, -ily, -eous, -able, -ible, -ogist, -ophy, -cian

 Examples: auTONomy, COMedy, CHEMistry, trigoNOMetry, HIDeous, CAPable, EDible, biOLogist, philOSophy, pediaTRIcian)

 

More Examples:

-ity

Major stress is always on the syllable before the suffix -ity

possible

possibility

able

abilitiy

festive

festivity

active

activity

responsible

responsibiltiy

mature

maturity

diverse

diversity

 

community

 

university

 

-ic

Major stress is always on the syllable before the suffix -ic

democrat

democratic

magnet

magnetic

alchohol

alcoholic

athlete

athletic

economy

economic

mechanism

mechanic