“General Rules for Suffixes”
Suffixes are added to various parts of speech, particularly to noun stems, adjectival stems, verb stems, and roots (and roots used as stems). They modify or change the meaning and grammatical nature of a word.
In Latin, suffixes may be used as Primary Suffixes or Secondary Suffixes.
- Primary Suffix: a suffix attached to a root or verb stem (or a modification of a root or a verb stem)
- Secondary Suffix: a suffix attached to a substantive or adjective stem (or a modification of a substantive or adjective stem)
When a suffix is added to a noun or an adjectival form of a verb (participle, gerund, supine), it is usually used as a Secondary Suffix, and the adjectival form of the verb is treated as a real adjective. So, in sponsalis, the -alis is used as a Secondary Suffix even though it is attached to the participle stem sponso-.
Subsections
Primary and Secondary Suffixes
Vowel Changes
Pāginae Latīnitātis | DIĒS GAUDIĪ
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