“General Rules for Suffixes”

Monosyllabic Stems

     When a monosyllabic stem ending with a vowel combines with a suffix beginning with a dissimilar vowel, the final vowel of the stem does not disappear, but instead usually appears short.  When certain monosyllabic stems ending with a vowel (such as da-, stem of dare) combine with certain suffixes beginning with a vowel (such as the personal ending ō), the two vowels may contract to one vowel.

• rē-, stem of rēs + -us = reus

• rē-, stem of rēs + -a = rea

• rē-, stem of rēs + -ālis = reālis

• scī-, stem of sciō + -us = scius

• vī-, stem of vīs + -olentus = violentus

• da-, stem dare + -ō = dō (aō contracts to ō)

     But the ī of fī-, the stem of fiere, appears long before a vowel except before -er where it appears short.

Subsections

Primary and Secondary Suffixes

1. Primary Suffixes
2. Secondary Suffixes

Vowel Changes

1. Contraction of Double-Vowel Combinations
2. Monosyllabic Stems

Rēgulae Generālēs Suffīxōrum | Pāginae Latīnitātis | DIĒS GAUDIĪ

© 2007 Ian Andreas Miller.  All rights reserved.  Those statements refer to all of the original content on this page.