Learning English

Neil   
Hello and welcome to 6 Minute Vocabulary. I'm Neil…

Catherine
And I'm Catherine. And it's very good to see you back at work today, Neil.

Neil
Thanks, it's nice to be back. I hate being off sick.

Catherine
We've missed you... we have missed you. And there has been a lot of sickness in the office this week, and sickness is one of the words that we're looking at in today's show.

Neil
Yes. Today we're talking about the suffixes -ness and -ity.

Catherine
In the world of vocabulary, suffixes are two or three letters at the end of a word. They can tell you what type of word it is. The suffix -ness, spelt n-e-s-s, at the end of the word sickness tells you that the word is a noun, which comes from the adjective sick.

Neil
In this programme we'll give you lots more examples of words with the suffix -ness and also we'll find about the suffix -ity, spelt i-t-y...

Catherine
That's right. And we'll have a quiz...

Catherine
...and we'll leave you with a top tip for learning vocabulary. So let's get started by hearing from Arjuna. And he's talking about how he feels about being a nurse.

Neil
While you listen, think about this question: How does Arjuna often feel at the end of the day?

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Arjuna
I have a lot of responsibility. Sometimes it's upsetting, like telling someone there's a possibility they have a serious illness. The hours are long and tiredness can be a problem at the end of the day. But the rewards are there too, like the happiness of a mother holding her newborn baby. And of course there are the cards and gifts - I'm always touched by the kindness and generosity of the patients.

Neil
So we asked you: How does Arjuna feel at the end of the day?

Catherine
And the answer is: he feels tired. In fact, he says that 'tiredness can be a problem'.

Neil
The word tiredness comes from the adjective tired. Nouns with the suffix –ness, spelt n-e-s-s, like tiredness, describe the feeling or state of the original adjective.

Catherine
So tired – ness is the feeling of being tired.

Neil
Exactly. Ill – ness is the state of being ill. Sick – ness, which we heard at the start of the programme, is the state of being sick.

Catherine
Poor you, Neil. Let's hear some more examples of this suffix.

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Arjuna
But the rewards are there too, like the happiness of a mother holding her newborn baby. And of course there are the cards and gifts - I'm always touched by the kindness and generosity of the patients.

Catherine
So we had happiness...

Neil
...from the adjective happy...

Catherine
And kindness...

Neil
...from the adjective kind.

Catherine
In kindness, the suffix -ness makes a noun that is a quality. The suffix -ity, spelt i-t-y, which we heard in the word generosity there, also changes an adjective into a quality.

Neil
Generosity comes from the adjective generous. It means: the willingness to give things.

Catherine
And Arjuna thinks his patients are generous because they give the nurses cards and gifts. Let's hear some more words with the suffix -ity.

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Arjuna
I have a lot of responsibility. Sometimes it's upsetting, like telling someone there's a possibility they have a serious illness.

Neil
We had responsibility, which comes from the adjective responsible. It means: being in charge of someone or something, or making sure certain things happen.

Catherine
We also heard possibility, which comes from the adjective possible and means that something might happen.

IDENT        
6 Minute Vocabulary from BBC Learning English.

Neil
And we're talking about the suffixes -ness and -ity, which change adjectives into nouns.

Catherine
Great. Now it's time for a quiz. Choose the correct word. Ready? Number one. Mr Smith will not be attending the meeting, due to a) illity  b) illness  c) ill.

Neil
And the answer is b) illness.

Catherine
Number two. To succeed in high-level management, you have to accept a lot of a) responsibleness  b) responsity  c) responsibility. 

Neil
And the answer is c) responsibility.

Catherine
Number three. Listening to 6 Minute Vocabulary whilst drinking a glass of wine at the end of the day brings me a lot of a) happiness  b) happity  c) happinessity.

Neil
And the answer is a) happiness, of course!

Catherine
That's right. And that's the end of the quiz. Well done if you got them all right.

Neil
And now, here's today's top tip for learning vocabulary: when you come across a word that you don't know, look to see if you can work out the root of the word - if there is a prefix or a suffix that you know, it will help you to understand the meaning.

Neil
There's more about this at bbclearningenglish.com. Join us again for more 6 Minute Vocabulary.

Both
Bye!