Learning English

Suffix: ish

Ish is a very versatile and descriptive suffix. It has a number of different meanings.

Connected to a particular country or language

Their family is a real United Nations; the mother is English, the father is Swedish and because they were born in Barcelona, the children also have Spanish nationality.

But be careful, not all nationalities have ish as a suffix. Other suffixes are used for some nationalities, for example: Cuba - Cuban, Brazil - Brazilian, Japan - Japanese

Approximately

When we use ish with a number it has the meaning of approximately, about that number, around then:

"How old would you say she was?"  "I don't know, thirtyish maybe."

"When will you be home?" "I'm not sure, twoish I guess, depending on traffic."

Read the text and complete the activity

Slightly, not quite, almost, a little bit like

This use of ish is frequently used with descriptions when the person or thing we are describing does not exactly match a regular adjective.

"What does she look like?"
"You can't miss her. She's tallish with reddish hair." 

I can't afford a brand new car, but I am looking for something newish.

You can use ish with just about any adjective to modify it slightly.

Having the quality of, being like a ..., behaving like a ...

When we use ish in this way it changes a noun into an adjective. It's often used when being negative about someone, but not always.

His behaviour was so childish at the party. He just wanted to be the centre of attention.

I think it was foolish of him to spend so much money on a boat. He doesn't even like the water.

It was a very amateurish production. I was expecting something better from that theatre company.

I wish I were as stylish as she is.

A unique suffix

Unlike any other suffix, in spoken English, ish can be used as a word and a sentence all by itself. If you are answering a question and your response is not definite, you can use ish by itself.

"Are you hungry?" "Ish." = I'm a little bit hungry, but not really hungry.

"Did you like the film?" "Ish." = It was O.K. It's not my favourite film but it passed the time.

"How was the date? Did you like him?" "Ish." = I'm not sure, I would definitely think about going on another date though.

To do

Now, why not try a quiz about ish. It's exciting, well, excitingish.

End of Session 1

In the next session we learn about using the definite article with abstract uncountable nouns. There are some exercises too and you can join Callum and Catherine for 6 Minute Grammar.