What term refers to 'A letter or a group of letters added to the end of a word to change its meaning'?

What term refers to 'A letter or a group of letters added to the end of a word to change its meaning'?

• A. Suffix
• B. Prefix
• C. Theme
• D. Setting

Answer: (A)

The main idea here is understanding how adding pieces to the end of a word can change its meaning. That ending piece is called a suffix. A suffix is a group of letters you attach to the end of a word to alter its meaning or its part of speech—for example, adding -ness to "happy" makes "happiness," or adding -ed to "walk" creates "walked" to show past tense. By contrast, a prefix is added to the beginning, not the end. The other terms—theme and setting—are about stories, not how words are formed, so they don’t fit. So the correct term is suffix.

The main idea here is understanding how adding pieces to the end of a word can change its meaning. That ending piece is called a suffix. A suffix is a group of letters you attach to the end of a word to alter its meaning or its part of speech—for example, adding -ness to "happy" makes "happiness," or adding -ed to "walk" creates "walked" to show past tense. By contrast, a prefix is added to the beginning, not the end. The other terms—theme and setting—are about stories, not how words are formed, so they don’t fit. So the correct term is suffix.