1. Suffixes denoting person or Agent suffixes

- ist/(-icm, -ucm) – journalist

журналіст

- er/-or (-ер/-ор) – teacher, farmer, actor

директор, актор

-ant/-ent (-ант/-ент) – servant, student

лаборант, студент

-ar (-ар/-яр) – burglar, scholar

володар, зброяр

In Ukrainian language the number of models is about 35, but only about 12 of them are productive

-ець, -ник, -тель, -ист, -ар/яр, -ер/ор, -їй, -ант, -ач/-яч, -ин/-анин.

Mainly they express masculine gender. In English there are no models with masculine gender expressing suffixes. As for feminine gender suffixes in Ukrainian, they usually follow the masculine gender ones, which are mostly followed by inflexions. The most productive of them are:

-к/a/ - артистка, учителька, киянка

-их/а/ - ковалиха, кравчиха

-иц/я/ - письменниця

-івн/а/ - Чураївна

-ш/а/ - фермерша

English gender suffixes as they are sometimes called are only sex-expressing. Such suffixes as -ess, -enne, -ette, -ine (not very productive) clearly identify the objective gender of life nouns, i.e. their natural sex. (cf. the young actor, the young actress; the actor played, the actress played). It is not so in Ukrainian.

Молодий актор – молода акторка

Актор грав – акторка грала

Thus, agent suffixes which do not express gender are typical for English.

It should be noted that in Modern English the agent suffix -er is the most productive. It can be practically added to any verb to coin a noun. Pertaining to English only is the recipient-of-action suffix –ee: employee, trustee, examinee. But such models are few in number.

2. Object expressing suffixes

The most productive models in Ukrainian are:

• ник/льник: годинник, лічильник;

• ак: держак;

• к: кладка;

• л/о: простирадло;

• ищ/е: вогнище;

• ин/а: драбина;

• рн/я: кав’ярня.

In English there exist only a few similar models:

• er/or – generator, computer

• ing – building

• ery – bakery

3. Suffixes denoting numerous abstract notions of state, act, skill, quality, condition, etc. These suffixes are mostly national by nature but, as a rule, they have corresponding equivalents in the contrasted language

meeting - зібрання

wedding - oдруження

darkness - темнота

goodness - доброта

newspaperdom - газетярство

brotherhood - братерство

reality - реальність

economy - економія

corruption - корупція

feudalism - феодалізм

4. Evaluative suffixes are of 2 types: diminutive and augmentative.

The number of diminutive noun-forming suffixes in Ukrainian is 53 (in English only 14):

• атк/ятк: дівчатко

• ик: носик, дубик

• ок: синок, дубок

• ечок: стіжечок

• ечка: свічечка

• ичка: сестричка

• оньк(а): дівчинонька

All Ukrainian diminutive suffixes are productive, whereas in English only

• ie-ey: girlie, horsey

• ette: kitchenette

• let: piglet, cloudlet

• ling: ducking

• kin: ladykin

can be considered productive.

Numerous in Ukrainian but missing in English are augmentative suffixes:

• ань: бородань, мордань

• ач: носач

• ил (о): барило, здоровило

• юр (а): собацюра

• ищ (е): ручище

• яр (а): носяра, мисяра

International suffixes present a common group in both languages. The most frequently occurant of them have been mentioned already. These suffixes are of common nature (origin) and meaning in English and Ukrainian:

• er – carter / картер

• or – actor / актор

• ism – heroism / героїзм

• ist – socialist / соціалист

• ation – administration /адміністрація

Note: Pertaining only to Ukrainian is the suffix denoting meat:

теля – телятина

свиня – свинина

In English the words of French origin are used to designate these notions:

a cow – beef

a pig – pork.

The number of adjective forming suffixes in English is about 26, but only 9 is considered to be productive:

• able: readable

• al: annual

• ed: crooked

• ful: joyful

• less: useless

• ish: boyish

• y: milky

• ic: despotic

• (i) an: Ukrainian

Suffixes of Ukrainian adjectives are more numerous:

• ив: лінивий

• лив: прилегливий

• ист: променистий

• н: рідний

• ч: виборчий

• ськ/цьк, зьк: товариський, козацький

• ов/ев: березовий, грушевий

• ан/ян: гречаний

• льн: доїльний etc.

Pertaining to Ukrainian (and to some other Slavonic languages) are possessive adjectives which are formed from common and proper nouns denoting living beings by adding to their roots/stems the suffixes:

• ів/їв: батьків, Сергіїв

• ин/ін: сестрин, цвіркунів

• ач/яч: дитячий, мишачий

Their corresponding forms in English are genitive case forms of nouns: father’s, Nick’s, lion’s.

Ukrainian adjectives may be formed by diminutive and augmentative suffixes, the most often used being:

• еньк – гарненький

• есеньк – малесенький

• ісіньк – чистісінький

• юсіньк – тонюсінький

• езн – величезний

• енн – здоровенний

• ущ/ющ – багатющий

• ач/яч - добрячий

The derivative function of suffixes finds its realization in the existence of common word-building models.

The major models are as follows:

N + Suf = N librarian хатка

V + Suf = N reader читач

A + Suf = N freedom вільність

Ad + Suf = N slowliness труднощі

Ad + Suf = N primacy першість

A + Suf = V blacken чорнити

N + Suf = A earthy земляний

A + Suf = A reddish рудуватий

N + Suf = Ad seaward бігцем

A + Suf = Ad shortly коротко

Ad + Suf = Ad onwards ліворучно

The formation of new words with the help of two suffixes is represented in the contrasted languages by a resticted number of models:

In Ukrainian: вчителька

будівництво

In English: leadership

carelessness