Skip to content
VirtusAcademy

Suffixes -able and -ion

FoundationHigherAQA

Understand Suffixes -able and -ion for GCSE French with this free worksheet and full mark scheme — Foundation and Higher exam-style practice with worked answers for AQA GCSE French (8652). Adjectives are formed with -able and nouns with -ion or -ation from a verb stem.

Free downloads

These worksheets and mark schemes are original, written for Virtus Academy and checked against the current AQA specification. Every worksheet comes with a full mark scheme.

Foundation

WorksheetFoundation · PDFMark SchemeFoundation · PDF

Higher

WorksheetHigher · PDFMark SchemeHigher · PDF

Topic overview

Suffixes are endings added to a word, and two are particularly useful for decoding unfamiliar vocabulary.

The suffix -able works like English -able and means capable of being done. Manger gives mangeable, faire gives faisable, croire gives croyable. Words with this ending are always adjectives.

The suffix -ion turns a verb into a noun, and these are always feminine. Créer gives la création, décider gives la décision, produire gives la production. Recognising these two suffixes means you can often work out both the meaning and the gender of a word you have never seen before, which is valuable in reading tasks.

Revision notes

The suffix -able

Means capable of being done, exactly like English -able.

Manger gives mangeable — edible. Faire gives faisable — doable. Croire gives croyable — believable. Words ending in -able are always adjectives and agree normally.

The suffix -ion

Turns a verb into a noun, and these nouns are ALWAYS feminine.

Créer gives la création. Décider gives la décision. Produire gives la production. This is one of the most reliable gender rules in the language.

Using suffixes in reading

Recognising a suffix gives you both meaning and grammar.

Seeing an unfamiliar word ending in -ion tells you it is a feminine noun. Seeing -able tells you it is an adjective. This is often enough to make sense of a sentence without knowing the word itself.

Key points

  • Suffixes are endings added to words.
  • -able means capable of being done.
  • Words ending in -able are adjectives.
  • -ion turns a verb into a noun.
  • Nouns ending in -ion are always feminine.
  • Suffixes help decode unfamiliar words.

Worked examples

Example 1

State the gender of the word la production and explain. [2 marks]

Working

It is femininestate the gender
All nouns ending in -ion are feminine, which is one of the most reliable rulesexplain the reason

Example 2

Form an adjective from manger using -able. [2 marks]

Working

mangeableadd the suffix to the verb stem
It means edible, or capable of being eatengive the meaning

Example 3

Explain how suffixes help in a reading task. [2 marks]

Working

The suffix shows what kind of word it is and often its genderstate what they reveal
so an unfamiliar word ending in -ion can be identified as a feminine noun without knowing its meaningexplain the benefit

Common mistakes

  • Assuming -ion nouns can be masculine.

    They are always feminine.

  • Forgetting -able adjectives agree.

    They change like any adjective.

  • Confusing suffixes with prefixes.

    Suffixes are added at the end.

  • Guessing meaning without checking the base word.

    The root carries the meaning; the suffix carries the grammar.

Exam tips

  • Treat every -ion noun as feminine.
  • Recognise -able words as adjectives.
  • Use suffixes to work out grammar in reading.
  • Identify the base word inside the longer one.

Key terms

Suffix
An ending added to a word.
-able
A suffix forming adjectives.
-ion
A suffix forming feminine nouns.
Base word
The root to which a suffix is added.

Related topics

Written and reviewed against the current AQA specification. Spotted an error? Let us know.