Derivational and Inflectional Affixes Examples List

A derivational affix is an affix by means of which one word is formed (derived) from another. The derived word is often of a different word class from the original. 

On the other hand, an inflectional affix is an affix that expresses a grammatical contrast that is obligatory for its stem’s word class in some given grammatical context. It does not change the word class of its stem, and is typically located farther from its root than a derivational affix and produces a predictable change of meaning. 

In short, derivational affixes create new words and inflectional affixes create new forms of the same word. Have a look at the following example lists for a better understanding. 

Examples of Derivational Affix Words

Phew!, That was a long list. Let’s now have a look at words that use inflectional affixes to create new form of the same word.

Examples of Inflectional Affix Words

Keep exploring EnglishBix to learn more about word formation using common prefixes and suffixes.