Lõppsuffixes

Lõppsuffixes, in linguistic usage, are inflectional suffixes that attach to the end of a word to mark its grammatical ending. They are a central mechanism for signaling features such as case, number, person, tense, aspect, mood, voice, and definiteness. In languages with rich inflection, such suffixes form the primary means of expressing grammatical relations, often without additional function words.

The function of lõppsuffixes is to encode syntactic and semantic relations directly on the word. They can be stacked in sequences, with multiple endings added to a single stem to indicate a combination of grammatical categories (for example, number and case on a noun, or person and tense on a verb). Their use can be influenced by phonology, leading to allomorphy where different surface forms appear in different contexts. In some languages, suffixes also interact with stem changes, a process known as morphophonology.

Types of endings vary by word class. Noun endings mark case, number, and sometimes definiteness or definiteness-related features. Adjective endings commonly agree with the nouns they modify. Verb endings express person, number, tense, mood, and aspect. Pronouns, adjectives, and determiners may bear endings as well. In many languages, suffix chains reflect historical layers of grammar, showing both core inflectional information and optional or derivational nuances.

Lõppsuffixes are especially prominent in agglutinative and fusional languages, where they provide a compact and regular means of encoding grammar. In less synthetic languages, individual endings may be fewer and less productive. The study of lõppsuffixes intersects morpholog­y, phonology, and syntax, illuminating how languages structure meaning through word formation.