You have learned that an adjective in English describes a
noun. You can often recognize adjectives easily because of their
suffixes.
Two suffixes that always form adjectives are -ious
and -eous.
Unfortunately there are no firm rules to tell you when to use each,
but reviewing the lists below will help you learn when to use each.
1. -ious with a short U sound
Poor Gerald is feeling very anxious
about the presentation.
The first thing to remember is that the adjective suffix -ious
is much more common than the ending -eous.
And of course, all the
words ending in these two suffixes are
adjectives.
There are two ways to pronounce the -ious
ending. Sometimes the I is silent, so that the entire -ious
ending is pronounced like "us" with a short U sound.
Here are some of the most common examples with this pronunciation:
ambitious
suspicious
delicious
religious
superstitious
conscious
ferocious
precious
cautious
vicious
spacious
prestigious
gracious
fictitious
2. -ious with a long E sound and a short U sound
Margaret told me a hilarious
joke!
In the second way to pronounce the -ious
ending, the I is not silent. It has a long E sound, followed by the
short
U sound, as above. So, the pronunciation of the whole -ious
ending is "ee-us."
Here are some common examples of adjectives with this pronunciation:
previous
curious
rebellious
serious
envious
notorious
glorious
obvious
victorious
tedious
studious
various
furious
mysterious
harmonious
luxurious
oblivious
3. -eous with a short U sound
Nora's sunflowers are gorgeous!
The adjective suffix -eous
is much less common than -ious.
However, it can also be pronounced in the same two ways we just saw
above.
Here are the most common adjectives in which the -eous
ending is pronounced like "us":
outrageous
homogeneous
advantageous
courageous
righteous
nauseous
gaseous
4. -eous with a long E sound and a short U sound
Karen was very courteous
when she welcomed Ben to the office.
Just like the -ious
suffix, -eous
can also be pronounced with a long
E sound, than a short
U sound:
"ee-us."
Here are the most common adjectives with this pronunciation for the -eous
suffix:
spontaneous
simultaneous
hideous
miscellaneous
instantaneous
erroneous
Review
So, let's review what we have learned about the adjective suffixes
-ious and -eous in English:
The suffix -ious
is much more common than -eous.
There are no strict rules to tell you when to use each.
Both these suffixes form adjectives.
Both suffixes can be pronounced as "us" or as "ee-us." It
is best to learn these adjectives in groups by spelling and
pronunciation.