Suffixes

Level 3

IELI
University Of North Texas
Laura Rios
Schedule for learning suffixes:
Day 1: Day 2: Day 3: Day 4: Day 5:
-able, -ible -ance, -ence -en -dom Practice Test
-age -ant, -ent -ion -ee
-al, -ial -ary, -ory -ism -er, -or
-ery -cy -ist -ful
-ess -ish -ity -ic
-ly -ize -ive -ify
-ship -logy -less -logue
-some -tude -ness -ment
-y -ous

Quizlet website shortcuts:

• Lesson 1: http://tinyurl.com/suffixlesson1

• Lesson 2: http://tinyurl.com/suffixlesson2

• Lesson 3: http://tinyurl.com/suffixlesson3

• Lesson 4: http://tinyurl.com/suffixlesson4

• All suffixes, word forms and definitions:

http://tinyurl.com/allsuffixes

• All suffixes, word forms only:

http://tinyurl.com/suffixwordforms

• Suffixes with specific meanings only:

http://tinyurl.com/suffixmeanings

The appendix at the end of this booklet also has tables that may
help you study.

1
Student Introduction

Suffixes are word endings. You already know several suffixes and the information
we can learn from them. Here are some of the most common suffixes and what
they tell us:

Suffix Meaning Example

-s, -es plural nouns 1 teacher-> 5 teachers
third person singular verbs I want -> she wants
-ed* past tense verbs learn -> learned
participial adjectives in • The movie makes me feel bored, so I
these situations: am bored.
• feelings • The book was closed by the student,
• passive so it is a closed book.
• finished • The snowstorm has stopped, so we
can measure the accumulated snow.
-ing* progressive verbs He is learning.
participial adjectives in • The movie bores me, so it is a boring
these situations: movie
• characteristic • She is my friend who smiles all the
• active time, so she is my smiling friend
• not finished, • The snow is accumulating on the
continuing street, so it is the accumulating
snow.
gerunds I like learning.
-en past participle and perfect I have eaten this kind of food before.
tenses
-er comparative adjectives big -> bigger
-est superlative adjectives big -> bigger -> biggest

*In your AWP book, you will see words in the word family list that have –ed and
–ing endings. These are adjectives. The verbs in your AWP book are always listed
in base form.

2
In this book, you will learn some more of the most common suffixes in English.
What is important for you to remember about the suffixes?

1. For all suffixes, you will learn the word form (part of speech). For example,
the suffix may make it a noun, verb, adjective, or adverb. This will help you
understand part of the meaning of new words and choose the correct word
form when speaking and writing. This is the most important thing to
remember about all suffixes.
o Example:
o xxxxxment = noun
o xxxxxous = adjective
o xxxxxify = verb

2. For some suffixes in this book, you will learn a specific meaning that will
help you understand new words. The specific meanings are important to
learn. They are marked with a triangle ▲ in the tables in this book.
Example:
–ish means “related to the country/culture of X”
o Turkish food is food that is related to the culture of Turkey.
o A Scottish name is a name that comes from the country of Scotland.
o If you are Finnish, you are from the country of Finland.

3. Other suffixes in this book have very general meanings. When you read the
definition it may be hard to imagine the meaning exactly. Basically, you
should understand that the definition often just tells you "this is a noun form"
or "this is an adjective form." In addition, many suffixes may share the same
general meaning. For these suffixes, you should focus on remembering the
word form. The important idea to remember is what kind of word it is. Below
you will find information about each word form and some examples of
shared, general meanings:
o Adjectives - these words describe nouns
 related to X
 having the characteristic of X
 often doing X
o Nouns - these words are people, places, or things
 state of being X
 the action of X
 the result of an action
o Verbs - these are actions
 to make, to cause to be
o Adverbs - these words describe verbs OR adjectives

3
4. Example words may help you remember the word forms and meanings
connected to the suffixes. Some examples are given in the table. You may
prefer to use a different or more familiar example word when you are
studying.

5. The suffix test will test what you learned. The test will ask you to do these
things:
o match a suffix with a specific definition**
o look at a suffix and tell the word form (Is it a noun, verb, adjective, or
adverb?)
o look at an example word and guess the word form
o read a sentence with a missing word and choose the correct form of
the word to complete the sentence

Will suffixes always tell me the right word form and meaning?
English has many exceptions, so sometimes you may find a word that has the
same ending as a suffix, but it does not have the same word form or meaning as
the suffix. This happens for several reasons:
• Language is always changing. Sometimes we use words in new ways
without changing the spelling. For example, "text" and "google" were nouns,
but because of technology, now people use these words as verbs too.
• English has borrowed many words from other languages, and sometimes
the spelling matches by chance.
• Sometimes the word was not made by putting different word parts (a suffix
and a root) together. The spelling is the same by chance. For example, rent
and resident both end in -ent. Resident is made from the root verb reside +
the suffix -ent. However, rent only has one word part. It did not come from r
+ ent.
• The information about suffixes you learn will not be correct 100% of the time
for every word in English, but it will be correct most of the time. Suffixes will
still be helpful for you when you have to guess about unknown words.

Are these all the suffixes in English?

No, there are other suffixes in English, but the suffixes here are some of the most
common and most useful suffixes. In addition, some of the suffixes in this book
may have other general meanings that are not listed here.

**Which meanings do you need to learn for the test? You should memorize all the specific noun
meanings, the specific adjective meanings, and all the adverb and verb meanings. They are
marked with a ▲ in the tables. You also need to know the word forms for all the suffixes.

4
Lesson 1
-able, -ible adj ▲can, able to X available, reversible
-age ▲total amount or
noun baggage, mileage, footage, shortage
collection of X
the action of X or the result marriage, linkage, coverage, breakage,
noun
of an action blockage
-al, -ial adj related to X cultural, physical
-ery ▲a place of business or
noun bakery, refinery, fishery, nursery
activity
noun state of being X slavery, snobbery
noun the action of X robbery, recovery
-ess noun ▲a female actress, princess
-ly adv ▲every X daily, yearly
▲in a specific way, to a
adv normally, creatively, mostly, physically
specific degree
-ship noun state of being X partnership, relationship, friendship
-some adj often doing X bothersome, tiresome, troublesome

A. Place the suffixes correctly on the chart.

-able/-ible -ery -ship
-age -ess -some
-al/-ial -ly

NOUNS ADVERBS ADJECTIVES

5
B. Match these suffixes with their meanings.

_____ 1. -able/ible a. female

_____ 2. -ery b. a place
_____ 3. -ess c. every
_____ 4. -age d. can
_____ 4. -ly e. a total amount or collection

C. Read the definition below. Use your suffix knowledge to circle

the correct word.

1. state of being a friend: friendly friendship

2. in the way a friend would do something: friendly friendship
3. related to a culture: cultural culturally
4. in a way related to culture: cultural culturally

D. Use example words from the table to fill in the blanks. The word
form and definition of the word are given.

1. You should study your vocabulary __________.

(ADV) every week

2. I am __________ healthy.
(ADV) in a physical way

3. A car with high _________ will probably need some repairs.

(N) the total amount of miles your car drove

4. My neighbor's dog is very __________.

(ADJ) often causing trouble

5. The __________ takes care of the baby lions.

(N) a female lion

6. A _________ insect keeps flying near the food.

(ADJ) often bothering someone
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7. President Lincoln ended _________ in the US.
(N) state of being a slave

8. The doctor said his _________ will take several months.

(N) the action of recovering (getting better)

9. Their ________ lasted for over 50 years.

(N) the action/result of getting married

10.Buy some bread at the _________.

(N) a place to bake things

E. Educated Guessing
This is a list of example words that you probably don't already
know. Use your suffix knowledge to identify the suffix and
predict the form of the word.

What's the suffix? Word form:

1. irksome
2. proprietorship
3. irascible
4. hysterical
5. rookery
6. arduously
7. plumage
8. anchoress

F. Memorize
To prepare for the test, you should memorize the suffixes from this lesson. For
the test, you’ll need to know the meaning of the suffixes marked with a triangle ▲
in the table on p. 5. You’ll also need to know the word forms for all the suffixes.
To review for the test go to this Quizlet page: http://tinyurl.com/suffixlesson1
(You do not have to memorize the information inside the parentheses on the
Quizlet page.)
7
Lesson 2
-ant, -ent ▲a person or thing
noun assistant, resident, disinfectant
that X
having the significant, consistent, important,
adj
characteristic of X expectant, pleasant
-ance, -ence evidence, significance, difference,
noun state of being X
absence
assistance, maintenance, residence,
noun the action of X
appearance
-ary, -ory adj related to X exclusionary, primary, participatory
-cy noun state of being X consistency, policy
-ish ▲related to the
adj British, Spanish, Scottish, Turkish
country/culture of X
▲almost or
adj greenish, oldish, thirtyish
approximately X
having the
adj selfish, stylish
characteristic of X
-ize ▲to make, to cause to
verb categorize, theorize
be
-logy noun ▲study or theory of X technology, methodology, biology
-tude noun state of being X attitude, solitude, plentitude, magnitude

A. Answer the questions about these suffixes using the

information in the chart.

1. a. Which suffix has two possible word forms?

b. What are the two possible word forms?

2. Which suffix has two noun meanings?

3. Which suffix has three adjective meanings?

4. a. Which suffixes have the meaning "state of being X"?

___________ ___________ ___________

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b. Give an example for each suffix.

c. What word form are all of these words?

5. a. Which suffixes have the meaning "having the characteristic

of X"?
___________ ___________

b. Give an example word for each suffix.

c. What's the part of speech for all of these words?

B. Specific Definitions
Study the suffixes chart, then write the suffix that matches the
definition. Next, write the correct part of speech or word form
(noun, verb, adjective, or adverb). Then write one example word
for each suffix.

Meaning: Suffix: Word An example word

Form: you can remember:
a person or thing that X
almost or
approximately X
related to the
country/culture of X
related to X*
study or theory of X
to make or cause to be
*this is a general definition

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C. A friendly pair of suffixes
The suffixes -ant/-ent and -ance/-ence are often used within the
same word family. Here are some examples:
assistant (n) a person or thing that X assistance (n) the action of X
resident (n) a person or thing that X residence (n) the action of X

significant (adj) having the characteristic significance (n) state of being X

of X
evident (adj) having the characteristic evidence (n) state of being X
of X
Now write another example pair:

D. Word forms in context

Read the sentence. Think about the word form that should go in
the blank. Write N, V, ADJ, or ADV in the blank. Then circle the
correct word to complete the sentence logically and
grammatically.

1. Speakers at a funeral usually ____________ the dead

person.
eulogize eulogy

2. Their ________ on translation made their progress in English

slower.
reliant reliance

3. That was the most _____________ movie I've seen all year!
magnificent magnitude

4. We need three _____________ for this survey.

participatory participants

E. Memorize: http://tinyurl.com/suffixlesson2
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Lesson 3
adj ▲made of X wooden, golden
-en
verb ▲to make, to cause to be weaken, widen, awaken
the action of X or the result of
-ion noun conclusion, participation
an action
noun ▲belief in X individualism, Hinduism, socialism
-ism
noun the action of X plagiarism, heroism, professionalism
▲a person that (practices or
-ist noun strategist, Buddhist, environmentalist
believes) X
-ity noun state of being X community, security
-ive adj often doing X negative, restrictive
-less adj ▲without X homeless, wordless
-ness noun state of being X appropriateness, happiness, sickness
adj having the characteristic of X hairy, sunny, angry
-y
adj often doing X leaky, sleepy, chatty

A. Matching
Match these suffixes with their meanings. Use one suffix twice.
_____ 1. belief in X a. -en
_____ 2. without X b. -ism
_____ 3. to make, to cause to be c. -ist
_____ 4. a person that practices or believes X d. -less
_____ 5. made of X

B. A friendly pair of suffixes

The suffixes -ist and -ism are noun suffixes often used within
the same word family. They make a difference between a belief
or idea and a person who accepts that belief. Here are some
examples:
• An individualist is a person who believes in an idea called
individualism.
• A capitalist is a person who believes in an economic system/idea
called capitalism.
• A feminist is a person who believes in an idea called feminism.

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What other -ism/-ist pairs do you know that fit this pattern?

What is the other meaning of the suffix -ism?

C. Word Study
These are examples of adjectives that use the suffix -en. The
meaning is "made of X." What is the same about the roots?
wooden golden wheaten
These roots are: nouns verbs adjectives adverbs

These are examples of verbs that use the suffix -en. The
meaning is "to make, to cause to be." What is the same about
the roots?
weaken awaken widen soften harden
These roots are: nouns verbs adjectives adverbs
*This rule doesn't work 100% of the time, but it is a good tool for guessing the -en
word form.

D. Word forms in context

Read the sentence. Think about the word form that should go in
the blank. Write N, V, ADJ, or ADV in the blank. Then circle the
correct word to complete the sentence logically and
grammatically.

1. She's very ________.

wordy wordiness

2. ____________ can cause you to go over the presentation time

limit.
wordy wordiness

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3. There is an ______________ in the contract.
exclusive exclusion

4. The _____________ club only allowed rich people to join.

exclusive exclusion

5. _____________ feelings can end a friendship.

negativity negative

6. His _____________ affected his health.

negativity negative

7. The _____________ was famous all over the world.

artist artless artlessness

8. Her style of speaking was straightforward and _____________.

artist artless artlessness.

9. The visiting _________ spoke to the class about _________.

first blank: Taoist Taoism
second blank: Taoist Taoism

E. Complete the table. HINT: If two suffixes are together, they

have the same meaning and word form.
Meaning: Word form: Suffixes:
-ion -ism
-ity -ness
-ive -y
having the
characteristic of X

F. Memorize: http://tinyurl.com/suffixlesson3

13
Lesson 4
-dom noun ▲rank/position of X; area kingdom, Christendom
ruled by X
noun state of being X freedom, wisdom
-ee noun ▲a person that (receives the employee, payee, detainee
action) X
-er, -or noun ▲a person or thing that X consumer, contractor
-ful adj ▲full of X resourceful, helpful
-ic adj related to X, having the economic, specific, academic, metallic
characteristic of X
-ify verb ▲to make, to cause to be identify, specify
-logue noun ▲speech dialogue, monologue
-ment noun state of being X contentment, amusement
noun the action of X or the result of improvement, development, investment,
an action environment, document, assessment
-ous adj having the characteristic of X injurious, laborious, joyous, nervous,
dangerous

A. Place the suffixes correctly on the chart.

-dom -ee -er/-or -ful
-ic -ify -logue -ment -ous

NOUNS VERBS ADJECTIVES

B. A friendly pair of suffixes

The suffixes -er/or and -ee are noun suffixes often used within
the same word family. They can both be person words, but they
make a difference between the giver and receiver of an action.
Here are some examples.
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• The employer (the boss) gives employment (a job) to an
employee (the worker).
• The payer gives a payment (the money) to the payee.
• The nominator is the person who gives a nomination
(suggestion about giving the job/award to) the nominee.

Give another example pair:

C. Word forms in context

Read the sentence. Think about the word form that should go in
the blank. Write N, V, ADJ, or ADV in the blank. Then circle the
correct word to complete the sentence logically and
grammatically.

1. The _____________ spoke carefully when teaching her

_____________.
first blank: trainee trainer
second blank: trainee trainer

2. The farmer wanted to _____________ the fence to keep the

animals from damaging it.
electric electrify

3. _____________ animals should not be pets.

dangerous endangerment

4. The _____________ showed his plans to the city.

development developer

5. The city will build a new _____________ in this area.

development developer
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D. Educated Guessing
This is a list of example words that you probably don't already
know. Use your suffix knowledge to identify the suffix and
predict the form of the word.

What's the suffix? Word form:

1. iconic
2. monologue
3. disenfranchisement
4. fiefdom
5. assignee
6. deceitful
7. rectify
8. cacophonous
9. spinster

E. Complete the table

Meaning: Suffix: Word An example word

Form: you can remember:
rank/position of X; an
area ruled by X
full of X
to make, to cause to
be
speech
a person that
receives the action X
A person or thing that
X

F. Memorize: http://tinyurl.com/suffixlesson4

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Practice Test

MATCHING: Match these suffixes with their meanings.

______ 1. -ize a. a place of business or activity

______ 2. -dom b. every X; in a specific way, to a specific degree

______ 3. -ery c. to make, to cause to be

______ 4. -ly d. a person that practices of believes X

______ 5. -ist e. rank/position of X; area ruled by X

CHART: Place the suffixes correctly on the chart.

-cy -ive -ify

-ess -ize -ous

NOUNS VERBS ADJECTIVES

PREDICTION: Predict the form for each of the following words based
on the suffixes.

1. edible __________ 4. boyish __________

2. winsome __________ 5. redundancy __________
3. cautiously __________ 6. partisanship __________
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FILL-IN-THE-BLANK: Choose and circle the correct form of the word
to fill in the blank for each sentence.

1. You can buy clothes online, but you must __________ the size
and color.
specific specify

2. The concert is sold out. There are no __________ tickets.

availability available

3. The EPA tests the __________ for pollution.

environmental environment

4. She is Belgian. What is your __________?

ethnicity ethnic

5. The __________ elections occur every 4 years.

presidential president

6. Before you change the light bulb, make sure the __________
is off.

electrical electricity

7. The children behaved __________ at the party.

appropriately appropriateness

8. She is an _________________ of TWU.

employment employee

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Appendix A: Suffixes in Alphabetical Order

SUFFIX FORM MEANING EXAMPLES

-able, -ible adj ▲can, able to X available, reversible
-age noun ▲total amount or collection of X baggage, mileage, footage,
shortage
noun the action of X or the result of an marriage, linkage, coverage,
action breakage, blockage
-al, -ial adj related to X cultural, physical
-ance, noun state of being X evidence, significance,
-ence difference, absence
noun the action of X assistance, maintenance,
residence, appearance
-ant, -ent noun ▲a person or thing that X assistant, resident,
disinfectant
adj having the characteristic of X significant, consistent,
important, expectant,
pleasant
-ary, -ory adj related to X exclusionary, primary,
participatory
-cy noun state of being X consistency, policy
-dom noun ▲rank/position of X; area ruled kingdom, Christendom
by X
noun state of being X freedom, wisdom
-ee noun ▲a person that (receives the employee, payee, detainee
action) X
-en adj ▲made of X wooden, golden
verb ▲to make, to cause to be weaken, widen, awaken
-er, -or noun ▲a person or thing that X consumer, contractor
-ery noun ▲a place of business or activity bakery, refinery, fishery,
nursery
noun the action of X robbery, recovery
noun state of being X slavery, snobbery
-ess noun ▲a female actress, princess, lioness
-ful adj ▲full of X resourceful, helpful
-ic adj related to X, having the economic, specific,
characteristic of X academic, metallic
-ify verb ▲to make, to cause to be identify, specify

19
-ion noun the action of X or the result of an conclusion, participation
action
-ish adj ▲related to the country/culture British, Spanish, Scottish,
of X Turkish
adj ▲almost or approximately X greenish, oldish, thirtyish
adj having the characteristic of X selfish, stylish
-ism noun ▲belief in X individualism, Hinduism,
socialism
noun the action of X plagiarism, heroism,
professionalism
-ist noun ▲a person that (practices or strategist, Buddhist,
believes) X environmentalist
-ity noun state of being X community, security
-ive adj often doing X negative, restrictive
-ize verb ▲to make, to cause to be categorize, theorize
-less adj ▲without X homeless, wordless
-logue noun ▲speech dialogue, monologue
-logy noun ▲study or theory of X technology, methodology,
biology
-ly adv ▲every X daily, yearly
adv ▲in a specific way, to a specific normally, creatively, mostly,
degree physically
-ment noun state of being X contentment, amusement
noun the action of X or the result of an improvement, development,
action investment, environment,
document, assessment
-ness noun state of being X appropriateness, happiness,
sickness
-ous adj having the characteristic of X injurious, laborious, joyous,
nervous, dangerous
-ship noun state of being X partnership, relationship,
friendship
-some adj often doing X bothersome, tiresome,
troublesome
-tude noun state of being X attitude, solitude, plentitude,
magnitude
-y adj having the characteristic of X hairy, sunny, angry
adj often doing X leaky, sleepy, chatty

* Words in bold are found in AWP 1.

▲Memorize these definitions for the test.

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Appendix B: Suffixes by Word Form and Meaning
▲Remember: for the suffix test, you should memorize all the specific noun
meanings, the specific adjective meanings, and all the adverb and verb
meanings. Memorize the word forms for all suffixes.

▲Verb suffixes
-en to make, to cause to be weaken, widen, awaken
-ify to make, to cause to be identify, specify
-ize to make, to cause to be categorize, theorize

▲Adverb suffixes
-ly every X daily, yearly
in a specific way, to a
-ly normally, creatively, mostly, physically
specific degree

▲Adjective suffixes with specific meanings

-able, -ible can, able to X available, reversible
-en made of X wooden, golden
-ful full of X resourceful, helpful
-ish almost or approximately X greenish, oldish, thirtyish
-ish related to the country/culture British, Spanish, Scottish, Turkish
of X
-less without X homeless, wordless

Adjective suffixes with general meanings

-ant, -ent having the characteristic of X significant, consistent, important,
expectant, pleasant
-ish having the characteristic of X selfish, stylish
-ous having the characteristic of X injurious, laborious, joyous, nervous,
dangerous
-y having the characteristic of X hairy, sunny, angry
-ive often doing X negative, restrictive
-some often doing X bothersome, tiresome, troublesome
-y often doing X leaky, sleepy, chatty
-al, -ial related to X cultural, physical
-ary, -ory related to X exclusionary, primary, participatory
-ic related to X, having the economic, specific, academic, metallic
characteristic of X

21
▲Noun suffixes with specific meanings
-ess a female actress, princess, lioness
-ant, -ent a person or thing that X assistant, resident, disinfectant
-er, -or a person or thing that X consumer, contractor
-ist a person that (practices or strategist, Buddhist, environmentalist
believes) X
-ee a person that (receives the employee, payee, detainee
action) X
-ery a place of business or activity bakery, refinery, fishery, nursery
-ism belief in X individualism, Hinduism, socialism
-dom rank/position of X; area ruled kingdom, Christendom
by X
-logue speech dialogue, monologue
-logy study or theory of X technology, methodology, biology
-age total amount or collection of X baggage, mileage, footage, shortage

Noun suffixes with general meanings

-ance, -ence state of being X evidence, significance, difference,
absence
-cy state of being X consistency, policy
-dom state of being X freedom, wisdom
-ery state of being X slavery, snobbery
-ity state of being X community, security
-ment state of being X contentment, amusement
-ness state of being X appropriateness, happiness, sickness
-ship state of being X partnership, relationship, friendship
-tude state of being X attitude, solitude, plentitude, magnitude
-ery the action of X robbery, recovery
-ism the action of X plagiarism, heroism, professionalism
-ance, -ence the action of X assistance, maintenance, residence,
appearance
-age the action of X or the marriage, linkage, coverage, breakage,
result of an action blockage
-ion the action of X or the conclusion, participation
result of an action
-ment the action of X or the improvement, development, investment,
result of an action environment, document, assessment

* Words in bold are found in AWP 1.

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Appendix C: Suffixes by Word Form - Quick Reference

NOUNS ADJECTIVES VERBS ADVERBS

-age -able, -ible -en* -ly
-ance, -ence -al, -ial -ify
-ant, -ent* -ant, ent* -ize
-cy -ary, -ory
-dom -en*
-ee -ful
-er, -or -ic
-ery -ish
-ess -ive
-ion -less
-ism -ous
-ist -some
-ity -y
-logue
-logy
-ment
-ness
-ship
-tude

*These suffixes have more than one possible word form.

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