Augmentatives and diminutives, in Spanish, they are trained by suffix addition to the original words. Augmentatives express relations of magnitude/superiority, and diminutives express relations of smallness/inferiority. In addition, they are also used with pejorative sense, to detract from the terms in question.
Read too: The conjunctions - the words that help in the articulation of sentences and texts
Definition of augmentatives and diminutives
As the name implies, the augmentativesadd one meaning of greatness/greater size to the term in question. For example, if we add the suffix -ton the word hombre, we form the word combretto, which means “big man”.
In turn, the diminutivesindicate that the term in question establishes a smallness/inferiority relationship in relation to the original word. For example, the suffix -Hey next to lady form the word señorita, which means "a younger woman" than the woman she is called lady.
Main suffixes of augmentative and diminutive
augmentatives |
-azo/a -on/a -ote/a -all |
diminutives |
-ito/a -illo/a -ic/a -iño/a |
Examples:
I just saw a film, I am delighted!
(I just saw a movie, I loved it!)Ricardo is a buenazo what do you do.
(Ricardo is very good at what he does.)I can't go to work because I have a problem that solve.
(I can't go to work because I have a little problem to solve.)wait for momentya voy.
(Wait a minute, I'll be right back.)
See too: The months of the year – names and origin of months in spanish
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Affixes: prefixes and suffixes
One of the most fertile word formation processes that exists in the Spanish language, as well as in the Portuguese language, is the adding elements that contain some meaning to words that already exist, in order to form new words. For example, when we add the element “a-”, which means “denial”, to a word like “normal”, we create the word “abnormal”, that is, “that which is not normal”. The name we give these elements is affixes.
Affixes are divided into two groups. When we place elements at the beginning of a word, they are called prefixes, and when we put them after the word, its name is suffixes. A group of words especially affected by this formation process is the augmentatives and diminutives in Spanish.
Despectives in Spanish
In addition to the literal uses we described above, in Spanish, augmentative and diminutive suffixes are also used to assign a negative valuation of words. They are called despectives, which means "derogatory”.
The main suffixes of this class are -co/a, -I work, -I love and -ucho. Some examples of sentences with these suffixes:
The child of Marta is more bien feúcho, no?
(Marta's son is more ugly, isn't he?)As long as you read these books, you should read other things that are more useful.
(I don't know what you read these booklets for, you should read other, more useful things.)
solved exercises
Question 01 - the diminutives hilito, maderilla and eight refer to what words? Mark the correct option:
The) hijo wood and hueso
B) hilo, mother and hueso
ç) hijo, mother and bone
d) hilo wood and bone
Resolution
Alternative d.
Question 02 - The augmentatives hombreton, deadline and cucharón refer to what words? Mark the correct option:
The) shoulder, dog and spoon
B) hombre, pear and cucaracha
ç) hombre, dog and spoon
d) shoulder, pear and cucaracha
Resolution
Alternative c.
By Diego Guimarães Gontijo
Spanish teacher
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
GONTIJO, Diego Guimarães. "Augmentative and diminutive"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/espanhol/aumentativo-y-diminutivo.htm. Accessed on June 28, 2021.
