6 Minute Vocabulary: Job suffixes

Dec 022014

What’s the connection between a teacher, a driver or, like Neil and Sophie, a presenter? Well, these words all end in the letters -er. This is a common job suffix, but it’s not the only one. In the programme you’ll learn others like -ist, -ian and -or.

_______Show Transcript______

Neil
Hi!

Sophie
Hello!

Neil
..and welcome to 6 Minute Vocabulary. My name is Neil, and I’m one of the presenters today.

Sophie
And I’m Sophie, and I’m the other presenter. Welcome to the show!

Neil
Did you hear that word – presenter? Today we’re going to be talking about jobs, and the different kinds of English words for different jobs. Like presenter, for example.

Sophie
We’ll look at some of the different ways that words for jobs can end, like the ‘er’ at the end of presenter. These are called suffixes.

Neil
As usual, we’ll be giving you a quiz to see how much you can remember…

Sophie
And we’ll also bring you a top tip to help you learn vocabulary.

Neil
But first, let’s listen to Anna. She’s going to tell us about the different jobs she’s had in her life so far.

Sophie
While you listen, think about this question: what is Anna’s job now?

INSERT
Anna
When I was a little girl, I always wanted to be a teacher. So I spent years training as a teacher, and then I got a job in a school… and I hated it! After a few months I quit. I worked for a while as a librarian, but I didn’t really like that either. Finally I started writing for a small website. Now I work as a journalist, writing for newspapers and magazines.

Sophie
So, that was Anna, talking about all the jobs she’s done. And we asked: what’s Anna’s job now?

Neil
Anna is a journalist now. She writes for newspapers and magazines.

Sophie
Well done if you got that right. And another question: Did you catch what Anna’s first job was?

Neil
She was a teacher. Let’s listen again…

INSERT 1 CLIP 1
Anna
When I was a little girl, I always wanted to be a teacher. So I spent years training as a teacher…

Neil
Now, a lot of English words for jobs end with the sound –er, like presenter or teacher.

Sophie
Yes, and there are two ways to spell the suffix –er in job names. Sometimes this is spelled e-r, in words like presenter or teacher. Or sometimes it’s spelled o-r: for example, actor or translator.

Neil
So, a teacher teaches students, an actor acts in a film, a translator translates from one language to another, a train driver drives a train. You’re an actor aren’t you Sophie?

Sophie
Yes, I am, Neil. But because I’m female you can also say I’m an actress. So, there are lots of jobs that end with that e-r suffix. But now let’s look at a different suffix. Can you remember what Anna’s next job was, after she quit teaching? Let’s listen and check.

INSERT 1 CLIP 2
Anna
After a few months I quit. I worked for a while as a librarian, but I didn’t really like that either.

Neil
Next, Anna worked as a librarian – that’s someone who works in a library.

Sophie
Another suffix which we often find at the end of a word for a job is –ian, spelled i-a-n. Sometimes it’s pronounced ‘shun’. For example, if you’ve got a problem with your eyes, you might need to go to an optician.

Neil
And someone who works in politics is a politician. Ever thought of being a politician, Sophie?

Sophie
I can’t say I have, Neil. OK, now let’s talk about one more suffix. Do you remember what Anna does now? She’s a journalist.

Neil
There are also quite a lot of words for jobs in English which end in –ist, spelled i-s-t.

Sophie
The person who greets you in an office or a hotel is a receptionist…

Neil
And a person who looks after your teeth is a dentist.

IDENT
You’re listening to BBC Learning English.

Sophie
And we’re talking about jobs suffixes.

Neil
Ok. Now it’s quiz time! We’ve got three questions for you. First, if someone translates from one language to another, are they a) a translatist b) a translator or c) a translatician?

Sophie
And the answer is, b) a translator. Well done if you got that right. Second question: which job ends with the letters –o-r? Is it a) actor; b) teacher or c) presenter?

Neil
And the answer is actor. Teacher and presenter end with –e-r. Well done if you got both of those questions right. It’s almost time for the end of the show. But before we go, there’s just time for a top tip for learning vocabulary.

Sophie
When you record a new word, don’t just write the word and the translation – try drawing a picture in your notebook too!

Neil
Yes. Drawing a picture can help you remember the word better.

Sophie
There’s more about this at bbclearningenglish.com. Join us again soon for more 6 Minute Vocabulary.

Both
Bye!

Vocabulary

Job names ending in –er:
presenter, teacher, train driver

Job names ending in –or:

actor (some people say actress for female actors), translator

Job names ending in –ian:

librarian, politician, optician

Job names ending in –ist:

journalist, receptionist, dentist