Meaning & use
ee suffix
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Meanings
suffixtechnical
Added to verbs to make nouns meaning the person who receives an action or is affected by it.
Grammar: Attaches to a verb to form a countable noun: 'pay' gives 'payee', the person who is paid.
Patterns
- verb + -ee
- the -ee of an action
An employee is someone who is employed by a company.
The payee is the person who receives the money.
The interviewee sat nervously opposite the manager.
suffixtechnical
Added to some verbs to make nouns meaning a person who does the action or is in a particular state.
Grammar: A smaller group of words; here the -ee noun is the doer, not the receiver, so learn each one separately.
Patterns
- verb + -ee
- a ...-ee
A retiree is a person who has retired from work.
The escapee was caught near the border the next day.
suffixtechnical
Added to a few verbs to make nouns for a person to whom something is given or addressed, as in 'addressee'.
Grammar: Often pairs with an -er noun for the other side of the exchange: 'addresser' and 'addressee'.
Patterns
- verb + -ee
- the -ee of a letter
Please write the addressee's name clearly on the envelope.
The referee awarded a free kick to the home team.
Common combinations
- employee and employer
- The contract protects both the employee and the employer.
- the payee's name
- Write the payee's name on the back of the check.
- a job interviewee
- Each interviewee had twenty minutes with the panel.
- a retiree's pension
- The retiree's pension arrives on the first of the month.
Synonyms and how they differ
- -er
- Also makes nouns for people, but usually the person who performs the action, as in 'employer'.
Word family
Commonly confused: ee suffix or -y?
ee suffix vs -y
The suffix -y usually makes adjectives, as in 'rainy', not nouns for people.
Practice
Which pair shows the -ee suffix naming the person who receives the action?
Choose one answer.
In 'employer / employee', the -ee word 'employee' is the person who is employed, i.e. the receiver of the action. The other options show different suffixes or no suffix at all.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “ee suffix”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.