Quality and Condition
Several suffixes end words referring to the condition of something or to a quality. The most common of these are -ance and -ence. Two other important endings used with words to indicate a quality are -cy and -ity. What do the words with these endings in the following sentences mean?
The mayor is a woman of considerable prominence in our community.
He questioned the importance of this meeting.
The ink for marking the laundry was chosen for its permanence.
-ance, -ence
Like -ment and -ion, the suffixes -ance and -ence can indicate a process or result of an action. For example, performance is the result of performing; correspondence is the process or the result of corresponding (for example, letters).In some cases, these two suffixes indicate a quality or condition. Importance is the quality of being important; prominence is the quality of being prominent, standing out, or highly visible. Permanence refers to the condition of being permanent. -cy, -ity
The suffixes -cy and -ity also indicate qualities. You have already learned that scarcity means "a lack of" and that proximity means "the quality of being near." Bankruptcy refers to being bankrupt; secrecy refers to being secret.
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