Re: what does -il- do?

On Tuesday 11 January 2005 03:07 pm, Rodlox wrote:
>  I was thinking again (no no, don't run YET)....and became curious as to
> what matter of modifier (if that's the right word) -il- is.
>
>  For example...
> "The wood is heavy."
> "The forest is heavily wooded."
>
>  one does not (that I know of) say "the forest is heavy-wooded" or "the wood
> is heavily"...so I thought to ask: what is the -il- that so affects some
> words?  *curious*
>
>  thanks.
>
It isn't an '-il-', it's an ordinary "-ly", making things into an adverb. The
"y" on "heavy" gets written as an "i" when it moves into the middle of the
word, as is traditional for any "y" following a consonant, at the end of an
English word that acquires an affix. (Try -- Tries, Tried, merry -- merrily
versus eye --eyes, prey preys preyed).

--
Elyse Grasso

The World of Cherani Station
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