Suffix /-e/, a Multi-functional Affix in Persian

The suffix /-e/, referred to by some traditional grammarians as the silent /h/, is one of the most creative affixes of Persian. Its major role is to make the past participle out of the past stem. It also attaches to the present stems and produces abstract nouns and instrumentation terms. This affix, however, has a variety of minor functions. It produces adjectives out of nouns, nouns out of adjectives, new nouns and new adjectives out of the previously existing ones, etc. These byproducts, though varied in nature, are not generated necessarily numerously, so that for some of them one may find just few examples.The majority of Persian grammarians dealt only with major functions of the affix and some others, also, with just a small number of the minor functions. Moreover, the analyses are, for the most part, prescriptive and; therefore, mingled with presuppositions and misunderstandings. These shortcomings have obscured the versatility of the affix.This study aims to review and criticize the previous literature on the subject descriptively, and to introduce the ignored functions of the affix into the literature of Persian grammar.