What happens to the word base when suffixes beginning with a consonant are added?

When suffixes beginning with a consonant are added to a word base, there is usually no change to the base word itself. The suffix is simply added on to the end.

Here are some examples:

* Base word: "play"

* Suffix: "-ing"

* New word: "playing"

* Base word: "happy"

* Suffix: "-ness"

* New word: "happiness"

* Base word: "run"

* Suffix: "-er"

* New word: "runner"

However, there are some exceptions to this rule:

* Plurals: If the base word ends in a consonant + y, the y is changed to i before adding the plural suffix "-es" (e.g., "baby" becomes "babies").

* Some suffixes: Certain suffixes, like "-ly", "-ful", and "-less", may cause a change in the spelling of the base word. For example, "care" becomes "carefully" and "hope" becomes "hopeless".

In general, the rule is that the base word remains unchanged when adding consonant suffixes, but it's important to be aware of the exceptions and to check the spelling of the new word.