[Grammar] Suffix - "ist" & "er"

[crazyaboutenglish]

Hi, I'm studying how the suffix "ist" as in "psychiatrist" and the suffix "er" as in "phylospher" are used but when I see a profession that is new to me, such as "astonomy" how do I know whether to use "astonomist" or "astronomer"? Is there a rule?

Thank You!

 

[5jj]

Basically, you just have to look them up in a dictionary.

ps. it's 'philosopher'.

 

[Amigos4]

Hi, I'm studying how the suffix "ist" as in "psychiatrist" and the suffix "er" as in "phylospher" are used but when I see a profession that is new to me, such as "astonomy" how do I know whether to use "astonomist" or "astronomer"? Is there a rule?

Thank You!

Take a look at the following URL: Job Title Suffixes : Prefixes and Suffixes

 

[5jj]

You also have the additional problem of -er/-or:

farmer:tick:/farmor:cross:; acter:cross:,actor:tick:; adviser:tick:/advisor:tick:.

Don't worry too much; native speakers sometimes have to use a dictionary.