Editing Aleut language (section)

=== Derivation (postbases) ===
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There are 570 derivational suffixes ([[postbase]]s) including many composite ones, but about two thirds are found only in a small number of words. There are approximately 175 more common suffixes, considerably less than the Eskimo branch of the family.

A postbase may be nominal or verbal, yielding nouns derived from nouns or verbs, or verbs derived from verbs or nouns, or from nominal phrases. Many stems are ambivalent, being either nominal or verbal and even some derivatives can be ambivalent.

Difficulties distinguishing between nominal and verbal parts of speech arise because the parts of speech in Aleut are not easy to distinguish. A verbal stem may be used as a verbal predicate, and quite often as a noun. The verbal use of nouns is also very common.

The derivational suffixes may combine in strings of up to about six components, some belonging together to form composites. In sequences, each successive suffix often modifies the preceding string.

The majority of derivatives have a single stem that occurs also without the suffixes in question. While some stems are bound, only occurring with some derivational suffix. For example, compare {{lang|ale-latn|iĝa-t-}} 'to scare, frighten' {{lang|ale-latn|iĝa-x̂ta-}} 'to fear, be afraid of' {{lang|ale-latn|iĝa-na-}} 'to be terrible, frightening'.