frequent use of diminutive suffixes with many nouns, adverbs, and adjectives, even where no semantic diminution of size or intensity is implied. Most frequent is the suffix, which replaces the final vowel on words that have one. Words ending with -n use the suffix . Use of the diminutive does not necessarily denote small size, but rather often implies an affectionate attitude; thus one may speak of "" ('a nice, big house'). When the diminutive suffix is applied to an adjective, often a near-equivalent idea can be expressed in English by "nice and [adjective]". So, for example, a mattress () described as might be "nice and soft", while calling it might be heard to mean "too soft". In some regions of Mexico, the diminutive suffix is also used to form affectives to express politeness or submission (, literally "little coffee"; , literally "little head"; "little boy"), and is attached to names (, from ; , from —cf. Eng. ) denoting affection. In the northern parts of the country, the suffix is often replaced in informal situations by (, , , ). Frequent use of the diminutive is found across all socioeconomic classes, but its "excessive" use is commonly associated with lower-class speech. The augmentative suffix is typically used in Mexico to make nouns larger, more powerful, etc. For example, the word , in Mexico, means ; the suffixed form means "big or long bus". It can be repeated just as in the case of the suffixes and ; therefore means . The suffix or and its feminine counterparts and respectively, are used as a disparaging form of a noun; for example, the word , meaning "house", can be modified with that suffix () to change the word's meaning to make it disparaging, and sometimes offensive; so the word often refers to a shanty, hut or hovel. The word ("wood") can take the suffix () to mean "rotten, ugly wood". Other suffixes include, but are not limited to: as in , which refers to a very impressive car () such as a Ferrari or Mercedes-Benz; , for example , meaning "big-nosed" ( = "nose"), or , a female with large feet (). Nicknames It is common to replace with to form diminutives, e.g. → , → Chema, ("beer") → /, → , ("without molars") → ("toothless"). This is common in, but not exclusive to, Mexican Spanish. Syntax Typical of Mexican Spanish