NOMENCLATURE PRIORITY

In a multifunctional molecule, the most important functional group gets the lowest
number and ends the name. All other functional groups (of lesser importance) are named
as substituents. The table below lists the common functional groups in decreasing order
of importance.
FUNCTIONAL GROUP NAME SUFFIX SUBSTITUENT PREFIX
-COOH -oic acid
-COOR -oate carboalkoxy-
-COCl -oyl chloride chlorocarbonyl-
-CONR
2
(R = H, also) -amide carboxamido-
-CN -nitrile cyano-
-CHO -al formyl-
-COR -one oxo-
-OH -ol hydroxy-
-C'C- -ene alkenyl-
-C/C- -yne alkynyl-
-R -ane alkyl-
-OR -ane alkoxy-
-NR
2
(R = H, also) -ane amino-
-X -ane halo-
-NO
2
-ane nitro-