Words That End in -Tion in English Often End in -Cion in Spanish

As you learn Spanish, here are some of the more common patterns of similarity you'll come across:

Words that end in "-tion" in English often end in -cion in Spanish:

·  nation, nación

·  station, estación

·  fraction, fracción

·  publication, publicación

Many English words that have a "ph" in them have an f in the Spanish version:

·  photo, foto

·  metamorphosis, metamorfosis

·  graph, gráfica

Words that end in "-ty" in English often end in -dad in Spanish:

·  fidelity, fidelidad

·  felicity, felicidad

·  faculty, facultad

·  liberty, libertad

·  authority, autoridad

A few words in English that have a "th" in them have a Spanish equivalent with a t:

·  empathy, empatía

·  theater, teatro

·  theory, teoría

Adverbs that end in "-ly" in English sometimes have a Spanish equivalent ending in -mente:

·  rapidly, rápidamente

·  profusely, profusamente

·  prudently, prudentemente

Some words that begin with an "s" followed by a consonant in English start with an es in Spanish:

·  stereo, estéreo

·  special, especial

·  snob, esnob

Some English words that have double letters have a Spanish equivalent without the letter doubled (although words with "rr" may have an rr equivalent in Spanish, as in "correspond," corresponder):

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·  difficulty, dificultad

·  essence, esencia

·  collaborate, colaborar

·  common, común

Names of occupations that end in "-ist" in English sometimes have a Spanish equivalent ending in -ista (although other endings also are used):

·  dentist, dentista

·  artist, artista

·  phlebotomist, flebotomista

Names of fields of study that end in "-ology" often have a Spanish cognate ending in -ología:

·  geology, geología

·  ecology, ecología

·  archaeology, arqueología

Adjectives that end in "-ous" may have a Spanish equivalent ending in -oso:

·  famous, famoso

·  nervous, nervioso

·  precious, precioso

Words ending in -cy often have an equivalent ending in -cia:

·  democracy, democracia

·  redundancy, redundancia

·  clemency, clemencia

Nearly all the common prefixes are the same or similar in the two languages. Prefixes used in the following words make far from a complete list:

·  antipathy, antipatía

·  bilingual, bilingüe

·  counterattack, contraataque

·  contend, contender

·  disobedience, desobediencia

·  polygamy, poligamia

·  prefix, prefijo

·  supermarket, supermercado

·  unilateral, unilateral

English words ending in "-ism" often have an equivalent ending in -ismo:

·  communism, comunismo

·  capitalism, capitalismo

·  atheism, ateísmo

Despite the numerous similarities between English and Spanish, you're probably best off to avoid coining Spanish words — not all words work in the above way, and you may find yourself in an embarrassing situation. You're a bit safer following these patterns in reverse, however (because you'll know if the resulting English word doesn't make sense), and using these patterns as a reminder. As you learn Spanish, you'll also come across numerous other word patterns, some of them more subtle than those above.

OTHER WORDS WITH PREFIXES IN SPANISH THAT ARE COMMON IN ENGLISH

There aren't any real secrets to learning prefixes. Just remember that if you think you know what a prefix means you're probably right. Here are some of the most common ones, along with examples:

·  ante- (before): antemano (beforehand), anteayer (day before yesterday), antebrazo (forearm), anteponer (to put something before something else)

·  anti- (against): anticuerpo (antibody), antimateria (antimatter), anticoncepción (contraception)

·  auto- (self): autodisciplina (self-discipline), autogestión (self-management), automóvil (automobile)

·  bi-, bis-, biz- (two): bicicleta (bicycle), bilingüe (bilingual), bisemenal (twice a week)

·  cent- (hundred): centímetro (centimeter), centenar (group of 100)

·  · contra- (against): contraataque (counterattack), contrapeso (counterweight), ir contrareloj (to work against the clock)

·  · con- (with): convivir (to live together), conjuntar (to coordinate), complot (conspiracy)

·  · des- (undo, diminish): desplegar (to unfold), desdecirse (to go back on one's word), descubrir (to discover or uncover)

·  · entre-, (between, among): entremeter (to place among), entrecruzar (to interweave), entreabierto (half-open)

·  · ex- (former, outside): excombatiente (military veteran), exportar (to export), exprimiar (to squeeze or squeeze out)

·  · homo- (same): homónimo (homonym), homólogo (equivalent), homogeneizar (to homogenize)

·  · im-, in- (opposite): incapaz (incapable), inaudible (inaudible), inconformista (nonconformist)

·  · inter- (between, among): interacción (interaction), interrumpir (to interrupt), interponer (to interpose)

·  · mal- (bad): maltratar (to abuse or mistreat), malpensado (malicious), malvivir (to live badly)

·  · mono- (one): monótono (monotonous), monopolio (monopoly), monocarril (monorail)

·  · para- (together, with, for): paramédico (paramedic), paraguas (umbrella), parachoques (vehicle bumper)

·  poli- (many): poligloto (multilingual person), politeísta (polytheistic), poligamia (polygamy)

·  pre- (before): prefijo (prefix), predestinación (predestination), prehistoria (prehistory)

·  pro- (in favor of): proponer (to propose), pronombre (pronoun), prometer (to promise)

·  re- (again, with intensity): repaso (review), renacer (to be reborn), renegar (to strongly deny)

·  semi- (medium, half): semidifunto (half-dead), semifinalista (semifinalist), semicírculo (semicircle)

·  seudo- (false): seudónimo (pseudonym), seudociencia (pseudoscience)

·  sobre- (excessive, extraordinary): sobrevivir (to survive), sobredosis (overdose), sobrecargar (to overload)

·  sub- (under): subsuelo (subsoil), subyacer (to underlie), subsector (subsection)

·  super- (superior): supermercado (supermarket), superhombre (superman), supercarburante (high-grade fuel)

·  tele- (at a distance): teléfono (telephone), telecontrol (remote control), telescopio (telescope)

·  uni- (one): unificación (unification), unilateral (one-sided), unisexo (unisex)

There are many other prefixes that are less common. Many of the words listed above have additional meanings.

A few of the suffixes — such as seudo-, super- and mal- — can be freely applied to coin words. For example, someone who doesn't study much might be called a seudoestudiante.

Augmentative suffixes — word endings added to nouns (and sometimes adjectives) to make them refer to something that is large — are less common than the diminutive endings, but they nevertheless provide one way that the Spanish vocabulary can be flexibly expanded. And just as the diminutive suffixes can be used to indicate that something is endearing (rather than small), so can the augmentative endings be used in a pejorative way to indicate that something is awkward or otherwise undesirable.

he most common augmentative and pejorative suffixes (feminine forms in parentheses) are -ón (-ona), -azo (-aza) and -ote (-ota). Less common ones include -udo (-uda), -aco (-aca), -acho (-acha), -uco (-uca), -ucho (-ucha), -astro (-astra) and -ejo (-eja). Although nouns usually maintain their gender when put in an augmentative form, it isn't unusual for the words, especially when they come to be thought of as words in their own right, to change gender (especially from feminine to masculine).

There's no way to predict which ending (if any) can be attached to a particular noun, and the meanings of some suffixed words can vary from region to region. Here are the main ways in which these endings are used:

Examples: mujerona (big and/or tough woman), arbolote (big tree), perrazo (a big and/or mean dog), librazo or librote (big book), pajarote (large bird), casona (large house), cabezón (big-headed, big-headed person, literally or figuratively), cabezota (stubborn, stubborn person).

False Cognates

Write examples of false cognates on the board. For example: embarrassed/embarazada and pie/pie. Warn students that they might run into some words that are false cognates. These are words that look alike but do not have the same meaning in English and Spanish. Ask the students:

Does anyone know what pie means in Spanish (foot)? What does the word pie mean in English (dessert)?

Another example of a false cognate is the word embarrassed in English and embarazada in Spanish. What does embarrassed mean in English (to feel ashamed about something)? Does anyone know what embarazada means in Spanish (pregnant)?

Give students some cognates and false cognates and ask them to identify each. Examples of false cognates:

English / Spanish
globe / globo (balloon)
pie / pie (foot)
rope / ropa (clothes)
soap / sopa (soup or pasta)
large / largo (long)
exit / éxito (success)
hay / hay (there is)

Ask students to work with a partner to find as many cognates and false cognates as they can from a given list of words. After they finish, ask partners to share one example of each with the class.

Exaggerate intonation and stress

Cognate words can cause problems for Spanish speakers learning English and vice versa because of different stress patterns in the two languages. Point out how the emphasis changes in the following words:

·  condition / condición

·  animal / animal

·  ability / habilidad

Common Greek and Latin roots that are cognates in English and Spanish

Root / Meaning / Origin / English
examples / Spanish
examples
aud / hear / Latin / auditorium
audition / auditorio
audición
astir / star / Greek / astrology
astronaut / astrología
astronauta
bio / life / Greek / biography
biology / biografía
biología
dict / speak, tell / Latin / dictate
dictator / dictar
dictador
mit, mis / send / Latin / mission
transmit / misión
transmitir
ped / foot / Latin / pedal
pedestal / pedal
pedestal
phon / sound / Greek / phoneme
microphone / fonema
micrófono
port / carry / Latin / transport
portable / transportar
portatil