WORD FORMATION

Formación de palabras en inglés: 48 patrones explicados

Entender cómo se construyen las palabras inglesas te da un superpoder: la capacidad de adivinar el significado de miles de palabras que nunca has visto antes. Esta guía cubre los seis procesos clave de formación de palabras — prefijos, sufijos nominales, adjetivales, verbales, compuestos y conversión — con ejemplos reales para cada patrón. Busca abajo o filtra por categoría.

48 items · 6 topics

Prefijos

"un-"

not; reverse the action (unhappy, undo, unclear)

"She felt unhappy after hearing the unexpected news."

Prefijos

"dis-"

not; opposite of (disagree, disappear, dishonest)

"I completely disagree with the decision they made."

Prefijos

"re-"

again; back (rebuild, return, reconsider)

"We need to reconsider our strategy after these results."

Prefijos

"pre-"

before (prepare, predict, preview)

"Please preview the document before sending it."

Prefijos

"over-"

too much; above (overwork, overcome, overestimate)

"She tends to overestimate how long tasks will take."

Prefijos

"mis-"

wrongly; incorrectly (misunderstand, mislead, misuse)

"He misunderstood the instructions and went the wrong way."

Prefijos

"inter-"

between; among (international, interact, interconnect)

"The two teams interact closely on every project."

Prefijos

"sub-"

under; below (subway, subtitle, submarine)

"Add subtitles so viewers can follow along easily."

Sufijos — Sustantivos

"-tion / -sion"

forms nouns from verbs (education, permission, decision)

"Her decision to study abroad changed everything."

Sufijos — Sustantivos

"-ment"

forms nouns showing a state or result (development, movement)

"The development of the project took two full years."

Sufijos — Sustantivos

"-ness"

forms nouns from adjectives (happiness, darkness, kindness)

"The kindness of strangers surprised her deeply."

Sufijos — Sustantivos

"-er / -or"

forms agent nouns — person doing sth (teacher, actor)

"The actor delivered a truly unforgettable performance."

Sufijos — Sustantivos

"-ity"

forms abstract nouns from adjectives (creativity, ability)

"Her creativity made the campaign stand out completely."

Sufijos — Sustantivos

"-ism"

forms nouns for doctrines or practices (journalism, realism)

"He studied journalism at the city university."

Sufijos — Sustantivos

"-ist"

forms nouns for a person following a belief (artist, pianist)

"The pianist performed three Chopin nocturnes flawlessly."

Sufijos — Sustantivos

"-ance / -ence"

forms nouns of state or quality (performance, confidence)

"Confidence is the key to a great job interview."

Sufijos — Adjetivos

"-able / -ible"

capable of; worthy of (readable, flexible, reliable)

"This contract is not readable without legal training."

Sufijos — Adjetivos

"-ful"

full of; having (helpful, powerful, colourful)

"Her helpful feedback improved the final draft significantly."

Sufijos — Adjetivos

"-less"

without; lacking (careless, hopeless, wireless)

"He was careless with the details and the client noticed."

Sufijos — Adjetivos

"-ous / -ious"

having the quality of (famous, mysterious, generous)

"The generous donation covered all the event costs."

Sufijos — Adjetivos

"-al / -ical"

relating to (musical, logical, cultural, practical)

"Her practical approach saved the team a lot of time."

Sufijos — Adjetivos

"-ive"

tending to; having a nature of (creative, active, sensitive)

"The creative director redesigned the whole brand identity."

Sufijos — Adjetivos

"-ish"

somewhat; like (childish, greenish, selfish, stylish)

"She gave a stylish presentation that impressed everyone."

Sufijos — Adjetivos

"-y"

having the quality of (cloudy, windy, tricky, noisy)

"The noisy café made it hard to concentrate on work."

Sufijos — Verbos

"-ise / -ize"

to make; to cause to become (organise, modernise)

"We need to modernise the system before the launch."

Sufijos — Verbos

"-en"

to make more; to become (strengthen, brighten, widen)

"Regular practice will strengthen your speaking skills."

Sufijos — Verbos

"-ify / -fy"

to make; to cause to be (simplify, clarify, classify)

"Could you clarify what you meant in the second paragraph?"

Sufijos — Verbos

"-ate"

to act or cause (communicate, generate, motivate)

"Great leaders know how to motivate their entire team."

Sufijos — Verbos

"-en (causative)"

to make something happen (darken, weaken, loosen)

"The bad news seemed to darken the mood in the room."

Sufijos — Verbos

"-ify (intensify)"

to make more intense (intensify, diversify, amplify)

"Adding music helped amplify the emotional impact."

Sufijos — Verbos

"-ise (socialise)"

to engage in an activity (socialise, advertise, supervise)

"She loves to socialise after work with her colleagues."

Sufijos — Verbos

"-ate (originate)"

to produce or begin (originate, innovate, evaluate)

"The idea originated from a simple customer complaint."

Palabras compuestas

"sunflower"

closed compound noun: sun + flower

"The sunflower turned its head slowly toward the afternoon light."

Palabras compuestas

"well-known"

hyphenated compound adjective: well + known

"She is a well-known author in the field of linguistics."

Palabras compuestas

"swimming pool"

open compound noun: two separate words

"The hotel swimming pool was open until midnight."

Palabras compuestas

"break-through"

hyphenated compound: a major discovery or achievement

"The research team announced a breakthrough in battery technology."

Palabras compuestas

"heartbeat"

closed compound: the rhythm of the heart

"His heartbeat quickened as he opened the envelope."

Palabras compuestas

"high-tech"

hyphenated compound adjective: advanced technology

"The factory uses high-tech robotics on the assembly line."

Palabras compuestas

"workforce"

closed compound: the total body of workers

"The company is planning to expand its workforce this year."

Palabras compuestas

"self-esteem"

hyphenated compound: confidence in oneself

"Praise from a mentor can greatly boost a student's self-esteem."