English for Spanish speakers · part 1 of 22
Spanish → English word transformation rules
A large share of English vocabulary can be predicted from Spanish. Latin endings on Spanish words correspond, with striking regularity, to English endings. Once students internalise these patterns, they stop memorising individual words and start converting them — one of the highest-leverage things you can teach early.
| Spanish ending | English ending | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -ción | -tion | nación → nation |
| -sión | -sion | televisión → television |
| -dad / -tad | -ty | ciudad → city, libertad → liberty |
| -oso / -osa | -ous | famoso → famous |
| -ico / -ica | -ic | público → public |
| -al | -al | natural → natural |
| -ario / -aria | -ary | necesario → necessary |
| -ible / -able | -ible / -able | posible → possible |
| -ista | -ist | artista → artist |
| -izar | -ize / -ise | organizar → organize |
| -mente | -ly | rápidamente → rapidly |
| -encia / -ancia | -ence / -ance | diferencia → difference |
Present it as a conversion ladder — the meaning stays; only the ending shifts:
Spanish English información → information universidad → university generoso → generous económico → economic revolucionario → revolutionary
One caveat to flag for students. The pattern predicts spelling and meaning, not pronunciation, and not every word obeys — embarazada looks as if it should become embarrassed and does not (see §8). Teach the rules as a strong first guess, then confirm. They are right far more often than wrong, which is exactly why they are worth drilling.