Knowing prefixes and suffixes is like having a key to thousands of words. With them, you can guess the meaning of new words and choose the right form (noun, adjective, verb or adverb) when you write.Conhecer prefixos e sufixos é como ter uma chave para milhares de palavras. Com eles, você deduz o sentido de palavras novas e escolhe a forma certa (substantivo, adjetivo, verbo ou advérbio) na hora de escrever.
Prefix
It goes at the beginning of the word and changes the meaning. The word class almost always stays the same.Vai no início da palavra e muda o sentido. A classe gramatical quase sempre continua a mesma.
happy → unhappy (feliz → infeliz)
Suffix
It goes at the end of the word and often changes the word class.Vai no final da palavra e muitas vezes muda a classe gramatical.
happy → happiness (feliz → felicidade)
B1 Prefixes: change the meaning
Negative and opposite
These prefixes say “not”, “the opposite” or “wrongly”. They are the most useful ones to learn first.Estes prefixos indicam “não”, “o contrário” ou “de forma errada”. São os mais úteis para aprender primeiro.
| Prefix | Meaning | Examples | Português |
|---|---|---|---|
| un- | not, the opposite | unhappy, unfair, unexpected, unlock, undo | não, o contrário |
| in- | not | incomplete, incorrect, invisible | não |
| im- (before b, m, p) | not | impossible, impatient, immature, imbalance | não (antes de b, m, p) |
| il- (before l) | not | illegal, illogical | não (antes de l) |
| ir- (before r) | not | irregular, irresponsible, irrelevant | não (antes de r) |
| dis- | not, the opposite | disagree, dishonest, disappear, disconnect | não, o contrário |
| non- | not, without | non-fiction, non-profit, non-stop, nonsense | não, sem |
| mis- | wrongly, badly | misunderstand, misspell, mislead, misuse | errado, mal |
- It’s unfair to change the rules in the middle of the game. (É injusto mudar as regras no meio do jogo.)
- Driving without a licence is illegal. (Dirigir sem carteira é ilegal.)
- I’m sorry, I misunderstood the question. (Desculpe, eu entendi errado a pergunta.)
- She works for a non-profit that helps street children. (Ela trabalha numa ONG, organização não governamental, que ajuda crianças em situação de rua.)
Un- or in-?
There is no fixed rule: each word has its own prefix. ✗ inhappy → ✓ unhappy. ✗ uncomplete → ✓ incomplete. If in doubt, check the dictionary.Não há regra fixa: cada palavra tem o seu prefixo. ✗ inhappy → ✓ unhappy. ✗ uncomplete → ✓ incomplete. Na dúvida, consulte o dicionário.
Time, order and amount
| Prefix | Meaning | Examples | Português |
|---|---|---|---|
| pre- | before | preview, prepaid, prehistoric, preorder | antes |
| post- | after | postwar, postgraduate, postpone | depois |
| ex- | former | ex-husband, ex-president, ex-boss | antigo, que já foi |
| re- | again | redo, rewrite, rebuild, reconsider | de novo |
| over- | too much | overwork, overeat, overestimate, overconfident | demais |
| under- | too little, below | underestimate, underpaid, underage | de menos, abaixo |
| super- | above, extremely | supernatural, superhuman, supervise | acima, extremamente |
| multi- | many | multilingual, multicultural, multitask | muitos |
| mini- | small | miniskirt, minivan, minibus | pequeno |
- The concert was postponed because of the rain. (O show foi adiado por causa da chuva.)
- Please reconsider your decision. (Por favor, reconsidere a sua decisão.)
- Never underestimate a good teacher. (Nunca subestime um bom professor.)
- Our school is multilingual: students speak five languages. (Nossa escola é multilíngue: os alunos falam cinco idiomas.)
Position and attitude
| Prefix | Meaning | Examples | Português |
|---|---|---|---|
| inter- | between | international, interact, interfere | entre |
| trans- | across, from one side to the other | transport, transform, transfer | através, de um lado ao outro |
| anti- | against | antibiotic, antisocial, anticlockwise (US: counterclockwise; US = United States) | contra |
| pro- | in favour of | pro-democracy, pro-environment | a favor de |
| co- | together | cooperate, coexist, co-author | junto |
Words that trick you
Not every “un-” or “in-” is a prefix: uncle, until, ink and inch are whole words.Nem todo “un-” ou “in-” é prefixo: uncle (tio), until (até), ink (tinta) e inch (polegada) são palavras inteiras.
B2 Suffixes: change the word class
Suffixes tell you what kind of word you have. When you see -tion, think “noun”; when you see -ful, think “adjective”. This is the key to word formation exercises in Cambridge exams and Brazilian university entrance exams (vestibulares).Os sufixos mostram que tipo de palavra você tem. Quando vir -tion, pense “substantivo”; quando vir -ful, pense “adjetivo”. Esse é o segredo dos exercícios de formação de palavras das provas Cambridge e dos vestibulares.
Suffixes that make nouns
| Suffix | Meaning | Examples | Português |
|---|---|---|---|
| -tion / -sion | action, process | education, information, permission, discussion | ação, processo |
| -ment | action, result | government, improvement, agreement, development | ação, resultado |
| -ness | state, quality | happiness, sadness, kindness, awareness | estado, qualidade |
| -ity / -ty | quality | creativity, possibility, equality, safety | qualidade |
| -ance / -ence | state, quality | importance, performance, difference, confidence | estado, qualidade |
| -ship | relationship, status | friendship, leadership, membership, relationship | relação, status |
| -hood | stage, condition | childhood, adulthood, neighbourhood | fase, condição |
| -er / -or | person who does | teacher, writer, actor, employer | quem faz |
| -ist | person who practises | artist, scientist, journalist, tourist | quem pratica |
| -ee | person who receives the action | employee, trainee, interviewee | quem recebe a ação |
Employer versus employee
-er is the person who does it and -ee is the person who receives it: employer versus employee; interviewer versus interviewee.-er é quem faz e -ee é quem recebe: employer (empregador) x employee (funcionário); interviewer (entrevistador) x interviewee (entrevistado).
Suffixes that make adjectives
| Suffix | Meaning | Examples | Português |
|---|---|---|---|
| -ful | full of | beautiful, careful, useful, powerful | cheio de |
| -less | without | careless, useless, homeless, harmless | sem |
| -ous / -ious | full of, having | dangerous, famous, nervous, curious | cheio de, com |
| -al | related to | national, cultural, emotional | relativo a |
| -ic | related to | artistic, scientific, economic, realistic | relativo a |
| -ive | tending to | creative, productive, attractive | que tende a |
| -able / -ible | that can be | washable, reliable, flexible, readable | que pode ser |
| -y | having, full of | sunny, rainy, healthy, salty | com, cheio de |
-ful = with
The adjective says something is present.O adjetivo indica que algo está presente.
hopeful (esperançoso)
careful (cuidadoso)
useful (útil)
harmful (prejudicial)
-less = without
The adjective says something is missing.O adjetivo indica que algo está faltando.
hopeless (sem esperança)
careless (descuidado)
useless (inútil)
harmless (inofensivo)
-ed or -ing?
-ed: the person who feels
Use -ed for how someone feels.Use -ed para o que a pessoa sente.
The student was bored. (O aluno estava entediado.)
I’m tired. (Estou cansada.)
-ing: what causes it
Use -ing for the thing or situation that causes the feeling.Use -ing para a coisa ou situação que causa o sentimento.
The class was boring. (A aula foi chata.)
The trip was tiring. (A viagem foi cansativa.)
A classic mistake
✗ I’m boring. (This means “I am a boring person”!) → ✓ I’m bored.✗ I’m boring. (Isso quer dizer “eu sou chato”!) → ✓ I’m bored. (Estou entediado.)
Suffixes that make verbs and adverbs
| Suffix | Meaning | Examples | Português |
|---|---|---|---|
| -ise / -ize | to make, to become | modernise, organise, prioritise, customise | tornar |
| -en | to make | strengthen, shorten, widen, deepen | tornar, deixar |
| -fy / -ify | to make, to do | simplify, clarify, justify, identify | tornar, fazer |
| -ly | in a … way (adverb) | quickly, carefully, honestly, successfully | de modo (advérbio) |
-ize or -ise?
In verbs like these, American English uses -ize (organize). British English accepts both (organise / organize). A few verbs end in -ise in both varieties: advertise, exercise, surprise.Em verbos como esses, o inglês americano usa -ize (organize). O britânico aceita os dois (organise / organize). Alguns verbos terminam em -ise nas duas variantes: advertise, exercise, surprise.
Friendly is not an adverb
friendly, lovely, lonely, lively end in -ly, but they are adjectives: a friendly teacher.friendly, lovely, lonely, lively terminam em -ly, mas são adjetivos: a friendly teacher (uma professora simpática).
Spelling changes
When you add a suffix, the spelling of the base word sometimes changes. These are five common changes.Quando você acrescenta um sufixo, a grafia da palavra base às vezes muda. Estas são cinco mudanças comuns.
| Change | Example | Português |
|---|---|---|
| y becomes i | happy → happiness, beauty → beautiful | o y vira i |
| drop the final e | create → creation, use → usable | sai o e final |
| double the consonant | run → runner, begin → beginning | dobra a consoante |
| -le loses the e | simple → simplify, possible → possibly | -le perde o e |
| t or d becomes s / ss | permit → permission, decide → decision | t ou d vira s / ss |
Word families
One root, several word classes. Learning the whole family multiplies your vocabulary.Uma raiz, várias classes gramaticais. Aprender a família inteira multiplica o seu vocabulário.
| Noun | Verb | Adjective | Adverb |
|---|---|---|---|
| creation | create | creative | creatively |
| success | succeed | successful | successfully |
| power | empower | powerful | powerfully |
| simplicity | simplify | simple | simply |
| strength | strengthen | strong | strongly |
| care | care | careful / careless | carefully |
- Her creativity impressed the judges. (A criatividade dela impressionou os jurados.)
- He is a very creative designer. (Ele é um designer muito criativo.)
- They solved the problem creatively. (Eles resolveram o problema de forma criativa.)
- We need to create a new plan. (Precisamos criar um plano novo.)
How to choose the right form
- After a, an, the, a possessive or an adjective, you usually need a noun: -tion, -ment, -ness, -ity.Depois de a, an, the, de um possessivo ou de um adjetivo, normalmente você precisa de um substantivo: -tion, -ment, -ness, -ity.
- Before a noun or after to be, you usually need an adjective: -ful, -less, -ous, -able, -ive.Antes de um substantivo ou depois de to be, normalmente você precisa de um adjetivo: -ful, -less, -ous, -able, -ive.
- To modify a verb, you need an adverb: -ly.Para modificar um verbo, você precisa de um advérbio: -ly.
- After to (in the infinitive) or a modal verb, you need a verb: -ise / -ize, -en, -fy.Depois de to (no infinitivo) ou de um verbo modal, você precisa de um verbo: -ise / -ize, -en, -fy.
Common mistakes
Avoid these
✗ My keys desappeared. ✓ My keys disappeared.O português usa des- (desaparecer), mas o inglês usa dis-: disappear, dishonest, disagree.
✗ I’m very interesting in science. ✓ I’m very interested in science.Quem sente usa -ed; -ing é o que causa.
✗ He drives very careful. ✓ He drives very carefully.Para modificar o verbo, use o advérbio com -ly.
✗ She smiled at me friendly. ✓ She smiled at me in a friendly way.Friendly é adjetivo; para o modo, use in a friendly way.
Quick summary
| Type | Common endings or beginnings | Example | Português |
|---|---|---|---|
| Negative prefix | un-, in-, im-, il-, ir-, dis-, non-, mis- | unfair, illegal, misuse | injusto, ilegal, mau uso |
| Time / amount prefix | pre-, post-, ex-, re-, over-, under- | rewrite, underpaid | reescrever, mal pago |
| Noun | -tion, -ment, -ness, -ity, -ship, -er, -ee | friendship, employee | amizade, funcionário |
| Adjective | -ful, -less, -ous, -al, -ic, -ive, -able | useful, famous | útil, famoso |
| Verb | -ise / -ize, -en, -fy | simplify, widen | simplificar, alargar |
| Adverb | -ly | quickly, honestly | rapidamente, sinceramente |
Practice time
Quiz