 Words that are similar in spelling (ortografia) in different languages.  Different pronounciation Examples: auto chocolate cónsul familiar gas hotel idea melón millón plaza radio regular similar teléfono villa

English words that end in -or often have a Spanish cognate that is identical. The stress is different. Examples: actor author color director doctor humor

Examples: aire atleta (athlete) causa costo creativo credito dieta drama

 Words that end in -al in both English and Spanish are cognates. Examples; animal anual capital central comercial especial general hospital intelectual

Some English words that end in -ous have a Spanish cognate that ends in -oso. Examples: ambicious curious delicious famous glorious gracious

 Many Spanish words that end in –ma are cognates in English. Examples: climate problem program system theme

 Spanish words that end in –cion are cognates with English words that end in -tion. Examples: informacióninformation separaciónseparation situaciónsituation violaciónviolation

-ant (–ent ) words in English sometimes end in -ante in Spanish. Examples: abundant constant elegant student important

 Spanish words that end in –ario are cognates with English words that end in –ary  Examples: anniversary dictionary necessary vocabulary

Spanish words that end in –dad have English cognates that end in –ty Examples: authority city community difficulty velocity

Spanish words that end in –tico have English cognates that end in -ico Examples: atlantic pacific automatic romantic sarcastic fantastic

 English words that end in –ical Examples: comical electrical physical practical technical

 Spanish words that end in –ente have English cognates that end in –ent. These words are usually adjectives. Examples: agent client different intelligent sufficient

 Spanish words that end in – mente. They usually have an English cognate that ends in -ly. Examples: correctly unfortunately especially exactly finally generally normally rapidly

English words that end in -ence or -ance often have a Spanish cognate that ends in -encia or - ancia. Examples: abundance absence circumstance conscience difference

English words with the ending -y sometimes have an equivalent in Spanish with the ending -ia or -io. Examples: aristocracy company democracy family pharmacy histor

English words that end in -ist often have a Spanish cognate. Examples: artist florist pharmacist pianist turist

El elefante es un animal inteligente. The elephant is an intelligent animal. Hay muchos elefantes en Africa. There are many elephants in Africa. El camello es un animal enorme. Hay camellos en el desierto. The camel is an enormous animal. There are camels in the desert. El tigre es otro animal. The tiger is another animal. Hay muchos animales feroces en el circo. There are many ferouscious animals in the circus.

Cognates help to language learners feel more comfortable with this new language. Establishes a link between English and Spanish. Students are aware of the common origin of words. Allows students to explore the language far beyond from school’s objectives.

Activities for finding and using cognates Look for cognates in their textbook. Read magazines and newspapers in order to find cognates Try to translate the main idea of a paragraph by identifying cognates that will help to understand its content.