FCE word formation list: 120+ word families for B2 First

Q: Which suffixes are most common in Part 3?

For nouns, *-tion*, *-ment*, *-ness*, *-ity* and *-ance/-ence*. For adjectives, *-ful*, *-less*, *-able/-ible*, *-ous*, *-ive* and *-al*. For adverbs, *-ly*.

Q: How do I know which negative prefix to use?

There are some patterns: *im-* before *p* and *m*, *il-* before *l*, *ir-* before *r*. Otherwise, learn each word with its prefix, because *un-*, *in-* and *dis-* are not predictable.

This FCE word formation list gives you more than 120 word families that are useful at B2 level, grouped by the suffix or prefix that changes them, plus the spelling changes that most often cost marks. Use it to prepare for Part 3 of the exam, as part of our Reading and Use of English guide.

By Eleanor BennettLast updated: 13 October 2026

How word families help in the exam

In Part 3 word formation you get a word in capitals and must change it to fit a gap. The fastest way to prepare is to learn word families: a base word and the nouns, adjectives, verbs and adverbs that come from it. If you know that succeed gives success, successful, successfully and unsuccessful, you are ready for any gap that uses SUCCEED.

Word families also help in other parts. In Part 1 the options are sometimes related words, and in Part 4 you might need to change a verb into a noun phrase (it was difficult to decide → we had difficulty making a decision).

The lists below are grouped by the ending or beginning that creates the new word. Each line shows the base word first, then the most useful related forms. Spelling changes are marked in the traps section, because a misspelled answer gets no mark. Once you have studied a group, drill it with our word formation trainer.

How to learn this list

1
Study one group a day
Choose one table below, for example -ment nouns. Read every family aloud, and notice the pattern the words share.
2
Cover and test
Cover everything except the base word and try to write the other forms. Check spelling letter by letter.
3
Write your own sentences
Make one short sentence for the hardest forms, especially the negatives: The bus was so unreliable that I started cycling.
4
Review with spaced repetition
Go back to each group after one day, three days and a week. The word formation trainer does this for you.
5
Practise in context
Lists are only the start. Do a full Part 3 task, such as our word formation practice, to use the words in real texts.

Spelling-change traps

Trap: Keeping the final e before a vowel suffix: believeable, argueing, useable.
Fix: Usually drop the e: believable, arguing. But keep it after soft c/g: noticeable, courageous. Note argue → argument (no e).
Trap: Forgetting to change y to i: happyness, beautyful, relyable.
Fix: Consonant + y changes to i: happiness, beautiful, reliable, busily. But enjoyment keeps the y (vowel + y).
Trap: Not doubling the final consonant: begining, forgetable, prefered.
Fix: Double it when the last syllable is stressed and ends consonant-vowel-consonant: beginning, unforgettable, preferred. But preference (stress moves) has one r.
Trap: Missing internal changes: explaination, pronounciation, maintainance.
Fix: Learn these by heart: explanation, pronunciation, maintenance, description, repetition, admission.
Trap: Keeping the u or vowel: humourous, generousity, curiousity.
Fix: humour → humorous, generous → generosity, curious → curiosity, glamour → glamorous.
Trap: Getting adjective-to-noun changes wrong: longness, strongness, highness.
Fix: Some nouns end in -th or -t: length, strength, width, depth, height, truth, warmth, growth.
Trap: Writing truely, argueably, wholely.
Fix: true → truly, argue → arguably, whole → wholly, due → duly. These drop the e.

Noun-forming suffixes: -tion, -sion, -ation

Use it to…	Phrases
-tion / -sion / -ation	act → action, activity, active, actively, inactive add → addition, additional, additionally admire → admiration, admirer, admirable apply → application, applicant, applicable communicate → communication, communicative compete → competition, competitor, competitive, uncompetitive decide → decision, decisive, indecisive describe → description, descriptive educate → education, educational, educated explain → explanation, explanatory inform → information, informative, misinform invent → invention, inventor, inventive organise → organisation, organiser, disorganised permit → permission, permit (noun) produce → production, product, producer, productive, unproductive pronounce → pronunciation recognise → recognition, recognisable, unrecognisable solve → solution, solvable repeat → repetition, repetitive, repeatedly admit → admission, admittedly

Use it to…

Phrases

-tion / -sion / -ation

act → action, activity, active, actively, inactive
add → addition, additional, additionally
admire → admiration, admirer, admirable
apply → application, applicant, applicable
communicate → communication, communicative
compete → competition, competitor, competitive, uncompetitive
decide → decision, decisive, indecisive
describe → description, descriptive
educate → education, educational, educated
explain → explanation, explanatory
inform → information, informative, misinform
invent → invention, inventor, inventive
organise → organisation, organiser, disorganised
permit → permission, permit (noun)
produce → production, product, producer, productive, unproductive
pronounce → pronunciation
recognise → recognition, recognisable, unrecognisable
solve → solution, solvable
repeat → repetition, repetitive, repeatedly
admit → admission, admittedly

Noun-forming suffixes: -ment, -ness, -ity

Use it to…	Phrases
-ment	achieve → achievement, achievable agree → agreement, agreeable, disagree, disagreement amaze → amazement, amazing, amazed announce → announcement, announcer argue → argument, argumentative develop → development, developing, developed, underdeveloped disappoint → disappointment, disappointing, disappointed employ → employment, unemployment, employer, employee, unemployed encourage → encouragement, encouraging, discourage enjoy → enjoyment, enjoyable equip → equipment govern → government, governor improve → improvement manage → management, manager, manageable, unmanageable
-ness	aware → awareness, unaware dark → darkness, darken fit → fitness, unfit happy → happiness, unhappy, happily ill → illness kind → kindness, unkind, kindly lonely → loneliness polite → politeness, impolite, politely weak → weakness, weaken
-ity	able → ability, inability, disability, unable creative → creativity, create, creator, creation curious → curiosity, curiously equal → equality, inequality, equally generous → generosity, generously popular → popularity, unpopular possible → possibility, impossible, possibly real → reality, realistic, unrealistic, really responsible → responsibility, irresponsible secure → security, insecure, insecurity similar → similarity, similarly

Noun-forming suffixes: -ance, -ence and abstract nouns

Use it to…	Phrases
-ance / -ence	appear → appearance, disappear, disappearance assist → assistance, assistant confident → confidence, confidently depend → dependence, independent, independence, dependable differ → difference, different, indifferent exist → existence important → importance, unimportant patient → patience, impatient, impatience perform → performance, performer prefer → preference, preferable, preferably refer → reference, referee maintain → maintenance
-ship / -hood / -dom	friend → friendship, friendly, unfriendly member → membership relate → relationship, relation, relative, relatively child → childhood, childish, childless neighbour → neighbourhood, neighbouring free → freedom, freely bore → boredom, boring, bored wise → wisdom, wisely
-th / -t (adjective → noun)	long → length, lengthen, lengthy strong → strength, strengthen wide → width, widen, widely deep → depth, deepen, deeply high → height, heighten, highly true → truth, truthful, truly warm → warmth, warmly grow → growth, grown-up

Person nouns: -er, -or, -ist, -ant, -ee

Use it to…	Phrases
People and jobs	art → artist, artistic, artwork science → scientist, scientific, scientifically journal → journalist, journalism novel → novelist visit → visitor invest → investor, investment participate → participant, participation inhabit → inhabitant, uninhabited interview → interviewer, interviewee photograph → photographer, photography, photographic economy → economist, economic, economical train → trainer, trainee, training consult → consultant, consultation advise → adviser, advice, advisable

Use it to…

Phrases

People and jobs

art → artist, artistic, artwork
science → scientist, scientific, scientifically
journal → journalist, journalism
novel → novelist
visit → visitor
invest → investor, investment
participate → participant, participation
inhabit → inhabitant, uninhabited
interview → interviewer, interviewee
photograph → photographer, photography, photographic
economy → economist, economic, economical
train → trainer, trainee, training
consult → consultant, consultation
advise → adviser, advice, advisable

Adjective-forming suffixes

Use it to…	Phrases
-ful / -less	care → careful, careless, carefully, carelessness help → helpful, helpless, unhelpful hope → hopeful, hopeless, hopefully use → useful, useless, usefulness power → powerful, powerless success → successful, unsuccessful, successfully doubt → doubtful, doubtless harm → harmful, harmless meaning → meaningful, meaningless pain → painful, painless thought → thoughtful, thoughtless end → endless, endlessly
-able / -ible	accept → acceptable, unacceptable, acceptance afford → affordable, unaffordable avoid → avoidable, unavoidable believe → believable, unbelievable, unbelievably, belief comfort → comfortable, uncomfortable, comfortably predict → predictable, unpredictable, prediction rely → reliable, unreliable, reliance sense → sensible, sensitive, insensitive access → accessible, inaccessible forget → forgettable, unforgettable reverse → reversible, irreversible
-ous / -ive	danger → dangerous, endanger fame → famous nerve → nervous, nervously adventure → adventurous humour → humorous attract → attractive, attraction, unattractive effect → effective, ineffective, effectively expense → expensive, inexpensive persuade → persuasive, persuasion destroy → destructive, destruction
-al / -ic / -y	nature → natural, unnatural, naturally tradition → traditional, traditionally profession → professional, unprofessional history → historic, historical, historian energy → energetic enthusiasm → enthusiastic, enthusiast drama → dramatic, dramatically health → healthy, unhealthy luck → lucky, unlucky, luckily noise → noisy, noisily fog → foggy

Verb-forming suffixes and prefixes

Use it to…	Phrases
-en / -ise / -ify	short → shorten, shortage threat → threaten, threatening modern → modernise, modernisation critic → criticise, criticism, critical sympathy → sympathise, sympathetic simple → simplify, simplicity class → classify, classification symbol → symbolise
en- / em-	able → enable courage → encourage, courageous rich → enrich sure → ensure power → empower

Negative and other prefixes

Use it to…	Phrases
un-	unable, unaware, unemployed, unexpected, unfortunately, unknown, unlikely, unnecessary, unusual, unwilling
in-	inaccurate, incapable, incorrect, inexperienced, inefficient, informal, insufficient, invisible
im- (before p, m, b)	immature, impatient, impolite, impossible, imperfect, impractical, immoral
il- (before l) / ir- (before r)	illegal, illogical, illiterate, irregular, irrelevant, irresponsible, irrational, irreplaceable
dis-	disadvantage, disagree, dishonest, dislike, disobey, disorganised, disappear, disapprove, discomfort
mis- (= wrongly)	misunderstand, misbehave, mislead, misinform, misspell, misplace, misjudge
over- / under- / re- / out-	overestimate, overcrowded, oversleep, undercooked, underestimate, underpaid, rebuild, rewrite, reconsider, outnumber, outgrow, outdated

Keep going

Word families are only one part of Use of English. For gaps that test word partnerships, see our collocations list. For multi-word verbs, see the phrasal verbs list. And to check the errors students make most often in Part 3, read our Use of English common mistakes.

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FCE word formation list: FAQ

How many words do I need to know for FCE word formation?

There is no official list. The families on this page cover the patterns that come up most at B2 level, and learning the suffix patterns helps you with words you haven't studied.

Which suffixes are most common in Part 3?

For nouns, -tion, -ment, -ness, -ity and -ance/-ence. For adjectives, -ful, -less, -able/-ible, -ous, -ive and -al. For adverbs, -ly.

How do I know which negative prefix to use?

There are some patterns: im- before p and m, il- before l, ir- before r. Otherwise, learn each word with its prefix, because un-, in- and dis- are not predictable.

Is there a free FCE word formation list in PDF?

This page works well on a phone and you can print it from your browser. For active practice, the word formation trainer is more effective than reading a list.

What is the best way to remember word families?

Test yourself often with the base word only, write your own example sentences, and review on a spaced schedule (after one day, three days and a week).