The article investigates the word formation system of modern English. The authors of the article are trying to identify new, modern trends of word formation that have been tracing for the last decades. In addition, an attempt is made to differentiate theoretical material, which is to be introduced more actively into training programs for the development of foreign language competence. The basic criteria of a compound word have been determined and the degree of word formation importance in the English vocabulary replenishment has been identified. A thorough analysis of contemporary research and publications conducted by the authors of the article shows that the issue of semantic analysis of compound words and their transformations is still being explored by foreign and domestic scientists, which indicates the relevance of the chosen topic.Key words: semantic analysis, word formation, compound words, transformations, derived words, morphology, language competence.
