Prefix · action · intensifier
A native English prefix meaning "around," "make," or intensifying: become, believe, belong.
Written by Bryan López, English teacher · Updated
Be- is one of the few prefixes of Anglo-Saxon origin, not Latin or Greek. The funny part is that it is hidden in some of the most basic English words, which you learn very early, and almost nobody notices there is a prefix inside them.
Be- does three things. First, it strengthens a verb and gives it more force. Second, it turns a noun or an adjective into a verb, meaning you "do" that thing to another person or object. Third, it builds place words, like prepositions. That last job makes it very useful for understanding why so many position words start the same way. You do not need to analyze every word with be-: many are simply learned whole.
Attaches to verbs, nouns, and adjectives with three main uses:
Pronunciation: /bɪ/ (usually unstressed). Many be- words are now so common that the prefix is no longer felt: because, become, begin, believe, beside, beneath, behind, between, beyond.
be-/bɪ/
Tap the button to hear how the prefix sounds. Each word in the table has its own audio.
Be- is irregular in its functions. In "beware" it intensifies (be very careful). In "beside" it creates a preposition (by the side of). In "become" it signals transformation. In "because" it has fused into a conjunction. The key is not to always decompose be- analytically, but to recognise it as a signal of core Old English vocabulary.
A trick to remember it
"Be-" adds intensity or turns a noun into a verb, like an extra push: believe, become.
Exercise 1 · Form the word
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
Which of these words does NOT contain the prefix be-?
The prefix be- a native English prefix meaning "around," "make," or intensifying: become, believe, belong.
The prefix be- is pronounced /bɪ/. For example, "become".
"come" becomes "become". It is a typical example of the be- prefix.
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