Prefix · action · causative
Means "make," "cause to be," or "put into": enable, empower, enrich, encourage.
Written by Bryan López, English teacher · Updated
The prefix en- (or em-) creates verbs that mean "to make" something or "to put someone into a state". It works like a switch: it turns a noun or an adjective into a verb, so you can say you do that thing to a person or an object.
The form changes depending on the letter that follows: em- before b and p, and en- with the others. When speaking you hardly notice the difference, but when writing it matters, so it is worth respecting. Also remember that not every word that starts with en- uses this prefix: in some, the letters en are just part of the word.
Attaches to nouns and adjectives to create verbs meaning "make" or "put into":
Pronunciation: /ɪn/ (en-) and /ɪm/ (em-). Rule: em- before b and p; en- before everything else. Some en-/em- verbs are no longer easily decomposable: enjoy, begin, envy — the prefix is fused and the base no longer exists as a separate word.
en-/em-/ɪn/ /ɪm/
Tap the button to hear how the prefix sounds. Each word in the table has its own audio.
Phonetic assimilation rule: the nasal /n/ becomes /m/ before the bilabial consonants b and p. So: em + power = empower, em + brace = embrace, em + ploy = employ. For all other letters, use en-: enable, enrich, encircle, encourage, endanger. A quick check: does the base word start with b or p? → em-. Anything else? → en-.
A trick to remember it
Picture putting something inside a box or flipping it on: en- = to put into, to cause. enable, enrich.
Exercise 1 · Form the word
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
Which spelling is correct: "enpowder," "empower," or "inpower"?
The prefix en-/em- means "make," "cause to be," or "put into": enable, empower, enrich, encourage.
The prefix en-/em- is pronounced /ɪn/ /ɪm/. For example, "enable".
"able" becomes "enable". It is a typical example of the en-/em- prefix.
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