Prefix · action · causative
Means "make," "cause to be," or "put into": enable, empower, enrich, encourage.
Written by Bryan López, English teacher · Updated
En-/em- is a causative prefix that turns nouns and adjectives into verbs meaning "to make [something]" or "to put [someone] into a state": rich → enrich (make rich); power → empower (give power to); courage → encourage (put courage into); danger → endanger (put into danger); large → enlarge (make large). It is one of the most productive verb-forming prefixes in English.
The form changes depending on the following sound: use em- before b and p (empower, embrace, employ, embitter, embody); use en- before everything else (enable, enrich, encircle, encourage, enclose, endanger). This is phonetic assimilation: the nasal /n/ becomes /m/ to match the bilabial sounds b and p. In speech the difference is subtle, but in writing it matters.
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/
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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
En-/em- turns nouns and adjectives into "making" verbs: rich → enrich, large → enlarge, power → empower, courage → encourage. Rule: em- before b/p, en- before everything else. Watch out for fused forms like enjoy and begin where the prefix is no longer transparent.
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. In Spanish it usually maps to en-/em-.
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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