The Suffix -EN: From Adjectives to Verbs
Have you ever noticed words like strong → strengthen, soft → soften, or wide → widen?
What is happening here?
-EN is a suffix that can turn certain adjectives (or nouns) into verbs. The resulting verb often has the meaning “to make/become X” or “to make something more X.”
The basic idea
A useful pattern to recognize is:
adjective + -en → verb
Here are some common examples:
- strong → strengthen — make/become stronger
- weak → weaken — make/become weaker
- wide → widen — make/become wider
- deep → deepen — make/become deeper
- broad → broaden — make/become broader
- short → shorten — make/become shorter
- sharp → sharpen — make/become sharper
- dark → darken — make/become darker
- light → lighten — make/become lighter
- soft → soften — make/become softer
- hard → harden — make/become harder
- thick → thicken — make/become thicker
- loose → loosen — make/become looser
- tight → tighten — make/become tighter
One spelling point that is worth remembering:
strong → strengthen
Not strengh → strenghen. The noun strength is spelled with -th, but the verb is strengthen.
The meaning is often “make” or “become”
Compare these examples:
The company wants to strengthen its relationship with customers.
= The company wants to make the relationship stronger.
The government plans to widen the road.
= The government plans to make the road wider.
The same verb can sometimes describe something that becomes a certain way:
The relationship strengthened.
= The relationship became stronger.
Another example is:
The butter softened in the warm kitchen.
= The butter became softer.
And:
The color can lighten over time.
= The color can become lighter over time.
Two useful patterns
We can think about these verbs in two ways:
1. Make + adjective → verb
strengthen = make stronger
deepen = make deeper
soften = make softer
widen = make wider
For example:
They want to deepen their understanding of the subject.
= They want to make their understanding deeper.
2. Become + adjective → verb
strengthen = become stronger
soften = become softer
darken = become darker
harden = become harder
For example:
The sky darkened before the storm.
= The sky became darker.
But you can't add -EN to every adjective!
This is an important point.
English has a limited group of established -en verbs, so we cannot simply take any adjective and add -en to it.
For example:
beauty → beautiful → embellish
So, although the pattern is useful for understanding vocabulary, you should learn these verbs as established vocabulary, rather than assuming that you can create a new verb by adding -en to any adjective.
Some -EN verbs come from nouns
Interestingly, not all -en verbs come from adjectives.
Some are formed from nouns:
length → lengthen
height → heighten
threat → threaten
So the suffix -en can have several uses.
The magic formula
A useful way to remember the most common pattern is:
-EN = “make/become more ___”
strong → strengthen
soft → soften
wide → widen
deep → deepen
light → lighten
Once you start noticing this pattern, you'll see these verbs everywhere.
And remember: English can be easier than you think!
Watch this video and practice more: https://youtube.com/shorts/e_HEYrjJCpE?si=kA1vK1LGx6Eotq8H
Grammar Drops: English can be easier than you think.
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