Kilo Lingo

Ch 47 · Lesson 17

Building verbs: -ecer, and a- or en- round the base

-ecer makes verbs of becoming (oscurecer, envejecer) with a yo form in -zco, and a- or en- wrap a base to put it into a state: acortar, engordar, embotellar.

The short version

-ecer verbs say yo with -zco

.

Thanks for your help.
Why?

-ecer makes verbs of becoming: gives oscurecer, gives envejecer. These verbs add a z before the c in the yo form of the present: oscurezco, envejezco, . Wrap a- or en- round a base for put into a state: gives acortar, gives engordar, and en- turns into em- before p or b.

-ecer: become that

the verb-making piecethe zc of the yo formWhat do the colours mean?

-ecer makes a verb of becoming: a change that starts and goes on. Many add a- or en- as well (next section).

BaseVerbEnglish
oscurecerto get dark
florecerto flower
palidecerto turn pale
to get dark (night)
envejecerto grow old

Night and morning are impersonal: Anochece . - It gets dark at six.

Verbs built with -ecer add a z before the c in the yo form of the present:

Infinitiveyotú
oscureceroscurezcooscureces
envejecerenvejezcoenvejeces
  • . - Thanks for your help. (literally, I thank you for the help)

Everyday speech often says the same change with or : (he/she went red) beside enrojeció. Those verbs are on verbs of becoming.

a- and en-: wrapping the base

the verb-making piecesWhat do the colours mean?

Here a prefix and a verb ending go on together, round an adjective or a noun, and the verb means put it into that state. Both pieces go on at once: there is no gordar, and (to cut) is a different verb from acortar.

BaseVerbEnglish
acortarto shorten
alargarto lengthen
to bring closer
engordarto put on weight
enjaularto cage
embotellarto bottle
enriquecerto make rich
empobrecerto make poor

The prefix is written em- before p and b, the same m-before-p rule as in : embotellar, empobrecer. Everywhere else it is en-. Some a- verbs take -izar instead: gives , to land.

  • engordado . - I' put on three .
  • . - The plane landed at ten.

Mistakes English speakers make

the verb-making piecespelling changeWhat do the colours mean?
WrongRightWhy
... ... is carry out
utilizéz becomes c before e
simplifiqésimplifiquéc becomes qu before e
agradeco-ecer verbs: -zco for yo
enpobrecerempobrecerem- before p and b
clarizarclarificarthe base fixes the ending

Going further: Spanish verb-building endings at a glance and the rest of the guide, when you want them. This lesson does not need them.

Read the full guide (optional) · 3 min read

Practice

Practise this lesson

9-question session

One question at a time, mixed across the exercises in this lesson. Miss one and it comes back round before the end.

Spanish · Free printables

Worksheets for this lesson

Worksheets with answer keys built in. Open any one to view, print or save.

Free for members

The printable worksheets, infographics and PDFs are free with an account. Start a free week and download as many as you like.

Start your free week

Lesson 17 of 27 in this chapter

Back to the curriculum

What do the colours mean?