Verb Suffixes: -IZE, -IFY, -ATE, -EN

Recognize suffixes that turn nouns and adjectives into action words meaning 'to make'.

Some suffixes create verbs, usually with the meaning 'to make' or 'to become'. -ize means to make or to cause to be: modernize (make modern), organize, memorize. -ify means to make: simplify (make simple), clarify (make clear), purify. -ate often means to make or to act on: activate, motivate, captivate. -en means to make or become: strengthen, widen, sharpen, darken. These suffixes are especially common in science and social studies.

Read: 'Engineers tried to stabilize the hillside and fortify the riverbank before the storm. ' Stabilize: stable + -ize, make steady. Fortify: from Latin 'fortis' (strong) + -ify, make strong. Even 'fortify' becomes clear when you notice the same root as 'fortress' and 'fort'. Once you see that a word ends in a verb suffix, you know it names an action, and you can ask, 'Make what? Make it how? '

• 1-IZE, -IFY, -ATE, and -EN turn words into verbs.
• 2They usually mean to make or to become.
• 3Ask 'make what?' to find the meaning.