Prefix 'be-' vs? (to) be plus verb

[Tamara]

Hi

[Alan]

Hi Tamara,

Be as a prefix goes back to Old English and is inextricably part of verbs like begin,become, believe. Nowadays it is used as a method of turning an intransituve verb into a transitive one: bemoan, belie ...It can also turn nouns and adjectives into verbs: befriend, belittle, becalm ..It is often used in a casual impromptu construction as in: All the motorcyclists were bejacketed ...

Alan
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English as a Second Language
You can read my ESL story Phrasal Verbs/hold

[Yankee]

Hi Tamara

What about the phrase: unbeknownst to (me/you/him/us/them/etc.) ?

But, I've never in my life used the word bethink. Have you actually heard that word used in the UK?

I myself don't associate these sorts of words with the verb be at all. I've simply learned them as vocabulary.

Amy
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Amy
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ESL teacher, translator, and a native speaker of American English

[Tamara]

Hi