become
Primary: verbCan function as: verb
Functions exclusively as a verb in Modern English
๐ Pronunciation
/bษชหkสm/
Syllables: be-come
Stress: second syllable stress
Often reduced to /bkสm/ in rapid speech
๐จโ๐ฉโ๐งโ๐ฆ Word Family
| Word Class | Forms |
|---|---|
| Verbs | become, becomes, became, becoming |
| Nouns | becoming |
| Adjectives | becoming, unbecoming |
| Adverbs | becomingly |
Limited derivational morphology; mainly inflectional forms
๐ฏ Verb Forms
| Infinitive: | to become |
| Base form: | become |
| 3rd person singular: | becomes |
| Past simple: | became |
| Past participle: | become |
| Present participle: | becoming |
| Gerund: | becoming |
Note: Irregular past form 'became'
๐ Meanings & Definitions
Verb Meanings
1
begin to be; grow to be; develop into
Aspect: action | Continuous: Yes
Indicates change or transformation
“She became a doctor.”
“The weather is becoming colder.”
Synonyms: turn into, grow into, develop into
neutralgeneral
2
be suitable or appropriate for
Aspect: state | Continuous: No
“That dress becomes you very well.”
Synonyms: suit, flatter
formalgeneral
๐ง Verb Patterns
become + noun phrase
“He became president.”
Note: Most common pattern
become + adjective
“The situation became serious.”
Note: Very frequent pattern
Transitivity
Type: linking verb
Passive possible: No
๐ค Collocations
Verb + Noun
โ ๏ธ Common Errors
โ He is becoming to be angry.โโ He is becoming angry.
No 'to be' needed after become
Common for: Romance language speakers
High impact
โ She became doctor.โโ She became a doctor.
Article needed with professions
โ The weather becomes more colder.โโ The weather becomes colder.
Double comparison not allowed
๐ Etymology
Origin: Old English 'becuman'
Original meaning: “come to, arrive, approach”
Development: From Proto-Germanic *bikweman
Related words in other languages: German 'bekommen', Dutch 'bekomen'
๐ Register & Frequency
Frequency: top 1000 words
Spoken: common
Written: common
Academic: very common
Business: common
Formality: neutral
๐ Semantic Relations
Synonyms
Near: turn into, grow into, develop into
Contextual: get, come to be, transform into
Antonyms
Complementary: cease to be
Hypernyms (Broader Terms)
change, transform