大象传媒

What is a prefix?

An illustration of a young boy smiling.

Prefixes are groups of letters that are added to the start of words to change their meaning.

An illustration of a young boy smiling.
Back to top

Watch: Prefixes

See some examples of how prefixes can change the meaning of words.

Back to top

Adding prefixes

Most prefixes mean a similar thing when they're added to different words.

un- and in- usually mean 鈥榥ot鈥. For example:

  • unhappy
  • unlocked
  • intolerant
  • incapable

dis- and mis- usually have negative meanings. For example:

  • disagree
  • disobey
  • misbehave
  • mislead

re- usually means 鈥榓gain鈥 or 鈥榖ack鈥. For example:

  • redo
  • reappear
  • redecorate

sub- usually means 鈥榰nder鈥. For example:

  • subheading
  • submarine
Back to top

Watch: Spelling rules when adding prefixes

There are spelling rules to follow when you add prefixes to words.

Watch this clip to learn to learn more about these rules and see some examples.

Find out about the spelling rules to follow when using prefixes.

Back to top
An illustration of a young boy pointing with a bubble saying remember.

Remember

Root words are the basic words that are used to form other words. Root words haven't had any prefixes or suffixes added to them yet.

Not all prefixes can be added to all root words. You have to choose the correct one.

For example, un- can be added to 'happy' to make 'unhappy', but dis- or mis- cannot.

An illustration of a young boy pointing with a bubble saying remember.
Back to top

Adding the prefix in-

Adding in- can be particularly tricky. There are three rules to remember.

1. When the root word begins with an 'l', the prefix in- changes to il-. For example:

il + legal = illegal

2. When the root word begins with an 'r,' the prefix in- changes to ir-. For example:

ir + regular = irregular

3. When the root word begins with an 'm' or a 'p', the prefix in- changes to im-. For example:

im + possible = impossible

Back to top

Activity 1

Complete the prefixes quiz. Can you get all five answers correct?

Back to top

Activity 2

Read each word that comes up and decide which prefix could be added to it.

Back to top

Activity 3

Read the groups of root words in the table below.

Decide which group the prefixes un-, mis- and dis- go with.

Group 1Group 2Group 3
_agree_happy_behave
_like_do_take
_appear_kind_place

Top Tip - Read all the words in the list and then read all of them with each prefix before you decide.

Back to top

Activity 4

Below are six prefixes and six root words.

Match up each prefix with the correct root word and write a sentence which includes that new word.

Prefixes

  • ir-

  • dis-

  • re-

  • sub-

  • mis-

  • un-

Root words

  • responsible

  • read

  • build

  • like

  • lucky

  • way

You can check your answers using this

Back to top

Activity 5

An illustration of a young girl smiling with question marks around her.

Add the correct spelling of the in- prefix to the following words.

  • ___active
  • ___clude
  • ___legal
  • ___logical
  • ___regular
  • ___rational
  • ___possible
  • ___mature
  • ___moral

Now choose three words from the list and use each of them in a full sentence. For example:

I was very inactive because I had hurt my ankle.

An illustration of a young girl smiling with question marks around her.
Back to top

Play our fun English game Crystal Explorers. game

Use grammar, punctuation and spelling skills to explore jungles, caves and tombs on your mission!

Play our fun English game Crystal Explorers
Back to top

More on Prefixes and suffixes

Find out more by working through a topic