Learning English

The little prefixes...

We heard in 6 Minute Vocabulary that adding a prefix to the beginning of a word changes the meaning. Adding dis-, dys- or de- makes the new word have a negative meaning.

Let's look in a little more detail.

Dis- usually gives the opposite meaning. So, to disagree is the opposite of agree. Disappear is the opposite of appear. And if you know what comfort means, then you can guess what discomfort means!

Words beginning with dys- are usually medical. They're quite technical, but if your doctor says you have dyskinesia (difficulty moving normally), dysphagia (difficulty swallowing) or dyssomnia (difficulty sleeping), then you know you're not completely healthy.

De- often has the idea of moving 'away' from something. Or, like dis-, it can also give an opposite meaning. To decentralise is to move things away from the centre (the opposite of centralise). If you deforest land, you take the trees away. And to detox is to remove toxins (harmful substances).

Understanding how prefixes affect meaning is a very useful tool. Next time you see a word you don't know, have a look to see if it's made of a prefix and a word you do know. If you know the prefix, there's a good chance you guess the new word too.

Read the text and complete the activity

To do

We're going to do two activities. In the first one, we'll focus on words with the three prefixes from this unit's 6 Minute Grammar. After that, we'll do one when you try to guess the meanings of difficult words. Let's begin.

Next

Well done. Next up we're going to do another activity where we bring in a few more prefixes: re-, pre-, pro-, in-, un- and mis-. How well do you know them?