Prefixes
Prefixes (at the beginning of words) can help you to understand what a new word means. Here are some common prefixes.
|
prefix |
meaning |
example |
|
Ex( + noun) |
Was but not now |
Ex-wife, ex-president |
|
Half(+ noun or adjective) |
5% of something |
Half-price , half-hour |
|
In , im(+adjective) |
not |
Informal, impossible |
|
Non(+adjective or noun) |
not |
Non-smoking |
|
pre |
before |
Pre-school |
|
Re( +verb) |
again |
Redo, rewrite |
|
Un(+adjective) |
not |
Unhappy, unsafe |
An ex-wife is a wife who is now divorced.
President Gorbachev is an ex-President of
A half-hour journey is a journey of 30 minutes.
Something that cost 10$ yesterday and cost 5$ today is half-price.
Informal clothes are clothes like jeans and trainers. Formal clothes are things like a suite.
If something is impossible, you can’t do it. It is impossible to read with your eyes closed.
A non-smoking room is a room where people may not smoke.
Pre-school children are children who are still too young to go to school.
To redo something is to do it a second time and to rewrite something is to write it a second time.
Unhappy means sad, the opposite of happy.
Unsafe means dangerous, the opposite of safe.