We often use prefixes to give adjectives a negative meaning:
- un- The most common, can appear before any letter
- in- The next most common, appears mainly before the letters a,c,d,e,f,h,o,s,v
- il- Appears before some, but not all, adjectives beginning with l
- im- Appears before some, but not all, adjectives beginning with m, p
- ir- Appears before some, but not all, adjectives beginning with r
- dis- Appears before certain adjectives
Unfortunately there are no exact rules as to when each one is used, you just have to learn which one is used with each adjective. This exercise should help you.
- You can choose to list adjectives by frequency (how often they are used) or by prefix. To start the exercise click on an appropriate button.
- You do them alphabetically or randomise them.
- Adjectives marked with an asterisk (*), are not used without the negative prefix.
- You can double-click on any adjective to get a definition from the Free Online Dictionary
- You can make a reference list by selecting 'All' and selecting 'Teacher' copy. You will need to do it over two pages. Or you can make shorter lists with any selection.
Known issues - There is a problem with the last entry for un / im / dis when the column length is set at 10 - this can be fixed by adjusting the column length to 12.
Print a list of adjectives with their negatives - Select those you want to list, and click on 'Teacher'. Selecting a column height of 30 and selecting 'All' should give you all the adjectives in my list on two pages.
1. Negative prefixes
Exercise - select the correct prefix - click on any button to start
Choose number of rows
Randomise
| Choose by frequency | |
| Choose by prefix |
Your exercise will appear here
Make printable copy of Exercise
2. Other negative prefixes used with certain adjectives
There are some other, less common, negative prefixes as well
- a- usually means without or lacking in
amoral, anarchistic, anonymous, apathetic, apolitical, asexual, assymetric, atheist, atypical - anti usually means against
antisocial, anti-aircraft - counter usually means against or opposite
counterproductive, counterfeit, counter-intuitive, counterclockwise - mal usually means badly
malcontent, malnourished, maladjusted - non usually means not
non-political, non-refundable, non-returnable, non-violent, non-profit
Answers
Links
- Kasetsart University, Thailand - shows negative prefixes with verbs and nouns
- Linglish - tells us a bit about the origins of negative prefixes
- Xtec, Catalunya - shows some other common prefixes
- BBC Learning English
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