Negative Prefixes

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 4

Match the form to the tense

Past continuous

Past perfect 

Present perfect 

Past simple 

was/were verb+ing

had + voltooid deelwoord

has/have + voltooid deelwoord

+ed or its own form

Negative prefixes

Giving a word a PREFIX, gives the word a different meaning. 

Giving a NEGATIVE prefix gives an  OPPOSITE  meaning.

dis-, im-, in-, ir-, mis-, il-, non- and un-.

What words using
negative PREfixes
do you already know?

Negative prefixes

Negative prefixes are added to the beginning of a word to give it the opposite meaning.

Common negative prefixes include:

un- ("happy" → "unhappy," meaning "not happy")

in- (, "correct" → "incorrect," meaning "not correct")

im- (used before words starting with "m" or "p," e.g., "possible" → "impossible," meaning "not possible")

ir- (used before words starting with "r," e.g., "responsible" → "irresponsible," meaning "not responsible")

dis - disagree (from "agree," meaning "not agree"

non - (it is not present) 

Betekenissen

dis-	reverse or remove	disagree, displeasure, disqualify
il-, im-, in-, ir-	not	illegal, impossible, insecure, irregular
mis-	incorrectly, badly	misaligned, mislead, misspelt
non-	not	non-payment, non-smoking
un-	remove, reverse, not	undo, unpack, unhappy

Are there any rules?

There are minor rules for spelling though.

ir- is always followed by an r

im- is always followed by an m or p

This does not work the other way around.

Use a PREFIX from the list below AND ACCURATE.
dis-, il-, im-, in-, mis-, non, ir-, un-
What he told us about what had happened was.....

Use a PREFIX AND RESPONSIBLE
dis-, il-, im-, in-, mis-, non, ir-, un-
Acting spontaneously sometimes makes a person _____ .

Use a PREFIX AND ESSENTIAL
dis-, il-, im-, in-, mis-, non, ir-, un-
They couldn’t hear me so I started making ______ gestures.

Use a PREFIX AND REGARDED
dis-, il-, im-, in-, mis-, non, ir-, un-
The people did what they wanted and ______ all the rules.

Use a PREFIX AND INTENTIONAL
dis-, il-, im-, in-, mis-, non, ir-, un-
Sarah accidentally spilled the water. The accident was completely ___ .

Use a PREFIX AND PROPER
dis-, il-, im-, in-, mis-, non, ir-, un-
Calling a teacher by their first name is ___ .

Use a PREFIX AND INFORMATION
dis-, il-, im-, in-, mis-, non, ir-, un-
Reporting false news gives ___ .

Use a PREFIX AND OBEDIENT
dis-, il-, im-, in-, mis-, non, ir-, un-
The children were very ____.

Use a PREFIX AND WILLING
dis-, il-, im-, in-, mis-, non, ir-, un-
She was a rather _______ contestant.

What other words can you think of
with NEGATIVE prefixes?

Negative prefixes examples

Questions?

Continue with....

U2:L2  Ex.15 & 16

Complete this online exercise 1

U2:L5 Ex.1 t/m 6 - Reading 

Ex. 7 Past continuous vs past simple  

Match the form to the tense

Past continuous

Past perfect 

Present perfect 

Past simple 

was/were verb+ing

had + voltooid deelwoord

has/have + voltooid deelwoord

+ed or its own form