Negative Prefix Meanings

Negative Prefixes

Understand the spelling rules for and meaning of negative prefixes: un-, il-, -ir, -im-, and dis-.

Rules & Meaning:

UN-

• Un- is the most common negative prefix.

• It means 'NOT.'

• This morpheme* comes from Old English.

• *Morpheme = unit of language that can't be divided more

Multiple Choice

Identify the adjective with the negative prefix.

• unfriendly

• understandable

• universal

Rules & Meaning:

DIS-

• Dis- is also a very common negative prefix.

• It means 'NOT,' 'LACK OF,' or 'OPPOSITE.'

• This morpheme* comes from Latin.

• *Morpheme = unit of language that can't be divided more

Multiple Choice

Identify the adjective with the negative prefix.

• discover

• dishonest

• disturb

Rules & Meaning:

IL-

• Il- is not common. We only use il- in front of adjectives that begin with 'L'.

• It means 'NOT' or 'WITHOUT.'

• This morpheme* comes from Latin

• *Morpheme = unit of language that can't be divided more

Multiple Choice

Identify the adjective with the negative prefix.

• illustrated

• illustrious

• illicit

Rules & Meaning:

IR-

• We only use ir- in front of adjectives that begin with 'R'.

• It means 'NOT' or 'WITHOUT.'

• This morpheme* comes from Latin

• *Morpheme = unit of language that can't be divided more

Multiple Choice

Identify the adjective with the negative prefix.

• irritating

• irreversible

• irksome

Rules & Meaning:

IM-

• We only use im- in front of adjectives that begin with 'M' or 'P'.

• It means 'NOT' or 'WITHOUT.'

• This morpheme* comes from Latin

• *Morpheme = unit of language that can't be divided more

Multiple Choice

Identify the adjective with the negative prefix.

• important

• imperfect

• imaginative

Categorize the Adjectives

For each positive adjective, choose the correct negative suffix.

Multiple Choice

logical

• un-

• dis-

• ir-

• il-

• im-

Multiple Choice

mature

• un-

• dis-

• ir-

• il-

• im-

Multiple Choice

usual

• un-

• dis-

• ir-

• il-

• im-

Multiple Choice

organized

• un-

• dis-

• ir-

• il-

• im-

Multiple Choice

common

• un-

• dis-

• ir-

• il-

• im-

Multiple Choice

responsible

• un-

• dis-

• ir-

• il-

• im-

Multiple Choice

polite

• un-

• dis-

• ir-

• il-

• im-

Multiple Choice

obedient

• un-

• dis-

• ir-

• il-

• im-

Multiple Choice

relevant

• un-

• dis-

• ir-

• il-

• im-

Multiple Choice

legal

• un-

• dis-

• ir-

• il-

• im-