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What are negative prefixes?
Negative prefixes are added to the beginning of a word to change its meaning to the opposite or "negative" form. For example:
honest becomes dishonest
possible becomes impossible
The most common negative prefixes:
Un-
This is the most common prefix.
unfair, unhappy, unclear, unreliable, uncomfortable
She was unhappy with the result.
The instructions were unclear.
In-
Used with words that don’t start with l, m, p, or r.
incorrect, inactive, incomplete, inconsistent
His explanation was incomplete and inconsistent.
Im-
Used when the root word starts with m or p.
impossible, impatient, improper, immature
Waiting for hours made him impatient.
Il-
Used when the root word starts with l.
illegal, illogical, illegible, illiterate
His handwriting was almost illegible.
Ir-
Used when the root word starts with r.
irregular irresponsible, irrelevant, irresistible
Her excuse was completely irrelevant to the discussion.
Dis-
disagree, dishonest, disconnect, disorganised, dissatisfied
They disagreed about the best approach.
Mis-
misunderstand, mislead, misuse, misspell
The instructions were misunderstood by the students.
Non-
nonsense, nonexistent, nonessential, nonviolent
The equipment was nonessential for the project.
In the FCE exam
Use of English
Part 3
Usually, but not always, you are given a root word and must create the correct form negative form with a prefix:
The information was highly ________ (RELIABLE), so they decided to double-check it
Answer: unreliable
Be careful! There is a trick that Cambridge likes to play where a non-negative word fits but is incorrect:
The amazing sights and beautiful weather made the holiday so ________ (FORGET).
Here, both forgettable and unforgettable are grammatically correct but only unforgettable fits the context of the sentence.