Myriora English › Words › Chapter 1: Building words: prefixes, suffixes and roots
Un-, dis-, mis- and re-
Ages 5–7Chapter 1 · Lesson 1✓ Watched
Practise
Ten new questions every time. Answer them all, then check: you get your score, and the working for anything you missed.
In this lesson
- A prefix goes at the front, and changes the meaning.
- Un and dis mean not, or the opposite.
- Mis means wrongly, and re means again.
Your turn
Which word means to fill again?
Show the answer
Re means again, so refill means fill again!
The common mistake
Here's a common mistake. What do you get when you put mis in front of spell? Some people write it with one S. But adding a prefix never changes the spelling: you keep every letter of mis, and every letter of spell. So misspell has two S's. It's the same with un and necessary: unnecessary has two N's.
Try it at home
Hunt for prefixes on cereal boxes, signs and books: every word that starts with un, dis, mis or re. Does it still make sense without the prefix?
Read the whole lesson
Hello, and welcome to Myriora English! What's the opposite of happy? Unhappy! Put un in front of happy, and it means not happy. Let's look at more words like this!
A prefix is a few letters you add to the front of a word. The word itself doesn't change. The prefix changes what it means.
Un means not. Unkind means not kind. Untidy means not tidy. And unlock means the opposite of lock.
Dis also means not, or the opposite. Agree, disagree. Like, dislike. Appear, disappear! Un and dis mean the same thing, and there's no rule for which one a word takes. You learn them word by word, like dishonest and unkind.
Mis means wrongly. To misspell a word is to spell it wrongly. To misbehave is to behave badly. And if you misplace your shoes, you put them in the wrong place!
Re means again. Rebuild means build again. Reread means read again. And replay means play again.
Let's try one together. What does disobey mean? Obey again, not obey, or obey wrongly? Say it out loud!
Not obey! Dis means not, so to disobey is to not do what you're told. Well done if you said not obey!
Here's a common mistake. What do you get when you put mis in front of spell? Some people write it with one S. But adding a prefix never changes the spelling: you keep every letter of mis, and every letter of spell. So misspell has two S's. It's the same with un and necessary: unnecessary has two N's.
Your turn! Which word means to fill again? Pick the right card. You've got eight seconds, or pause the video. Go!
Time's up! Re means again, so refill means fill again!
Quick review. A prefix goes at the front, and changes the meaning. Un and dis mean not, or the opposite. Mis means wrongly, and re means again. See you next time!