Learning English

Re-, pre-, pro-, in-, un-, mis-

There are lots of prefixes to learn in English. In our pre-intermediate course we looked at six more: re-, pre-, and pro- in Unit 24, and un-, in- and mis- back in Unit 3.

First, let's revise the meanings of these prefixes! Later, we'll do a test.

1) re = again

• reheat (heat again), reuse (use again), replay (play again), revise (look at again)

2) pre = before, already

• precooked (cooked already), prepacked (packed already), prewar (before a war)

3) pro = in support of, in favour of (often followed by a hyphen)

• proactive (in favour of being active), pro-British (in favour of Britain), pro-capitalist (in favour of capitalism)

4) un = not

• unclean (not clean), unhygienic (not hygienic), unhappy (not happy)

5) in = not

• incomplete (not complete), intolerant (not tolerant), inaccurate (not accurate)

6) mis = wrong, or not

• mishear (to hear incorrectly), misunderstanding (a situation when people understand each other wrongly), mislead (to make someone believe the wrong thing)

Read the text and complete the activity

To do

It's time to see if you can build some more vocabulary. Revision is important before an exam, as we know. Let's read about a young man called Richard as he revises for his exams. Can you fill in the gaps in the story with the correct words, even if you haven't seen them before?

End of Session 1

Well done. We hope that next time you see a word starting with one of these prefixes you'll feel a bit more confident, not unconfident! In Session 2 we're looking at modals of speculation and deduction, things like might, may and could...