Unit 6: Jurassic mystery: unpacking the past
Modals of deduction and speculation - present and past
Select a unit
- 1Pop-ups
- 2Hidden talents
- 3Can't buy me love
- 4Travellers' tales
- 5The colleague from hell
- 6Jurassic mystery: unpacking the past
- 7Career changes
- 8Art
- 9Project management
- 10The dog ate my homework!
- 11The diary of a double agent
- 12Fashion forward
- 13Flat pack skyscrapers
- 14Extreme sports
- 15Food fads
- 16Me, my selfie and I
- 17Endangered animals
- 18A nip and a tuck: cosmetic surgery
- 19I'm really sorry...
- 20Telling stories
- 21Fakes and phrasals
- 22Looking to the future
- 23Becoming familiar with things
- 24From rags to riches
- 25Against the odds
- 26Our future on Mars?
- 27Where is it illegal to get a fish drunk?
- 28Dodgy dating
- 29Annoying advice
- 30I'll have been studying English for thirty weeks
Session 1
We're looking at the prefixes de-, dys-, and dis- in this unit. Join us for 6 Minute Vocabulary, and then do two activities to test your knowledge of prefixes!
Wayitii marii qabxii 1
0 / 13
- 0 / 0Activity 1
- 0 / 6Activity 2
- 0 / 7Activity 3
Activity 3
Prefix revision
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)
Barreeffama kana dubbisii shakala kana xumuri

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?
Choose the prefix
7 Questions
You might not know all these words, but it doesn't matter! Use your knowledge of prefixes to fill the gaps.
Gargaarsa
Activity
You might not know all these words, but it doesn't matter! Use your knowledge of prefixes to fill the gaps.
karaarra buusu
He does well in exams, so he is intelligentQuestion 1 of 7
Gargaarsa
Activity
You might not know all these words, but it doesn't matter! Use your knowledge of prefixes to fill the gaps.
karaarra buusu
We're looking back in time, to where he went before school startedQuestion 2 of 7
Gargaarsa
Activity
You might not know all these words, but it doesn't matter! Use your knowledge of prefixes to fill the gaps.
karaarra buusu
It's not severe... it sounds like it could be a medical condition. Which prefix do we need in that case?Question 3 of 7
Gargaarsa
Activity
You might not know all these words, but it doesn't matter! Use your knowledge of prefixes to fill the gaps.
karaarra buusu
Which prefix is used when things are 'wrong'?Question 4 of 7
Gargaarsa
Activity
You might not know all these words, but it doesn't matter! Use your knowledge of prefixes to fill the gaps.
karaarra buusu
They want him to go, so they're in favour of university.Question 5 of 7
Gargaarsa
Activity
You might not know all these words, but it doesn't matter! Use your knowledge of prefixes to fill the gaps.
karaarra buusu
We're looking for something that means 'not convenient'Question 6 of 7
Gargaarsa
Activity
You might not know all these words, but it doesn't matter! Use your knowledge of prefixes to fill the gaps.
karaarra buusu
What would mean 'to make fresh again'?Question 7 of 7
Excellent!Great job!Carraa badaa!Qabxii argatte:
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...
Session Vocabulary
What do these prefixes mean?
re
againpre
before, alreadypro
in support of, in favour of (often followed by a hyphen)un
notin
notmis
wrong, or not