| I am in focus now. Look at me, mom, I'm in focus. Alright, we're recording. |
| Hi, everybody. My name is Alisha. Welcome back to Top Words. Today, we're going to talk about 10 Useful Prefixes. |
| A prefix by the way is like a small word, a few letters that we attach to the beginning of a word to change the meaning of that word. Let's go. |
| re- |
| The first prefix is "re-," R-E means again. So, we see the word "re-" in like "redo" or "replay" or "reimagine" or "recreate," for example. So, it means to do the base word again. So, whatever you see "re-" in front of, or not everything, but if you see "re-" before a base word like that, it can mean to do that thing again. So, in a sentence, "I have to redo my homework." |
| anti- |
| The next prefix is "anti-" or you might hear "anti-" as well. "anti-" or "anti-" both are fine but it means against or in opposition to or like kind of the opposite of something. So, against, "anti-." So, we see this in like "antifreeze" or "antisocial" or "anti-inflammatory" or "antibiotics." So, they all mean against something. So, like the word "antifreeze," for example, means like against freezing. So, antifreeze is a product that prevents a liquid from freezing, for example. An "antibiotic" is a medicine that we take to kill like bad microorganisms in our body, germs in other words, so we see bio in that word. So, relating to like biology. "Antisocial" refers to someone who does not like social situations, they are against social situations. And, "anti-inflammatory" another type of medicine is against inflammation. So, inflammation can mean like swelling or like turning you read, for example. So, "anti-" means against something. We see "anti-" before words which mean like opposing or against that thing. In a sentence, my boss is anti overtime." |
| dis- |
| So, the next prefix is "dis-." "dis-" essentially means not. So, we see "dis-" in words like "disrespect" or "disapprove" or "disconnect" or like "disagree," for example. So, these words all mean not plus the base words. So, like "disagree," for example, means to not agree or "disconnect" means to not to connect. So, something is not connected to the other thing. "Disrespect" means to not respect something, for example. So, "dis-" means not plus that base word. In a sentence, "A good editor should be disinterested." |
| ex- |
| The next prefix is "ex-." "ex-" means former. So, something that was once true is not true anymore. We see this very commonly in relationships so. For example, my "ex-husband," "ex-wife," "ex-girlfriend," "ex-boyfriend," "ex-boss." So, all of these me my former something, my former boyfriend, my former girlfriend, my former boss, my former roommate, for example. In a sentence, "The ex-CEO was in the news this week." |
| mid- |
| The next prefix is "mid-." So, "mid-" means like in the middle of or during something. So, we can see this in a word like "midnight" or "midsummer," for example, or "midmorning." So, meaning in the middle of or roughly in the middle of something, during that time period. "Midnight" means in the middle of the night or "midmorning" is like in the middle of the morning. So, all of these refer to "mid-" to something. We can also use it for like an action like "midmeal," for example, or "She was midpresentation when the phone rang," for example. So, "mid-" means in the middle of something. In a sentence, "I was mid- breakfast when I heard the news." |
| il- |
| The next one is "il-." So, "il-" means, again, not or it's like a negative prefix. It means the base word but not that base word. So, we see this in words like "illogical" or "illegible" or "illegal," for example. So, these all mean not plus the base words. So, "illogical" means not logical, "illegible," illegible means unable to read. "Legible" means readable, "illegible" means cannot read that thing, unable to read that. "Illegal" means not legal, in other words. So, an action that is against the law. So, "il-" means not. In a sentence. "Highly illogical, captain." That's a Star Trek reference. |
| im- |
| The next prefix is "im-." "im-" also means not. It means not. Words that fit this pattern, for example, could be "impossible" or "impeccable" or "improbable" or "imperfect," for example. So, again, it means not. So, "imperfect" means not perfect, "impossible" means not possible. So, "im-" means not, it means not. In a sentence, "This is impossible." |
| in- |
| The next prefix is "in-." So, again, "in- also means not. It's a negative prefix that we use. There are a lot of words that start with this "in-" meaning not like "inconsiderate," "incapable," "inconceivable," "inappropriate." So, they all mean not plus the base word. For example, like the word, "inappropriate," means not appropriate. Behavior that is not appropriate in a certain situation. Or, "incapable" means not capable, someone cannot do something they're expected to do. So, "in-" means not plus our base meaning, the opposite then of that meaning. In a sentence, "He's incapable of running the country." |
| ir- |
| The next prefix is "ir-." So, the pronunciation is "ir-" even though it's I-R, "ir-." For example, we see this in like "irresponsible" or "irredeemable" or "irregular." So, again, this means not something. So, "irresponsible" means not responsible, "irregular" not regular, "irredeemable" is something that cannot be made up, we cannot redeem that thing. So, "ir-" is another negative prefix meaning not or no. In a sentence, your behavior was irresponsible. |
| non- |
| The next prefix is "non-," N-O-N. So, N-O-N is a prefix, again, it means not or against. So, "non-" also means not something. So, for example, we see it in a word like "nonsense" or "nonsequential" or "non sequitur." So, these are words that all mean like not something. So, for example, "nonsense" means no sense, essentially, not sense. "Non sequitur," so, sequitur the base there is think of the word, "sequence," we see that same sort of base in sequence as we see in "non sequitur" and that actually comes from the Latin meaning like to follow something so it's "non sequitur" means like it does not follow. So, a "non sequitur" means something that just it's not part of the conversation, it's like a random comment is a "non sequitur." So, it does not follow, "non sequitur" is one. So, "non-" means not or no. In a sentence, "This is nonsense." |
| Okay, so, those are "10 Useful Prefixes." So, you'll notice that a lot of these actually mean no or not but that doesn't mean that we can just mix and match these. So, we can't add "un-" to the word "logical," we can't say like "unlogical" or maybe like "dislogical," for example. We always need to use the same prefix with the same root word. So, please be careful. Just because these prefixes mean the same thing doesn't mean that we can just pick and choose as we like. So, it's still important to learn the correct prefix and the words that it regularly attaches to. So, please keep this in mind as you study. |
| Alright, those are ten useful prefixes. I hope that they were helpful for you. If there are some other prefixes that you have encountered or some other prefixes you have a question about, please let us know in the comments. Thanks very much for watching this episode of Top Words and I will see you again soon. Bye-bye! |
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