6 Minute Vocabulary: Prefixes (un-, in- and dis-)

Oct 142014

This week’s 6 Minute Vocabulary, all about prefixes. We can put prefixes at the beginning of some words to change their meaning. They are usually only a few letters long like these:

un-
unhappy – not happy: The football fans were very unhappy when their team lost.
uncooked – not cooked: You can’t eat these uncooked apples. They are very sour.
unclean – not clean: That water is unclean. You shouldn’t drink it.

in-
intolerable – cannot be tolerated or accepted: This heat is intolerable. It’s making me feel ill.
inexpensive – not expensive; cheap: The shop sells inexpensive second-hand computers.
inactive – not active: He’s put on weight because he is so inactive. He should join a gym!

dis-
disagree – to not agree: I disagree with my sister about everything.
disgrace – something to be ashamed of: Your table manners are a disgrace.
disgusting – so horrible that you feel sick: There’s a disgusting smell in the bathroom – open a window, quickly!

_______Show Transcript______

Finn

Hello and welcome to 6 Minute Vocabulary – if you’re serious about vocabulary, we’ll show you how to learn it. I’m Finn…

Alice

And I’m Alice. In today’s show we’re going to look at a very interesting area of vocabulary – prefixes.

Finn

We’ll look at what they are, what they mean and how to use them.

Alice

There’ll be a quiz…

Finn

And we’ll leave you with a top tip for learning vocabulary.

Alice

But before all that, we’re going to hear from Dave. He’s just got back from lunch, but he isn’t happy.

Finn

Now, a question to think about while you listen: what was the problem with Dave’s food?

Alice

What was the problem with Dave’s food? Let’s find out.

Example

I just tried the new seafood restaurant, and I wish I hadn’t. It was intolerable! To start with, my seat was really uncomfortable. I had no room to move. And the menu was very misleading. The photos looked nothing like the actual food. When my food came it was uncooked. I told the waiter, but he disagreed. He said it was fine. He said he’d eat it himself! And I looked in the kitchen – it was really unhygienic. There was food all over the floor. It was a disgrace!

Finn

So Dave’s pretty unhappy. And what was wrong with his food?

Alice

He said that it was uncooked. It was cold and raw because it hadn’t been cooked.

Finn

Not very nice! Well done if you got that right at home. Now, uncooked is an example of the vocabulary area we’re looking at today – prefixes.

Alice

Yes: prefixes – or as some people say: prefixes. Prefixes, prefixes. A prefix is a small part of a word, usually just a couple of letters, that we put at the front of a base word to change its meaning. For example, the prefix un, spelt u-n, is added to happy, to make unhappy, which means not happy.

Finn

And Dave was unhappy about the restaurant.

Alice

Yes. He said the seats were uncomfortable – meaning not comfortable, and the kitchen was unhygienic, meaning unclean – not clean.

Finn

So that’s un, meaning ‘not’ – and all today’s prefixes have the meaning of not. So, Dave said the meal was intolerable. Intolerable. In – spelt i-n – is another prefix that can mean not – and poor Dave couldn’t tolerate the meal. Now, let’s listen to a bit more of Dave.

Example

… I told the waiter, but he disagreed. He said it was fine.

Finn

The waiter disagreed with him about the food. The prefix dis, spelt d-i-s, means not, or ‘to do the opposite’, like disagree – to not agree.

Alice

Yes: and Dave said it was a disgrace – they should be ashamed of it.

Finn

Let’s hear today’s prefixes again.

Alice

The first one was: un

Finn

unhappy, uncooked, unhygienic, unclean

Alice

Finn

intolerable, inexpensive

Alice

dis

Finn

disagree, disgrace

IDENT

You’re listening to bbclearningenglish.com

Finn

And it’s time for a quiz. Try to work out the word that finishes the sentence. Ready? Number 1. The advert said that the phone was £5 a month, but it didn’t say anything about the £50 set up fee. It was very… a) unhappy b) inexpensive c) misleading.

Alice

The advert made people believe something that isn’t true, so it was very… c) misleading.

Finn

Now number 2. This letter has come to the wrong house. There’s been a… a) mistake b) disgrace c) disagreement

Alice

It’s not correct so… a) mistake.

Finn

Well done if you got those right.

Alice

And that brings us almost to the end of today’s programme.

Finn

But before we go, here’s today’s top tip for learning vocabulary: if you look up some of today’s words in a dictionary, you’ll find lots more words starting with the same prefixes. Many of them may be words that you already knew without the prefix, so: when you add a prefix, you get two words for the price of one!

Alice

That’s brilliant. Sounds like a good way to quickly double your vocabulary. There’s more about this at BBC bbclearningenglish.com. Join us again for more 6 Minute Vocabulary.

Both

Good bye!