What’s That Prefix?

A prefix is a letter, or a group of letters, that is added to the beginning of a word to change its meaning. You just practiced using the prefixes re- and un- in the article, “What Do These Things Have in Common?” Now it’s time to figure out what some other common prefixes mean.

Instructions: As you read each passage below, note the prefix in italics used throughout. Then try to guess its meaning.

1.

I had a terrible day yesterday! First I misplaced my phone, and it took me 20 minutes to find it. Then I misread the time and didn’t realize how late it was. When I finally got to school, my teacher said I had misunderstood my assignment and done the whole thing wrong. Feeling sad, I looked down at my feet and saw that I was wearing mismatched shoes!
    The prefix mis- means:

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C. The prefix mis- means badly or wrong. It can turn behave into misbehave (behave badly) and spell into misspell (spell wrong).
2

At midday today, my dad invited me to go out for lunch. He said I could drive and tossed me the car keys, which I caught in midair. It was midwinter, so we wore our coats. I was looking forward to spending time with my dad—but midway through the meal, he asked about my midterm grades! After that, things got a little less fun.
    The prefix mid- means:

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D. The prefix mid- means in the middle. This one is easy to remember because mid sounds like middle.
3

    I’m all set to babysit my little cousin! She’s preschool-aged, so I previewed the movie to make sure it wasn’t too scary for her. I got a precooked chicken for dinner, so I won’t have to do much cooking. Now I’m preheating the oven so it will already be hot when we put in our cookie dough. This will be fun!
    The prefix pre- means:

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A. The prefix pre- means before. That’s why it’s called a prefix! It comes right before the word it changes.
4.

    My friend Luke is being really impatient today. He wants us to start a band, but I told him that’s impossible because we can’t play any instruments. He said I was being immature and that a more grown-up person would find a way to do it. I thought that was really impolite, so I got mad and went home.
    The prefix im- means:

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D. The prefix im- means not. If something is impractical, it’s not practical. The prefix im- is usually added to words that start with m or p.
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