Marcy_cb21 6

Module 5

ENGLISH
WORDS WITH AFFIXES - PREFIXES

A DepEd-BEAM Distance Learning Program supported by the Australian Agency for International Development
 To the Learner

Dear Learner,

Good day learner? How are you today? In the previous module
you’ve learned about words. In this module you will learn how to
decode words with prefixes.

Let’s Learn This

This module will help you form new words by adding the right or
appropriate prefixes. One way of expanding one’s vocabulary is
through the use of prefixes.

Let’s Try This

Below are the most common prefixes un-, in-, dis-, im-, and ir-,
and are often used to mean “opposite of” or “not”. Use these prefixes
to complete the thought of the second sentence by supplying the
correct word with the correct prefix. The italicized expressions are
clues.

1. The princess couldn’t decide who to marry.

She’s still __________________________________.
2. The prince was not attentive to the princess.
The prince was ______________________________.
3. The curse was quite not possible to solve.
It seemed ________________________________.
4. The queen did not seem to agree with her daughter’s plan.
She wanted to _____________________ but could not stop her.
5. The prince was not able to satisfy the second witch.
The second witch was _____________________.

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• Are you done?

• Are all of your answers like these?

1. undecided
2. inattentive
3. impossible
4. disagree
5. unsatisfied

• Don’t worry, the preceding activity will help you understand

prefixes.

Let’s Study This

Read the story. Answer the questions that follow.

It was Benny’s twelfth birthday and the family

was preparing a big celebration for him. While
waiting for the guests to arrive, Benny went to the
park to try out his new bicycle. While there he met
misfortune. Another bicycle bumped him at the rear
and Benny was thrown out of his seat right into the
path of a speeding tricycle. Luckily the park
administrator had taken precautions for such
incidents. An announcement was made through the
microphone and the first-aid attendants came to
take him to the first-aid station. We found him
waiting for us at the anteroom whiling away his time
with the microscope. Benny’s injuries were not
serious and the birthday celebration did not have to
be postponed.

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 1. Who was celebrating his twelfth birthday?
2. What happened to him when he tried out his new bicycle?
3. How did the park administrator take precautions for such
incidents?

Read the italicized words taken from the paragraph.

bicycle tricycle microphone microscope

misfortune precautions anteroom

• What are placed before each word?

bi, mis, tri, pre, micro, ante

• What does each syllable mean?

• What do you call these syllables

Note further that these syllables come at the beginning of the

base word. You probably know by this time that these syllables are
prefixes. As you can see from the examples given, you can form new
words through the use of prefixes. You can also get the meaning of a
word when you know the meaning of the prefix and the base word is
familiar to you.

The most common prefixes un-, in-, dis-, im-, and ir- are often
used to mean “opposite of” or “not”.

Look at the examples.

impatient discomfort irresponsible unlike

illogical immature illegal disalign

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A. Study the table below. It gives you examples of three of the most
affixe, number, quantity, and time.

Prefix Meaning Example

mono one monograph
bi two bipeds
Number tri three triangle
multi many multipurpose
poly many polychrome
super great superstar
mega huge megamall
Quantity macro whole, big macroeconomics
micro tiny microorganism
mini small minigrocery
ante before anteroom
pre before prewar
Time post after posttest
ex former ex-mayor
retro back retroactive

Let’s Do This

Prefix Meanings

A. Directions: Match each word with its meaning. Write the number
of the word by its meaning.

1. increase ________ become larger

2. decrease ________ become smaller

3. indirect ________ direct again

4. redirect ________ not direct

5. inflate _________ to let out air

6. deflate _________ to blow air into

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B. Directions: Use the words above to complete the sentences.

1. When I ______________________ the tire, it will be flat.

2. To make more soup, ______________________ the amount of water.
3. Nick took an ______________________ route to school.
4. If you are lost, a police officer can ______________________ you.
5. Here are twenty balloons to _______________________ for the party.
6. The price of shirts will ______________________ during the big sale.

• Are you done?

• Look at the Answer Key to check your answers.
• Do not worry we will have more exercises to do.

Let’s Do More
8.

incorrect
ashore
unclear
renew 1. 7.
prepay ..
imperfect
dislike
mistreat 2. 6.

5.
3.

4.

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Directions: Match the words in the word box with their definitions
below. Write them in the correct places in the puzzle.

Across Down

1. pay before 5. not like

2. treat wrongly 6. not perfect
3. not correct 7. make new again
4. not clear 8. on shore

• Did you find it easy answering the puzzle?

• Look at the Answer Key again to check your
answers.
• Write your score inside the big flower.

Let’s Remember This

• A prefix is a syllable or syllables placed at the

beginning of a base word.

• A base word is a word that can stand on its own. It

cannot be divided into smaller parts and still retain its
meaning.

• The meaning of a word can be figured out by putting

together the meaning of its prefix and the base word.

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 Let’s Test Ourselves

Missing Prefixes
Directions: Read the story. Use the prefixes in the word box to write
the missing prefixes.

un tele dis re mis

STAR TRIP
As usual, the Little Prince of Mars sat in front of his big-screen

vision. “This life is very interesting,” he thought. Just

1
2

then, he heard a knock at the door, a messenger handed him a

3

gram. “There must be some take,” said the Little Prince. But
4

when he opened the envelope, he was surprised. The happy

5

frown on his face appeared. He was going on a trip to the

6

stars! The Little Prince was certain what to pack. He dashed

7

for his scope and magic crystal kit. He packed and

8 9

packed his star travel bag until everything fit. Someday he would

turn to his own planet, but until then, he was ready for an

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adventure in the stars.

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 • Are you done? Look at the Answer Key again to check your
answers.
• If your score is 8-10, Excellent, proceed directly to the next
module.
• If your score is 6-7, That’s Good, answer “Let’s Enrich
Ourselves.”
• If your score is 5 and below, review the whole module.

Let’s Enrich
Ourselves

Prefix Crossword
1. 5. 6.

7.

2.

3. 8.

4.

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 A prefix is a word part added to the beginning of a word that
changes its meaning.

Directions: Match the words in the word box with their definitions
below. Write them in the correct places in the puzzle.

Across Down

1. not usual 5. not making sense

2. fill again 6. not certain
3. middle of the night 7. count wrongly
4. set again 8. take away frost

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 Answer Key

Let’s Do This Let’s Do More

A. 1. prepay
1. 1 become larger 2. mistreat
2. 2 become smaller 3. incorrect
3. 4 direct again 4. unclear
4. 3 not direct 5. dislike
5. 6 to let out air 6. imperfect
6. 5 to blow air into 7. renew
B. 8. ashore
1. deflate
2. increase Let’s Test Ourselves
3. indirect
4. redirect 1. tele
5. inflate 2. un
6. decrease 3. tele
4. mis
Let’s Enrich Ourselves 5. un
6. dis
1. unusual 7. un
2. refill 8. tele
3. midnight 9. re
4. reset 10. re
5. nonsense
6. uncertain
7. miscount
8. defrost

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