Negative Prefixes

We use the negative prefixes un- / in- /im- /il- /ir-

For example:

John and James are brothers. John is reliable, you can trust him to do anything you ask. James, on the other hand, is unreliable, you cannot rely on him.

By adding un to reliable we change the meaning of the word to not reliable.

Dis gives the adjective the opposite meaning: "I know you all agree with the plan, but I still disagree."

Use un- prefix before words that start with a vowel or consonant.
Use il- prefix before words that start i: illegal.
Use im- prefix before words that start with m or p: impossible.
Use ir- prefix before words that start with r: irregular.
Use in- prefix with words that start with consonants and vowels, but not i or u.

Now choose the correct word to complete each sentence:

• 1) They say he has a ___ face.
  
  ilhonest
  inhonest
  dishonest
  
  
• 2) I have an ___ fear of mice.
  
  irrational
  inrational
  disrational
  
  
• 3) The Joker character in Batman is ___.
  
  irsane
  insane
  ilsane
  
  
• 4) In the UK it's ___ to smoke in bars and restaurants.
  
  illegal
  inlegal
  imlegal
  
  
• 5) It's ___ that we have to work while they are on holiday.
  
  infair
  unfair
  disfair
  
  
• 6) I am too ___ to go fishing.
  
  inpatient
  unpatient
  impatient
  
  
• 7) He's so ___ even after all the help we gave him.
  
  ingrateful
  ungrateful
  imgrateful
  
  
• 8) He still acts like a child, he's so ___.
  
  irmature
  inmature
  immature
  
  
• 9) I think the information in this report is ___. It doesn't look right.
  
  iraccurate
  inaccurate
  unaccurate
  
  
• 10) His attempt to break the world record was ___.
  
  unsuccessful
  dissuccessful
  insuccessful