Prefixes

What are they?

A prefix is a grammatical element that is added to the beginning of a word to change his meaning and is divided into different types

negative prefixes

un -unkind (poco amable, duro, cruel)

dis -dissatisfied (descontento, decepcionado)

im -impossible (imposible)

in -independent (independiente)

ir -irregular (irregular)

il -illegal (ilegal)

a -atypical (atípico)

Negation prefixes are used to change the meaning of a word and convert it to its antonym

The prefix "un" changes the meaning of the word when translated into Spanish so "kind", which means "amable" in direct translation, changes to "unkind" which means "cruel" or "molesto" in
Spanish, The same thing happens with the prefix "dis" which changes the meaning of "satisfied" which means "satisfecho" to "dissatisfied" which means "descontento” or "decepcionado", these
changes are only from the Spanish translation since we have different ways to understand the words. The other prefixes on the list are more intuitive since they are very similar to the prefixes
used in Spanish

Ir- is generally used before adjectives that begin with r, such as irrelevant, irresponsible (irrelevante, irresponsable).

Il- is generally used before adjectives that begin with l, such as illegible, illicit (ilegible, ilícito).

Im- is generally used before adjectives that begin with p, m, b, such as immature, imbalanced (inmaduro, desequilibrado).

In- is used before adjectives that begin with other letters, such as incompetent, ineffective (incompetente, ineficaz).
Prefixes that add meaning

+mis- erróneamente mislead (engañar, inducir a error)

+re- re- (de nuevo) reactivate (reactivar)

+de- des- (quitar, eliminar, revertir) deactivate (desactivar)

+over- sobre-, demasiado overcook (cocer demasiado)

+under- sub- (insuficientemente, menor, inferior) underestimate (subestimar)

+pre- pre- (anterior) prejudice (prejuicio)

+post- post- (posterior) postmodern (postmoderno)

+self- auto-, de / en sí mismo self-centred (centrado en sí mismo)

+semi- semi- (medio) semicircle (semicírculo)

+pro- pro- (favorable a) proactive (proactivo)

+anti- anti- (contra) antivirus (antivirus)

+sub- sub- (inferior) submarine (submarino)

+out- más que, mejor que outrun (dejar atrás, correr más)

+non- in-, no nonconformist (inconformista)

+ex- ex- (antiguo, de antes) ex-husband (exmarido)

+mid- a mitad de -midday (mediodía)

These prefixes are used to add extra meaning to words.

Grade and size prefixes

These prefixes in English give us an idea of the size of what they are attached to, or the intensity of a concept. Examples:

Super- (Market – Supermarket)

Sub- (Way – Subway)

Arch- (Enemy – Archenemy)

Attitude prefixes

These prefixes indicate the attitude of the person or being we are referring to, the direction of a march or movement...

Anti- (Tobacco – Antitobacco)

Contra- (Clockwise – contra-clockwise)

Location prefixes

In this case, these are prefixes that guide us about the location of a being or an object, from where to where it is going, etc.

Fore- (Arm – Forearm)

Inter- (National – International)

Trans- (Continental – Transcontinental)

Time and order prefixes

They are prefixes in English that indicate order: if something or someone comes before or after, if it is repeated, if it appears again, etc. We could also include numerical prefixes such as Bi-, Tri-,
Multi-, etc. in this group.

Ex- (Husband – Ex-husband)

Post- (Traumatic – Post-traumatic)

Re- (Do – redo)