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 extra- and pro- in the article, “The Day We Sent a Message to Aliens” Now it’s time to figure out what some other common prefixes mean.
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What’s That Prefix?
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.
You might think my cousin Jack and I asked to be in the same class, but it was actually just a coincidence. We argue a lot, so our teacher told us we had to find a way to coexist peacefully in the class. My mom told me she once had trouble getting along with one of her co-workers, and she learned to cooperate with that person by working on an important project with him. That's why I think Jack and I should try out to co-star in the school play!
The prefix co- means:
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D. The prefix co- means together. If two people are co-captains of a soccer team, they lead the team together. (As you might have noticed, this prefix is sometimes followed by a hyphen. You’ll see this when the word describes a type of work or position.)
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