• Exam: FCE
    • Course:
      SUPPORT DOCUMENTS
    • CONCEPTS: PREFIXES

Instructions

Complete the sentences by dragging and dropping, or typing the correct word, or its corresponding letter, into the answer box.

Once all the sentences have been completed, click on CHECK to identify mistakes.

If the word chosen is correct, it will show in green.

If the word chosen is not correct, it will show in red, and when that happens, try another word and press the CHECK button again until all the answers show in green.

PREFIXES

Theory

Words in English are very often parts of families of words, and other family members are created by the use of PREFIXES and SUFFIXES.

For example:
The word HAPPY is part of the family HAPPINESS, HAPPIER, HAPPIEST,HAPPILY, UNHAPPY and UNHAPPILY.

These words are very often different parts of speech, like NOUNS, ADJECTIVES or ADVERBS.

The FCE Use Of English Exam tests your ability to construct related words from given words, and an understanding of how NOUNS may be related to ADJECTIVES or ADVERBS is important if you want to do well.

An important use of PREFIXES is the creation of OPPOSITES. and the most common prefixes for this function are IM, UN, IN, DIS, DE, NON, MIS, IL and IR.
For example:
POSSIBLE becomes the opposite IMPOSSIBLE by the addition of IM.
HAPPY becomes the opposite UNHAPPY by the addition of UN.
ADEQUATE becomes the opposite INADEQUATE by the addition of IN.
ABLED becomes the opposite DISABLED by the addition of DIS.
ACTIVATE becomes the opposite DEACTIVATE by the addition of DE.
EXISTANT becomes the opposite NONEXISTANT by the addition of NON.
TRUST becomes the opposite MISTRUST by the addition of MIS.
LOGICAL becomes the opposite by the addition of IL.
and finally,
RESPONSIBLE becomes the opposite IRRESPONSIBLE by adding IR.

Making the opposite of words is one of the main uses of PREFIXES, but all words with these prefixes are not necessarily opposites.

Also note that the root word is not affected by the addition of a prefix.

TYPICAL FCE EXERCISES
(Use the words given on the right to generate the words needed for the spaces.)

The mystery of pigeons

Pigeons demonstrate behaviour that is extremely (1) according to a recent report which details a new role for pigeons. Asked by a pharmaceutical company to measure the effects of drugs on animal behaviour, Jones noticed one day that some 70 women were (2) to check flawed capsules. "That is a job any pigeon could do," he said, because he knew about the pigeon's learning (3) . On (4) , capsules left the production line. There, Jones arranged for a bright, narrow beam of light to pass through them. If a capsule was perfect, the light showed a single spot; if it was (5) , the light showed a double spot. In their training, two pigeons were rewarded with food every time they (6) identified a wrong capsule. The experiment worked. A conveyor belt carried the capsules as fast as two a second past the pigeon inspectors , who achieved 99 per cent success within a week. But the company rejected (7) of the pigeons on a permanent basis. They feared publicity that might be bad: The public might think pigeons were not as (8) as humans. "A main obstacle to progress," commented Jones sadly, " remains man's obstinate (9) in his superiority over other creatures."



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