KS2 English textbook

Chapter 2: Prefixes: in-, dis-, de-, re-, auto- and bi-

Strand Spelling
Level Year 5
Practice 83 questions with step-by-step solutions

National Curriculum for England, Key Stage 2 English, Year 5. Content: Spell and use prefixes in-, il-, im- and ir- that mean not (SP-Y5e), Use dis- and mis- to make the opposite or a wrong version of a word (SP4), Use de- to mean remove, reverse or undo, and re- to mean again (SP-Y5e), Use auto- to mean self, and bi- to mean two (SP-Y5e), Work out a word's meaning from its prefix and root, then check in a dictionary (SP-Y5f).

Open Year 5 chapter

By the end of this chapter you will be able to

Choose in-, il-, im- or ir- to make a word mean not
Use dis- and mis- to make opposites and wrong versions of words
Use de- to mean remove, reverse or undo
Use re- to mean again, and auto- to mean self
Use bi- to mean two, and work out a word from its parts
Check the meaning of a new word in a dictionary

You should already know

Adding prefixes such as un-, dis- and mis- (Year 4, Chapter 3)
Finding the root word and the suffix in a word (Chapter 1 of this book)

Where this leads

The Year 5-6 word list, silent letters and the dictionary and thesaurus (Chapter 3 of this book)

Lessons in this chapter

Read the whole chapter on one page (good for printing).

Practise with real exam questions

The DfE publishes every past KS2 test, with mark schemes, for free.

KS2 English past papers