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Primary English · Year 5Chapter 2 · Prefixes: in-, dis-, de-, re-, auto- and bi-
Year 5 English · Prefixes: in-, dis-, de-, re-, auto- and bi- · Lesson 2.2

Year 5 English: Prefixes dis- and mis-

Part of the Year 5 English prefixes: in-, dis-, de-, re-, auto- and bi- chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page

2.2

Prefixes dis- and mis-

Year 5
Use dis- and mis- to make the opposite or a wrong version of a word (SP4)
Story. Tara is making a poster about her favourite games. She writes that some people dislike losing, but that a good team does not mislead its players. Then she checks that she has used dis- and mis- correctly.

Key pattern

The prefix dis- often makes the opposite of a word: agree becomes disagree; honest becomes dishonest.

The prefix mis- means wrongly or badly: read becomes misread; spell becomes misspell.

Key ideas

  • dis- often means the opposite or the reverse of the root word.
  • mis- means wrongly or badly.
  • Check the meaning in a dictionary if you are not sure.
  • Do not confuse dis- with de-: dis- gives an opposite, and de- often means remove.
Worked example 2.2.1
Write the opposite of agree, using a prefix.

Method. dis- often makes the opposite of the root word.

  1. Find the root word. Agree is the root word.
    agree
  2. Add the prefix dis-. dis- means the opposite, so disagree means not agree.
    dis + agree
  3. Write the answer.
    disagree

Check. Disagree is the opposite of agree. ✓

Worked example 2.2.2
Write a word that means to read something wrongly, using a prefix.

Method. mis- means wrongly.

  1. Find the root word. The root word is read.
    read
  2. Add the prefix mis-. mis- means wrongly, so misread means read wrongly.
    mis + read
  3. Write the answer.
    misread

Check. Misread means read wrongly. ✓

Worked example 2.2.3
Which word means not honest: dishonest or misonest?

Method. The prefix for an opposite is dis-.

  1. Find the root word. Honest is the root word.
    honest
  2. Add the prefix. dis- makes the opposite, so dishonest means not honest.
    dis + honest
  3. Write the answer.
    dishonest

Check. Dishonest is correct. ✓

Exercise 2B  Practice: dis- and mis-

1
FAdd a prefix to agree.
2
FAdd a prefix to like.
3
FAdd a prefix to honest.
4
FAdd a prefix to appear.
5
FAdd a prefix to spell, to mean to spell wrongly.
6
FAdd a prefix to read, to mean to read wrongly.
7
FAdd a prefix to place, to mean to put in the wrong place.
8
FAdd a prefix to lead, to mean to lead someone the wrong way.
9
FWhich is spelt correctly: misunderstand or misundertand?
10
PSElla writes disapear in her story. Write the correct spelling.
11
PSA dictionary says mislead means to lead someone the wrong way. What does the prefix mis- mean?
12
RIs dismount the opposite of mount? Explain.

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