Year 5 English: The prefix bi- and working out a word's meaning
Part of the Year 5 English prefixes: in-, dis-, de-, re-, auto- and bi- chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page
The prefix bi- and working out a word's meaning
Working out a word
Step 1: find the prefix at the start, such as bi-, which means two.
Step 2: find the root word, such as cycle, which means wheel or circle.
Step 3: put the meaning of the parts together.
Step 4: check your idea in a dictionary.
Key ideas
- bi- means two: bicycle (two wheels), bilingual (two languages), biplane (two wings).
- Work out the meaning from the prefix and the root word.
- Check your idea in a dictionary, because some words have more than one meaning.
- bisect means to divide into two equal parts.
Method. bi- means two, and cycle means wheel or circle.
- Find the prefix. bi- means two.bi-
- Put the parts together. Two wheels make a bicycle.two + wheel
- Write the answer. a vehicle with two wheels
Check. A bicycle has two wheels. ✓
Method. bi- means two, and lingual means language.
- Find the prefix. bi- means two.bi-
- Put the parts together. Two languages make a bilingual person.two + language
- Write the answer. able to use two languages
Check. Bilingual means two languages. ✓
Method. Think about what the word means, using the prefix bi-.
- Find the prefix. bi- means two.bi-
- Check the meaning. Bisect means to cut into two equal parts.bisect
- Write the answer. bisect
Check. Bisect means to divide into two parts. ✓
Exercise 2E Practice: bi- and working out meanings
Method. Think about the word bicycle.
- Look at bicycle. A bicycle has two wheels.bi = two
- Write the answer. two
Check. bi- means two. ✓
Method. bi- means two.
- Find the prefix. bi- means two.bi-
- Write the answer. bisect
Check. Bisect. ✓
Method. bi- means two.
- Find the prefix. bi- means two.bi-
- Put the parts together. A biplane has two wings on each side.two wings
- Write the answer. an aeroplane with two pairs of wings
Check. A biplane has two pairs of wings. ✓
Method. dis- gives the reverse.
- Find the prefix. dis- gives the reverse.dis-
- Put the parts together. Connect means join, so disconnect means stop being joined.connect reversed
- Write the answer. to separate or stop being joined
Check. Disconnect means stop being joined. ✓
Method. in- means not.
- Find the prefix. in- means not.in-
- Put the parts together. Not able to be heard is inaudible.not audible
- Write the answer. not able to be heard
Check. Inaudible means not able to be heard. ✓
Method. mis- means wrongly.
- Find the prefix. mis- means wrongly.mis-
- Put the parts together. Judge wrongly is misjudge.wrongly + judge
- Write the answer. to judge wrongly
Check. Misjudge means judge wrongly. ✓
Method. mis- means wrongly.
- Find the prefix. mis- means wrongly.mis-
- Put the parts together. Inform means tell, so misinform means tell wrongly.wrongly + inform
- Write the answer. to give wrong information
Check. Misinform means give wrong information. ✓
Method. Check the prefix and the root word.
- Find the prefix. mis- means wrongly.mis-
- Find the root. Judge means decide what is right or wrong.judge
- Write the answer. Yes, she is right
Check. Ruby is right. ✓
Method. Think about why a meaning worked out from the parts might be wrong.
- Look up the word. The dictionary gives the meaning of the word.dictionary entry
- Compare the two meanings. Check your idea against the dictionary, and change it if it does not match.compare
- Write the answer. the dictionary gives the true meaning, so you can compare it with your idea and correct it if needed
Check. The dictionary checks your idea. ✓
Method. Dictionaries order words by their letters, one at a time.
- Look at the first letter. Words are in alphabetical order, so start with d.d
- Look at the next letters. The second letter i comes next, then the rest of the letters.di
- Write the answer. first the d, then the second letter i, then the rest of the letters, in alphabetical order
Check. Dictionary order uses each letter in turn. ✓