Verb Prefixes: Small Parts, Big Meaning Changes

English · Grammar & Punctuation · ages 9-10

Name ______________________ Date ____________

Which prefix means 'do the reverse,' as in defrost?
- dis-
- re-
- de-
What does 'misbehave' mean?
- behave again
- behave in the wrong way
- behave too much
If you retell a story, you tell it for the first time.
Circle one: True False
Which prefix means 'not' or 'the opposite,' as in disagree?
- dis-
- over-
- re-
Which pair of words are opposites, thanks to a prefix?
- redo and rewrite
- appear and disappear
- misplace and misjudge
You want to say someone spelled a word incorrectly. Which prefix turns 'spell' into that word?
- mis-
- re-
- de-
In 'The twins looked so alike that I mistook one for the other,' what does 'mistook' mean?
- took again
- took by mistake
- took too much
Dad had to ___ the fence because the first coat of paint peeled. Which word fits the blank?
- mispaint
- repaint
- overpaint
Which word does NOT have a verb prefix?
- misplace
- rewrite
- overcoat
Ben wrote: 'When my tower fell, I misreacted and cried for an hour.' Which change fixes his sentence?
- Keep "misreacted," since mis- means too much
- "misreacted" should be "rereacted," since re- means again
- "misreacted" should be "overreacted," since over- means too much

Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

de- · De- reverses an action. Defrost reverses the freezing.
behave in the wrong way · Mis- means wrong, so misbehave means behave in the wrong way.
False · Re- means again, so retell means tell again, not for the first time.
dis- · Dis- flips a verb to its opposite meaning, like disagree, which means not agree.
appear and disappear · Dis- flips appear to its opposite: disappear means stop being seen. The other pairs share a prefix but are not opposites.
mis- · Mis- shows the action went wrong. Misspell means spell incorrectly.
took by mistake · Mis- means wrong, so mistook means took the wrong one, took by mistake.
repaint · The fence needs painting again, and re- means again, so repaint fits.
overcoat · An overcoat is a kind of coat. You cannot split it into over- plus an action word, so there is no verb prefix.
"misreacted" should be "overreacted," since over- means too much · Crying for an hour is reacting too much, and too much needs over-. Overreacted is the word Ben needs.