The Prefix un-

English · Spelling & Word Study · ages 5-6

Name ______________________ Date ____________

Zoe unzips her jacket. What does she do?
- She closes the zip
- She opens the zip
- She washes the jacket
Add un- to 'tie'. What new word do you make?
- tieun
- untying
- untie
Which two letters make the prefix un-?
- i and n
- u and n
- u and m
What does the prefix un- usually mean?
- very
- not / opposite
- again
Which spelling is correct for 'not fair'?
- unfair
- infair
- fairun
Which word was NOT made by adding un- to a smaller word?
- untie
- unwrap
- uncle
Mia unhooks the picture. What does she do?
- She hangs it on the hook
- She paints the hook
- She takes it off the hook
Omar unwraps his gift. What does he do?
- He takes the paper off
- He puts more paper on
- He throws the gift away
Liam wrote 'uplug' for 'unplug'. What mistake did he make?
- He forgot the n in un-
- He forgot the u in un-
- He spelled plug wrong
Tom wrote 'unrol' for 'unroll'. What mistake did he make?
- He forgot the u in un-
- He put un at the end
- He left a letter out of roll

Answer key

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

She opens the zip · Unzip is un- plus zip: it reverses the zip, so the jacket opens.
untie · un- + tie = untie. Keep tie whole and put un at the front.
u and n · The prefix un- is spelled with the letters u and n.
not / opposite · un- flips a word to its opposite meaning.
unfair · The prefix un- goes at the very front: un-fair.
uncle · Uncle is one whole word. It was not built from un- plus 'cle'.
She takes it off the hook · Unhook is un- plus hook: it reverses the hooking, so the picture comes off.
He takes the paper off · Unwrap is un- plus wrap: it reverses the wrapping, so the paper comes off.
He forgot the n in un- · The prefix un- needs both letters, u and n. Liam kept the u but dropped the n.
He left a letter out of roll · The word roll must stay whole. Tom dropped the last l.