Determine the meaning of a word with pre-, re- or mis-

key notes:

What are Prefixes?

A prefix is a group of letters we add to the beginning of a word. It changes the word’s meaning. Let’s learn about three common prefixes: pre-, re-, and mis-.

pre-

The prefix pre- means before.

Example 1:

• preheat – to heat something before you need it. We preheat the oven before baking a cake.

Example 2:

• preview – to look at something before everyone else. We got to preview the new movie!

re-

The prefix re- means again or back.

Example 1:

• rewrite – to write something again. I had to rewrite my story because it was messy.

Example 2:

• return – to go back. Please return the book to the library.

mis-

The prefix mis- means wrongly or not.

Example 1:

• misunderstand – to not understand something. I misunderstood the directions and got lost.

Example 2:

• misbehave – to behave badly. The children misbehaved on the bus.

Try it Yourself!

Can you think of other words that start with pre-, re-, and mis-? What do they mean?

What We Learned

We learned that prefixes can change the meaning of a word! Pre- means before, re- means again or back, and mis- means wrongly or not. Now you can use your prefix power to understand even more words!

Let’s practice!