Prefix un- in English

There are two kinds of the prefix un- in English. The first is attached to adjectives to form new adjectives, and the second is attached to verbs to form new verbs. The two kinds of the prefix un- do not change the part of speech. The prefix un- attached to adjectives means ‘not’. Fromkin (1990: 130) calls this derivation antonym or negative. Look at the following examples of prefix un- attached to adjectives: Prefix Base Derived word Meaning
(Adjective) (Adjective)

un - able unable ‘not able’
un - afraid unafraid ‘not afraid’
un - aware unaware ‘not aware’
un - fit unfit ‘not ft’
un - free unfree ‘not free’
un - happy unhappy ‘not happy’
un - important unimportant 'not important'
un - smooth unsmooth ‘not smooth’
un - true untrue ‘not true’

The prefix un- can also be added to the adjectives of the derived words that have been formed by morphological rules (Fromkin, 1990 : 130). The examples are as follows:

Prefix Base Derived word Meaning
(Adjective) (Adjective)
un - acceptable unacceptable ‘not acceptable’
un - avoidable unavoidable ‘not avoidable’
un - believable unbelievable ‘not believable’
un - predictable unpredictable ‘not believable’
un - reachable unreachable ‘not reachable’
un - readable unreadable ‘not readable’
un - sinkable unsinkable ‘not sinkable’
un - touchable untouchable ‘not touchable’

Based on the examples above the rule of the prefix un- attached to adjectives can be stated as: {un-} + ADJECTIVE--> new ADJECTIVE. This rule says that the prefix un- attached to an adjective creates a new adjective. The new adjective is indicated by the change of meaning. In this case the prefix un- means ‘not’

The second prefix un- joins with verbs to form new verbs. In this case the prefix un- means ‘to do the opposite of ’ (Hornby, 1986: 935). The following are the examples of the prefix un- which combines with verbs:

Prefix Base Derived word Meaning
(Verb) (Verb)
un- bind unbind ‘to do the opposite of binding’
un- cover uncover ‘to do the opposite of covering’
un- do undo ‘to do the opposite of doing’
un- dress undress ‘to do the opposite of dressing’
un- load unload ‘to do the opposite of loading’
un- lock unlock ‘to do the opposite of locking’
un- tie untie ‘to do the opposite of tying’

From the examples above, the rule of prefix un- attached to verbs can be stated as: {un-} + VERB --> new VERB. This rule says that the prefix un- attached to a verb creates a new verb. The new verb is indicated by the change of meaning namely ‘to do the opposite of’.


References:

Fromkin, Victoria A. 1990. An Introduction to Language. Sydney: Harcourt Brace
Jovanovich Group (Australia) Pty Limited.

Hornby, AS. 1986. Oxford Advanced Dictionary of Current English. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.

Prefix dis-

The prefix dis- is a derivational morpheme which can be attached to verbs to form new verbs. This prefix has several meanings but its basic meaning is ‘not’

new VERB. The new verb is indicated by the change of meaning. In this case, the prefix dis- brings the basic meaning ‘not’ to the verb.

The prefix dis- can be attached to nouns to form new nouns. The following are the examples.

Prefix Base Derived word Meaning
(Noun) (Noun)dis- advantage disadvantage ‘unfavorable condition’
dis- comfort discomfort ‘absence of comfort’
dis- harmony disharmony ‘lack of harmony’
dis- honor dishonor ‘absence of honor’

Based on the examples above, the rule of the prefix dis- attached to nouns can be stated as: {dis-}+ NOUN --> new NOUN. The new noun is indicated by the change of meaning. In this case, the prefix dis- brings the basic meaning ‘not’ to the noun.

The prefix dis- can also be attached to adjectives to form new adjectives. The examples are as follows:

Prefix Base Derived word Meaning
(Adjective) (Adjective)dis- able disable ‘make unable to do something’
dis- honest dishonest ‘not honest’
dis- similar dissimilar ‘not similar’

Based on the examples above, the rule of the prefix dis- attached to adjectives can be stated as: {dis-}+ ADJECTIVE --> new ADJECTIVE. The new adjective is indicated by the change of meaning. In this case, the prefix dis- brings the basic meaning ‘not’ to the adjectives. The prefix dis- attached to verbs are more productive than that attached to nouns and adjectives (Bauer, 1983 : 220).


REFERENCE

Bauer, Laurie. 1983. English Word Formation. New York: Cambridge University Press.

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English Prefix un-

There are two kinds of the prefix un- in English. The first is attached to adjectives to form new adjectives, and the second is attached to verbs to form new verbs. The two kinds of the prefix un- do not change the part of speech. The prefix un- attached to adjectives means ‘not’. Fromkin (1990: 130) calls this derivation antonym or negative. The examples of prefix un- attached to adjectives unable (un + able), unafraid (un + afraid), and unimportant (un + important)
The prefix un- can also be added to the adjectives of the derived words that have been formed by morphological rules (Fromkin, 1990 : 130). The examples are unacceptable (un + acceptable) unavoidable (un + avoidable), unbelievable (un + believable) unpredictable (un + predictable) and unreachable (un + readable).
Based on the examples above the rule of the prefix un- attached to adjectives can be stated as: {un-} + ADJECTIVE --> new ADJECTIVE. This rule says that the prefix un- attached to an adjective creates a new adjective. The new adjective is indicated by the change of meaning. In this case the prefix un- means ‘not’
The second prefix un- joins with verbs to form new verbs. In this case the prefix un- means ‘to do the opposite of ’ (Hornby, 1986: 935). The examples of the prefix un- which combines with verbs are unbind (un + bind), uncover (un + cover) undo (un + do) undress (un + dress) unload (un + load), unlock (un + lock) , untie (un +tie)
From the examples above, the rule of prefix un- attached to verbs can be stated as: {un-} + VERB --> new VERB. This rule says that the prefix un- attached to a verb creates a new verb. The new verb is indicated by the change of meaning namely ‘to do the opposite of’.

REFERENCE


Fromkin, Victoria A. 1990. An Introduction to Language. Sydney: Harcourt Brace
Jovanovich Group (Australia) Pty Limited.

Hornby, AS. 1986. Oxford Advanced Dictionary of Current English. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.