Prefixes 3 Ta | 1 @ Anumber of prefixes have the meaning ‘not’ in English. Look at the following examples using il- / ir- / im- / un-. What do they tell you about the use of these prefixes? For example, which kind of words take the prefix il-? 1. Icisillegal to drive a car in England without insurance. 2 You can wy and read the letter but my handwriting is almost illegible. 3. There are still millions of people in the world who are illiterate. 4 Some people think itis irrational to be frightened of flying, 5, Journalists often work irregular hours. 6 Tthink itis very irresponsible of people to drink and drive. 7 Pm afraid it’s impractical for me to work in two different buildings because spend more time travelling than working, 8 In England people think you are being impolite if you don’ thank you. WARNING ANGRY DRIVERS: 9 People often get very impatient when they drive in big cities. 10 I'm afraid his work is- very unsatisfactory, so we may have to dismiss him, 11 My bedroom is often untidy because I leave my clothes all over the floor. 12. When I started work, I found many of my colleagues were unfriendly. b Can you think of more examples which either follow the pattern or break it? @ Look at the following grid and put a circle (©) round the cross (x) which describes your own personality. Example: means you are very patient. _ means you are not very patient and not very impatient — i.e. average. & impatient ‘means you are quite impatient But not very imp: {patient x x x XX impatient ~ polite x x xX xX impolite practical XX XXX impracti rational x xX x XX ~~ itrational responsible xX XX x responsible tidy x x xX x x untidy friendly x =X x x Xx unfriendly | b Now compare your grid with your partner’s. Have you got similar personalities? LMT © Cambridge University Press 1996 13