Negative prefixes worksheet for practicing antonyms using words like patient, helpful, and polite.

Let's solve this step-by-step.

We are given a list of positive adjectives:

> patient; helpful; polite; comfortable; healthy; responsible; honest; tolerant; fit; loyal; rational; attractive; mature; ambitious; sensitive

Our task is to:
1. Use negative prefixes (like *un-*, *dis-*, *in-*, *im-*, *ir-*, *il-*) to create the opposite meaning of each adjective.
2. Then use those negated words to complete the sentences.

---

Step 1: Form the negative versions of the adjectives

Let’s go through the list and apply appropriate negative prefixes:

| Original Adjective | Negative Prefix | Opposite Word |
|--------------------|------------------|---------------|
| patient | un- | impatient |
| helpful | un- | unhelpful |
| polite | un- | impolite |
| comfortable | un- | uncomfortable |
| healthy | un- | unhealthy |
| responsible | un- | irresponsible |
| honest | un- | dishonest |
| tolerant | un- | intolerant |
| fit | un- | unfit |
| loyal | un- | unloyal |
| rational | ir- | irrational |
| attractive | un- | unattractive |
| mature | im- / un- | immature |
| ambitious | un- | unambitious |
| sensitive | un- | insensitive |

Note:
- "Un-" is the most common prefix for negation in English.
- "In-" → "im-", "ir-", "il-" depending on the word's beginning sound.
- For example: *irrational* (not "inrational"), *impossible*, *illegal*, etc.
- "Immature" uses im-, not "un-", because it's a standard form.

---

Step 2: Fill in the blanks with the correct opposite word

Now, let’s go sentence by sentence and choose the best fitting word from the list above.

---

1. Eating a lot of junk food is ________ for you.
→ Junk food is bad for health → unhealthy

✔ unhealthy

2. Sam often tells lies. He is very ________.
→ Lies = not honest → dishonest

✔ dishonest

3. Some of my friends are so ________, they hate waiting.
→ Hate waiting = not patient → impatient

✔ impatient

4. Mary had an ________ fear of cats.
→ Fear of cats = irrational fear → irrational

✔ irrational

5. It was ________ of him to leave his little brother alone.
→ Leaving a younger sibling alone = not responsible → irresponsible

✔ irresponsible

6. Our new manager is ________ of stupid people.
→ Not accepting stupid people → not tolerant → intolerant

✔ intolerant

7. He’s a nice little boy, a bit ________, but very intelligent.
→ A bit immature (childish) → immature

✔ immature

8. Peter often says mean things about his friends behind their backs. He’s very ________.
→ Says bad things = not loyal → unloyal

✔ unloyal

9. The authorities are being ________. They don’t do anything about the problem.
→ Don't act → not helpful → unhelpful

✔ unhelpful

10. This sofa is so ________, it’s impossible to sit on it.
→ Impossible to sit → not comfortable → uncomfortable

✔ uncomfortable

11. An ________ person doesn’t think about other people’s feelings.
→ Doesn’t care about feelings → not sensitive → insensitive

✔ insensitive

12. It was very ________ of you to show your tongue to that old lady!
→ Showing tongue = not polite → impolite

✔ impolite

13. Many children are so ________. They are unable to do even basic exercises.
→ Unable to exercise → not fit → unfit

✔ unfit

14. An ________ person does not have a strong wish to be successful, powerful, or rich.
→ No ambition → unambitious

✔ unambitious

15. I don’t like this building. It’s very ________.
→ Not appealing → not attractive → unattractive

✔ unattractive

---

✔ Final Answers:

1. unhealthy
2. dishonest
3. impatient
4. irrational
5. irresponsible
6. intolerant
7. immature
8. unloyal
9. unhelpful
10. uncomfortable
11. insensitive
12. impolite
13. unfit
14. unambitious
15. unattractive

---

Summary of Key Concepts:

- Negative prefixes change the meaning of adjectives to their opposite.
- Common prefixes: un-, in-, im-, ir-, il-
- The choice of prefix depends on the root word and pronunciation.
- Practice helps you remember which prefix fits best.

💡 Tip: Remember that "un-" is the most common, but "im-" is used before words starting with m, p, b (e.g., *impossible*, *impatient*, *immature*), while "ir-" is used before r (e.g., *irrational*, *irregular*).

✔ Practice makes perfect! 🎉