Prefixes and suffixes worksheet for language learning.

Let’s go through each sentence one by one. We’ll look at the word in brackets and decide which prefix or suffix from the list makes the most sense to complete the sentence correctly.

Remember:
- Prefixes go BEFORE the word (like DIS-, UN-, IM-, RE-)
- Suffixes go AFTER the word (like -ING, -ED, -ANCE, -FUL, -ABLE, -LY, -OUS, -ER)

We want the new word to fit the meaning of the sentence.

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1. “I can’t answer this question. It’s… (POSSIBLE).”
→ If you can’t answer it, it must be *not possible*. So we add a prefix that means “not”.
“IM-” is used before words starting with ‘p’ → IMPOSSIBLE

2. “Don’t stand near the water. It’s too… (DANGER).”
→ We need an adjective meaning “full of danger”. Add suffix “-OUS” → DANGEROUS

3. “I don’t like this fish. It’s not very well… (COOK).”
→ We’re describing how the fish was prepared. Use past participle + “ed” → COOKED

4. “Kate started crying because she was so… (HAPPY)”
→ Crying suggests sadness → opposite of happy → add prefix “UN-” → UNHAPPY

5. “If you have a haircut it will change your… (APPEAR)”
→ We need a noun meaning “how you look” → add suffix “-ANCE” → APPEARANCE

6. “Paul never waits in queues. He is too… (PATIENT)”
→ Not waiting = impatient → add prefix “IM-” → IMPATIENT

7. “Thank you for your advice. You have been very… (HELP).”
→ Describing someone who gives help → add suffix “-FUL” → HELPFUL

8. “Stealing other people’s money is… (HONEST)”
→ Stealing is dishonest → add prefix “DIS-” → DISHONEST

9. “Our science… is very young. (TEACH)”
→ Talking about teaching as a subject/field → add suffix “-ING” → TEACHING

10. “Harry didn’t think the book was very… (INTEREST).”
→ Didn’t like it? Probably boring → add suffix “-ING” → INTERESTING
*(Note: Even if he didn’t like it, the correct grammatical form here is “interesting” — the sentence says “was very ___”, so we use the adjective form.)*

11. “A million pounds was given to the hospital by an… person (KNOWN)”
→ Someone whose name isn’t known → add prefix “UN-” → UNKNOWN

12. “When you… this paragraph, make it a bit shorter (WRITE)”
→ Action happening now or generally → use present tense verb → no prefix/suffix needed? Wait — maybe they want “rewrite”? But the instruction says “make it shorter”, which implies changing it again → so “REWRITE” fits better with prefix “RE-” → REWRITE

Wait — let’s check: The base word is “WRITE”. To mean “write again”, we use “RE-” → REWRITE

But the sentence says “when you ___ this paragraph, make it shorter” — that sounds like editing, so “rewrite” is perfect.

13. “Mary was wearing a/an… hat (USUAL)”
→ A hat that stands out → unusual → add prefix “UN-” → UNUSUAL

14. “That was a great film. It was really… (ENJOY)”
→ Describing the film → add suffix “-ABLE” → ENJOYABLE

15. “I like this town. The people are very… (FRIEND)”
→ Friendly people → add suffix “-LY” → FRIENDLY

16. “I don’t think you’re right. I… with you completely (AGREE)”
→ Disagreeing → add prefix “DIS-” → DISAGREE

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Now let’s double-check all answers:

1. IMPOSSIBLE ✔
2. DANGEROUS ✔
3. COOKED ✔
4. UNHAPPY ✔
5. APPEARANCE ✔
6. IMPATIENT ✔
7. HELPFUL ✔
8. DISHONEST ✔
9. TEACHING ✔
10. INTERESTING ✔
11. UNKNOWN ✔
12. REWRITE ✔
13. UNUSUAL ✔
14. ENJOYABLE ✔
15. FRIENDLY ✔
16. DISAGREE ✔

All make sense grammatically and logically.

Final Answer:
1. impossible
2. dangerous
3. cooked
4. unhappy
5. appearance
6. impatient
7. helpful
8. dishonest
9. teaching
10. interesting
11. unknown
12. rewrite
13. unusual
14. enjoyable
15. friendly
16. disagree