All´s well that´s starts well...Prefixes.

Actually the say is "All is well what ends well": Bien está lo que bien acaba.

So let´s start. This may look a little bit tough, but if you devote yourself (dedicar tiempo/esfuerzo a algo) to read this article carefully, you´ll be rewarded with hundreds of new words to your vocabulary.

A prefix is as you all know, a group of letters that is added to the begiNNing of a word to change its meaning.
Some of them are: anti-, auto-, -dis, extra-, hiper-, inter-, mega-, multi-, pre-, re-, sub-, tele-,...

We are going to review/ go over (repasar) some gramatic rules so you feel cofident when you use and especially when you spell them. Knowing the prefixes and their meanings will multiply by 10 the amount of words you already know and will provide you with good resources to face new vocabulary.





RULES:

-adding a prefix does NOT change the spelling of the original world, nor usually the spelling of the prefix.
Even when the last letter of the prefix and the first letter of the original world, are the same (disservice, dissimilar, unnecessary.)

What about dispirited (desanimado, abatido, deprimido)?
There are always exceptions, always being one of them. (Did you ever take notice of the origin of this word? Me neither! But it makes sense!)


- when all and well are used as prefixes, take away one -l (altogether, welfare.)
Except when the word is hyphenated (unida por guión) (well-adjusted, well-being, all-around.)


The prefixes dis-, mis-, un-, il-, im-, in-, ir-, create words that means the oPPosite of the root word (disobey, ilLLogical, inaPPlicable, iRReesponsible, misundertanding,...)


-be careful when a root word can take two or more different prefixes, as the resulting words will have different meanings.

-Disused/ Misused.

Disused: not being used, abandoned.

Misused: something that has been used incorrectly, not properly used.

i.e: I collected my children disused toys, intending to donate them to the fundraiser but years of misuse had left them unusable.



-Uninterested/ Misinterested.

Unintesrested: desinteresado. Adj: refers to a person that is not interested in something or someone.
i.e: He was totally uninterested in my work.

Disinterested: desinteresada (una acción, proposición,...). Adj: it defines an action or request that is done with no self-interest, selfelessly (desinteresadamente).
i.e: No worries, he  is a disinterested lawyer, and therefore uninterested in taking a bribe


(To take/ accept a bribe: aceptar un soborno.
To bribe somebody to do something: sobornar a alguien para que haga algo)