Forming new words by prefixes MCQ — 15 Practice Questions with Answers

Explanation

A negative prefix must form an accepted standard word, not merely a logical-looking form. The cue is "not honest". Standard English uses "dis-" with "honest", giving "dishonest". Therefore only option A is correct; "unhonest", "mishonest", and "inhonest" are not standard forms for this meaning.

Explanation

The prefix 'mis-' means wrongly, badly, or incorrectly. The cue is 'stressing or sounding them wrongly', so the required verb is 'pronounce wrongly'. The only standard word with this meaning is 'mispronounce'.

Explanation

The negative prefix 'in-' changes spelling before some consonants: before 'p' it becomes 'im-', before 'l' it becomes 'il-', and before 'r' it becomes 'ir-'. The cue is the word 'possible', which takes 'im-', not 'in-'. Therefore only 'inpossible' is incorrectly formed; the other three are standard words.

Explanation

The rule is that the negative prefix in- changes to im- before many words beginning with m or p. The cue is the faulty form inmature. The correct adjective is immature, meaning not fully developed or not behaving like an adult. Impossible, irregular, and disappear are standard words, so only inmature is incorrectly formed.

Explanation

The negative prefix "in-" changes form according to the first letter or sound of the base word. The cues are l, p, r, and a: before l it becomes "il-", before p it becomes "im-", before r it becomes "ir-", and before many other letters it remains "in-". Thus legal becomes illegal, patient becomes impatient, regular becomes irregular, and active becomes inactive. Therefore only option B gives the correct matching.