Have you read the last post about prefixes? This is a continuation. I’m happy with your progress and you know now what a prefix is. It’s time to discover what the most common prefixes are!
I’ll write a table with some of the common prefixes in Spanish, their meaning and, finally, an example. If you have doubts, you can ask me your questions in the comments below or send me an email (belriesco@outlook.com).
| PREFIJO (prefix) | SIGNIFICADO (meaning)* | EJEMPLO (example) |
| or an- (before vowel) | Negation. However, sometimes it hasn’t got a clear meaning (e.g. abaratar means “sell something cheaper -más barato-) and not the opposite (more expensive). | Abaratar, acortar, acromático*… |
| Anti- | With opposite properties. | Antimosquitos, antiacadémico… |
| De-, des- | Separation, negation, inversion, deprivation, reinforce the meaning of the word without the prefix. | Desabastecer, debajo, decaer, decolorar… |
| Ex- | Over and above, privation, something that was and it doesn’t exist in the present time. Sometimes it hasn’t got a meaning (exclamar*) | Expresidente, exmarido, extraer… |
| Extra- | Beyond, eminently. | Extracomunitario, extraordinario, extraterrestre… |
| Hiper- | Excess. | Hiperactivo, hipermercado, hipertensión*… |
| Hipo- | Below something. | Hipoalergénico, hipotensión*… |
| I-, in-, im- | Inside of something, negation, privation | Inacabable, ilegal, impaciencia*… |
| Macro- | Big. | Macrofotografía, macromolécula… |
| Micro- | Very small. | Microbio, microbiología, microscopio… |
| Multi- | A lot of something. | Multicéntrico, multicolor… |
| Poli- | Abundance, in abundance. | Polialcohol, polifacético/a… |
| Pos, post- | After something. | Postcirugía, posimpresionismo, posponer… |
| Sub- | Under. | Subacuático/a, subdelegado, subsuelo… |
*It has been taken from DLE (look at the references).
The solution to the last post is here:
–Extraterrestre (extraterrestrial). The prefix is EXTRA-
–Sobredosis (overdose). The prefix is SOBRE-
–Inaccesible (inaccessible). The prefix is IN-
–Preestreno (preview). The prefix is PRE-
–Reacción (reaction). The prefix is RE-
–Incapaz (unable). The prefix is IN-
I hope you like it! 😊 Please, share it with your contacts! I appreciate it! Thank you very much! Also, you can contact me here > belriesco@outlook.com
I see you in the next post!
Letras en Español – Ms. Riesco-Almeida©
REFERENCES
ASALE (online): Diccionario de la Lengua Española. Diccionario de la lengua española | Edición del Tricentenario | RAE – ASALE
Cambridge Universiry (online): Prefixes. Prefixes – English Grammar Today – Cambridge Dictionary
Letras en español 