there are several ways to form the negative of a word in English,

a- is mostly used in formal or technical words to indicate lacking

in or lack of:
amorphous (lacking in shape), amoral (lacking in morals)
dis- is also used with verbs, adjectives and nouns to form
opposites: dislike,
disobedient, distrust
dys- is used with nouns and adjectives to mean bad or difficult:
dysfunctional, dyslexia
il- is used to form opposites before the letter l: illogical
im- is used to form opposites before the letters b, m, p:
imbalance, immaterial, impossible
in- is used to form opposites, such as: inaccurate, inexact
ir- is used to form opposites before the letter r: irregular,
irresponsible
But note that a few words starting with r have un- as a negative
prefix: unreliable
non-/non are two of the most used negative prefixes added to
nouns, adjectives and adverbs to
indicate an absence of something: a non-drinker, a non-slip floor,
or speaking non-stop.
Most of these non-words are hyphenated in BE: non-cooperation,
non-existent but are
spelt as one word in AE: noncooperation, nonexistent.
un/un- is added to adjectives and indicates the opposite quality
from the positive word:
unexpected = surprising, unwise = foolish.
when we add a prefix such as in- or un- or dis-,im-, il-, non, ir- etc. to the beginning of
adjectives, adverbs and verbs giving them the opposite meaning, are there any hard and fast
rules governing all these? For example,
before "r" one has to use "ir" like irreparable;
before "l",use "il" like illogical;
before "t", use "dis" like distrust;
before "c, b or s" use "un or in" like uncomfortable/unbelievable and
incomplete/incredible/insanity;
before "p", use "im" like impossible;
before "h or f", use "un" like unhappy/unfettered;
before a noun, use "non" like non-smoker, etc.
Prefixes are often used to give adjectives a negative meaning. The most common adjective prefixes are un-,
in- and dis-: uncomfortable, inconvenient, dissimilar, ...
in- becomes im- before a root beginning with 'm' or 'p' (immature, impatient), ir- before a word beginning with
'r' (irregular) and il- before a word beginning with 'l' (illegal, illiterate).
in- does not always have a negative meaning; it often gives the idea of inside or into: internal, import, ...
un- and dis- can also form the opposites of verbs: appear/disappear, load/unload, ...

EX. 1

Adjectives and negative prefixes

Gap-fill exercise. Fill out with the words given below.

conscious

dis-

un-

il-

im-

in-

ir-

dis-

un-

il-

im-

in-

ir-

patient
relevant
attractive
literate
flexible
regular
agreeable
mature
convenient
tasteful
moral
legal

responsible
significant
possible
legible
honest
rational
explicable

justified
mortal
reversible
destructible
perfect
dis-

un-

il-

im-

in-

ir-

friendly
soluble
polite
logical
interesting
separable
replaceable
necessary
pleased

EX. 2
Use the correct negative prefixes to give the following adjectives an opposite
meaning.
conscious
convenient
correct
employed
fair
formal
friendly
healthy
honest
legal
necessary
pleasant

polite
punctual
regular
satisfactory
successful
tidy
usual
well
Add prefixes to the adjectives below and put them into the correct column in the
table
Usual, mature, expensive, enthusiastic, dependent, legible, correct, happy, proper,
attentive, interested, perfect, married, credible, possible, literate, fair, kind,
numerable, personal, logical patient, visible, important, believable, adequate,
sensitive, legitimate, friendly, prudent, polite, modest, intelligent, natural, practical,
mobile,
UnInImil-

EX. 1A

Adjectives and negative prefixes

Gap-fill exercise. Fill out with the words given below.

Write a X for every possible combination, a 0 (zero) for impossible combinations. The first is
done as an example.

conscious

dis-

un-

il-

im-

in-

ir-

patient

relevant

attractive

literate

flexible

regular

agreeable

mature

convenient

tasteful

moral

legal

dis-

un-

in-

ir-

responsible

significant

possible

legible

honest

rational

explicable

justified

mortal

reversible

destructible

perfect

dis-

un-

in-

ir-

friendly

soluble

polite

logical

interesting

il-

il-

im-

im-

separable

replaceable

necessary

pleased

EX. 2A

Use the correct negative prefixes to give the following adjectives an opposite meaning.

unconscious
inconvenient
incorrect
unemployed
unfair
informal
unfriendly
unhealthy
dishonest
illegal
unnecessary
unpleasant
impolite
unpunctual
irregular
unsatisfactory
unsuccessful
untidy
unusual
unwell