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MUSCOVITE Posted 12 years ago
Grammar

Negative prefixes in English

Hi,

(1) un-, non-,ir-,im-, in-, il-, dis-, anti-, counter-, contra-

Is this list complete?
Can all of these be referred to as "prefixes"?

(2) The adjective 'flammable' can be preceded by either "in-" or "non-" (so both 'inflammable' and 'nonflammable' are valid English words afaik).

What OTHER adjectives allow alternative negative prefixes to be prepended to them?

(3) "nonvolatile" is no doubt perfect English.
Would it be correct to say that "involatile" is ok too?

(4) "counterproductive" / "unproductive" are both valid words, aren't they?

The more examples, the merrier :-)

mus-te
  

Top answer

1. " 2. " And the prefix "in" is not always a negative one, for example: inflame, incite, invoke, and increase do not have a negative sense.

— Anonymous

  • 1.
  • " 2.
  • " And the prefix "in" is not always a negative one, for example: inflame, incite, invoke, and increase do not have a negative sense.
  • 3.
  • I don't believe that involatile is a valid word.
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1 Answers
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1. There are others, for example: "de" (dewater, defrost), "pseudo."

2. The word "inflammable" is rather unusual in that it means the same thing as "flammable." The "in" here does not mean "non." And the prefix "in" is not always a negative one, for example: inflame, incite, invoke, and increase do not have a negative sense.

3. I don't believe that involatile is a valid w
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