6 Minute Vocabulary 6 Minute Vocabulary Hello and welcome to 6 Minute Vocabulary.
I'm Neil.
And I'm Finn.
In this programme we're looking at three prefixes – d spelt d-e, dis spelt d-y-s And dis spelt D-I-S.
Prefixes, or prefixes as some people say, are two or three letters that go at the beginning of a word and affect its meaning.
We'll look at what each prefix means and give you example sentences.
There'll be a quiz.
And we'll leave you with a top tip for learning vocabulary.
But first, let's listen to Gladys talking about her husband, Bert.
While you listen, think about this question.
Does Gladys agree with Bert's doctor?
Bert's dyspepsia, his indigestion, is quite bad at the moment.
It's causing him quite a bit of discomfort.
The doctor says it's because he eats too much fatty food.
She says the symptoms would disappear if Bert went on a detox diet.
No disrespect to the doctor, but I disagree.
I think it's caused by stress.
So we asked you, does Gladys agree with the doctor?
And the answer is no, she disagrees.
Gladys thinks her husband's indigestion is caused by stress.
But the doctor thinks it's due to a bad diet.
Disagree is the key word because it has the prefix dis, spelt d-i-s.
This means not.
So, by adding dis-, we can turn a word into its opposite.
So, disagree means not to agree.
And disrespect means not having respect.
Gladys says no disrespect to the doctor, meaning she doesn't want people to think she doesn't respect what the doctor says.
Let's hear another clip from Gladys with more prefixes.
Bert's dyspepsia, or indigestion, is quite bad at the moment.
It's causing him quite a bit of discomfort.
So, we had discomfort.
If you know what the word comfort means... Then you can work out what discomfort means.
Dis plus comfort gives us the opposite of comfort.
Bert's feeling uncomfortable.
And in the clip we heard the word dyspepsia.
Now, that's the medical word for indigestion, when your stomach feels very full and uncomfortable after you eat.
This word starts with the prefix dys, but this time it's spelt d-y-s.
This prefix is less common than dis- spelt d-i-s, but it also has a negative meaning.
It has the idea of being bad or abnormal.
So dyspepsia is a medical condition when your body can't process food in the normal way.
Other words with the prefix dys, spelt d-y-s, are dyslexia and dysfunctional.
People who have dyslexia have difficulty with reading.
And if something is dysfunctional, it doesn't work properly.
Let's have another clip with the prefix dis – D-I-S.
We'll also hear our next prefix.
She says the symptoms would disappear if Bert went on a detox diet.
So we had disappear, that's D-I-S plus appear.
Yes, and disappear means the opposite of appear.
We also had the word detox, which starts with the prefix D, spelt D-E.
Yes, the prefix D-E. spelt d-e, usually means take away or remove something.
So if something is described as a detox, d-tox, it means it takes away toxins or poisons.
A detox diet could be one with just fruit and vegetables.
I like to detox at the end of the day with a hot bath.
Six minutes vocabulary from the BBC.
And we're talking about the prefixes dis- spelt d-i-s, dis- spelt d-y-s and de- spelt d-e.
All these prefixes have a negative meaning.
And now it's quiz time.
Choose the correct word.
Number one.
One minute the dogs were playing in the garden.
The next minute, the garden was empty and they'd all A Disagreed, B Disappeared, C Detoxed.
Well, the answer to that is B disappeared.
Number two.
People who drink too much alcohol sometimes go to a clinic for a... A, dyspepsia.
B, discomfort.
C, detox.
The answer is C, detox.
And number three.
My daughter is having problems learning to read.
Her teacher thinks she may be... A, disrespectful.
B, dyslexic.
C, dysfunctional.
The answer is b, dyslexic.
And that's the end of the quiz.
Well done if you got them right.
Yes, well done.
And now here's our top tip for learning vocabulary.
When you see or hear a new word, see if you can break the word up.
If it starts with a prefix that you recognise, it may help you to understand the meaning.
There's more about this at bbclearningenglish.com.
Join us again for more 6 Minute Vocabulary.
Bye!
Six minutes vocabulary.
From the BBC.