Let's Learn English! Topic: Opposites with "-un" 🔐🔒🔓｜Learn English with Bob the Canadian

Well, hello and welcome to this English lesson about opposites with the prefix un.

Now, I kinda made the title wrong there.

I should have put the dash on the other side of un cuz.

Now it looks like a suffix, which is something that comes at the end, but it's not.

It's a prefix, something that comes before.

So you have many words in English that there's another word that goes with it that has UN at the beginning and it means the exact opposite.

I'll give you a quick example locked and unlocked, and you can probably guess this one happy and unhappy.

So welcome to this English lesson about words with the prefix un.

That make gonna say it turns the word into the opposite, but it it actually creates a whole new word that means the opposite.

So welcome to this English lesson about opposites with the prefix un. locked and unlocked.

So locked is closed with a lock so it cannot be opened easily.

And unlocked is not locked able to be opened.

So if you have a door or even if you have like your car, your car can be locked.

Maybe then people cannot easily open it.

It's locked.

Or you can unlock your car.

And then it is unlocked and it is easily open.

Notice as I do this lesson, I will inadvertently switch between using the descriptive adjective form and the verb form.

So you can lock your car and then it the car is locked.

It's a locked car.

And then you can unlock your car.

The verb and then it is an unlocked car.

So locked the You can lock your front door and then it is locked.

You can unlock your front door and then it is unlocked.

Locked.

Close with a lock so it cannot be easily be opened easily.

Unlocked, not locked, able to be opened. and unsafe.

Safe done in a way to prevent harm and then unsafe done in a way that might cause harm.

So you can see in these two pictures here, in the picture under safe, that are two things plugged into a power bar.

A few USB devices.

Everything is neat and organized and it is very safe to do it this way.

In the picture under the unsafe it There are cords plugged into splitters into cords into splitters.

There are more things plugged in here than you should really plug in and this is definitely unsafe.

Done in a way that might cause harm.

So you could in this unsafe photo you could start a fire.

Now I should expand on this.

You could say I live in a very safe part of town or I live in a very unsafe part of town.

So you can use it to describe areas as well.

Um or maybe you know someone who's I'm trying to think like you could even describe a person's car.

You could say it's safe to ride in his car because it's a new car, or you could say it's unsafe to ride in that car because it's falling apart.

So the descriptions you can expand on a bit to include other things as well.

Safe.

Done in a way to prevent harm, or something that will not will not do harm, and then unsafe, done in a way that might cause harm or something that will not cause harm.

Safe and unsafe.

Happy and unhappy, happy, feeling pleased or joyful.

I am feeling quite happy today.

Unhappy, feeling sad or not satisfied.

Trying to make my sad face.

It's it's not working.

Probably not a good day to make faces.

I'm in I'm definitely in a happy mood today.

I'm feeling pleased and joyful.

It's a nice day.

It's the last day of the work week.

I am looking forward to go to work.

A few days ago, I was unhappy mostly because I was really busy.

During the last week of May and the beginning of June there are a lot of extra expectations at work.

Things I have to do.

The one night I worked on school stuff till almost 11 o'clock at night.

I was kind of unhappy that day.

So happy.

Feeling pleased or joyful.

Unhappy.

Feeling sad or not satisfied. and uncooked.

Food prepared by heating is cooked.

So that egg is cooked.

We might also say it's fried.

Uncooked.

Food that is raw.

Food that is uncooked.

So this egg closest to me is uncooked.

It's raw.

It needs to be cooked before you eat it.

And then the far egg under the word cooked is an egg that has been cooked and is ready to eat.

Some food does need to be cooked in order to be safe to eat.

Um by the way we don't usually use uncooked to talk about foods that you don't normally cook.

So you would eat a banana raw and wouldn't refer to a banana as uncooked.

But I would refer to lots of different meats or eggs or those types of things as uncooked, if they are not ready to eat after having been heated.

Wrapped and unwrapped.

Wrapped is covered or enclosed in paper, cloth or another material, then unwrapped is.

The wrapping has been removed or has not yet been put on.

So I really like the verb tenses in that sentence.

So if you have a gift, when you give the gift to someone, you like to give the gift wrapped.

You put wrapping paper on it, you wrap the gift.

But before you wrap the gift, the gift is unwrapped.

And after the person takes the wrapping paper off, the gift is unwrapped.

So that word can actually refer to two different areas, wrapped and unwrapped. and uneven.

Even would be the same on both sides or ends and then uneven would be not the same all over.

You can see this person's hair in the far picture.

The hair is even.

The across the bottom.

When I was walking through the barn this week, there was a broom and the bristles of the broom were very uneven.

I think from lots of use.

So uneven would be not the same all over.

So again, if you look at the far picture, the hair is even.

It is the same on both sides or ends.

In the closer picture, the hair is uneven.

It is not the same all over.

Covered and uncovered.

This is one of my pet peeves when I'm at a market.

The far picture covered means having something placed over or spread across something.

And you can see there are some baked goods and they are covered.

They cover them so that flies don't land on them.

In the closer picture though we have some that are uncovered.

Not having anything placed over something.

So.

So in Canada when you sell food outdoors, you are supposed to have it covered, because in Canada we have flies and black flies and mosquitoes and all kinds of different insects that might land on the food.

So in the far picture we The food is covered.

Something has been placed over or spread across the food.

In this case, a glass lid has been placed over the food.

And in the closer picture, uncovered not having anything placed over it. and untied.

So we have a person here who needs to deal with a shoe that is untied.

In the far picture tied fastened with a knot or bow.

So a knot is when you put two pieces of string or rope together.

A bow is when there is a loop in it.

So if you look at the tied shoe it It's tied but it also has two bows.

In the closer picture here, untied, not fastened with a knot or loose.

Every once in a while, one of my kids will be um walking around and they will have one of their shoes untied and I'll say hey, your shoes untied.

You should tie it. folded and unfolded.

Folded would be bent so that one part lies over another.

Unfolded would be opened from a folded position.

So, obviously, these are related to each other.

Something cannot be unfolded it has first been folded I think.

Is that correct?

In this picture we have a napkin.

Uh in the far picture the napkin has been folded.

It has been folded Bent, I guess bent is the word to use, but I wanna use the word folded again.

It has been folded over itself.

And so it looks really nice and tidy.

The person in this picture, now has an unfolded napkin because they have decided to use the napkin.

So, they have opened it from that folded position.

So, fold it.

That's so that one part lies over another.

Unfolded, opened from a folded position.

Plugged in and unplugged.

So when something is plugged in, it's connected to a power source or outlet.

So it is unplugged it is disconnected from a power source or outlet.

So you might be wondering.

By the way, the picture from the plugged definition that's what things look like in North America, and then the unplugged is definitely from a different country than mine.

If you're wondering why I added the word in when you have something like a pair of headphones or something that you need to plug in the wall we use plugged in.

So, the toaster is plugged in.

The phone is plugged in to charge.

It is connected to a power source or outlet and then, oh, why is the toaster not working?

It's unplugged.

When you use the word plugged, should have made another set of slides, because you could say the sink is plugged.

The toilet is plugged.

That means water doesn't go down it.

And then you need to use either a sewer snake or a plunger to unplug it.

So let me back up.

You could say the toaster is plugged in.

The the toaster isn't working because it's unplugged.

You could say the toilet won't flush.

It is plugged and then you could say I use the plunger and now the toilet is unplugged.

So I should have made two different sets of slides for that.

Uh but that's how you would use those two. finished and unfinished.

Finished means completed.

No more work needs to be done and you see the Millennial Falcon made out of Legos there, and then you have unfinished, not completed, still needing work.

I believe this is the same Lego set and if you look at the far picture, it is finished and, And if you look at the picture closest to me, it's definitely unfinished.

So, finished would be completed.

No more work needs to be done.

Unfinished, not completed, still needing work.

I would love to do this Lego set but I would need a lot of time and patience.

I think there are a lot of pieces in it painted and unpainted.

So if something is painted, it's covered with paint.

If it's unpainted, it's not covered with paint.

So this is actually the same photo and I took two different little clips of it.

In the first photo, the man has already painted the front of the car.

So he took paint and he covered it with paint.

So in the top one, the front of the car is painted.

Sorry, in the far one.

In the closer picture, it is unpainted, not covered with paint.

And you can see he is in the process of painting it right now.

So painted, covered with paint, unpainted, not covered with paint. good for you.

Unhealthy, not good for you.

So, if you eat vegetables, they are considered healthy.

I would say carrots and corn and peppers and cucumbers are all healthy food.

If you eat a donut, it is unhealthy.

It is not good for you.

I would say that cookies and muffins and you don't.

If you eat too many they're unhealthy.

Or if you eat them every day, it's unhealthy food.

You can have a donut once a week, that's allowed, I think.

Um so healthy, good for you unhealthy, not good for you.

Now there is a slight change as well.

You could use this to describe a person, So you could say that Joe is very healthy.

Jim is very unhealthy.

So in that case it would mean they are actually in good shape and feeling well, or they might be out of shape, where they don't have very strong muscles or they're overweight and they are unhealthy.

So healthy, good for you.

Unhealthy, not good for you.

Lucky, having good things happen by chance.

Unlucky, having bad things happen by chance.

So we have two pictures here.

In the first picture the person is lucky because they brought an umbrella and it doesn't look like it's raining, but the sun came out.

So they might describe their day by saying I was expecting rain, but I was lucky the sun was out on my walk to work,

So things?

A good thing happened by chance.

The closer picture, you see a person running holding, I think, a newspaper over their head and it's raining.

They were not prepared.

They were unlucky.

So they might say to someone I was really unlucky.

I unlucky.

As I walked to work, it started raining and it wasn't supposed to rain today.

So, lucky.

Having good things happen by chance.

Unlucky.

Having bad things happen by chance.

Comfortable, uncomfortable.

I will say the words a few times because we really mush this word together.

We don't say comfortable.

Okay, don't say that.

We say comfortable, comfortable, uncomfortable.

When something is comfortable, it's cozy and nice to use or wear.

So I would say in the picture for comfortable, it looks like a comfortable couch.

She looks like she's wearing a comfortable sweater and she has a nice comfortable blanket beside her.

Also in English, sometimes use the informal word comfy.

It's a comfy couch, a comfy sweater, a comfy blanket.

Under the uncomfortable, not nice to use or wear.

This person does not look as relaxed.

This.

I don't know if this couch he's sitting in a way that makes me think the couch is uncomfortable.

So comfortable, cozy and nice to use or wear.

Uncomfortable, not nice to use or wear. balanced and unbalanced.

So, if something is balanced, it's even and not likely to fall over.

So we see four stones all nicely on top of each other and when you look at it you feel like it might stand if that was at the beach.

That pile of rock that is rocks, that is balanced might stay all day.

This pile is unbalanced.

It's uneven and it's likely to fall over.

Especially the middle stone.

Stone number three.

Makes the whole little stack of stones look very unbalanced.

It looks like it could fall over at any time.

It's at risk of falling over at any time.

So balanced, even, not likely to fall over.

Unbalanced, uneven, likely to fall over.

Now, if you know anything about cars, tires on cars are balanced and and if something happens, if there's a defect, they might be unbalanced.

When a tire is balanced, they actually spin the tire and then they know where to attach a weight so it spins without vibrating or shaking or anything like that.

But if that little weight falls off or if something happens where the tire is damaged, it might start to shake or vibrate because it has become unbalanced.

So a lot of different uses for this word. and unclear.

When something is clear it's easy to see, hear, or understand.

When it's unclear it's difficult to see, hear, or understand.

In the pictures we're talking about sight. it's very clear.

You can see through the window.

You can see that the person sitting there is drinking tea.

She has a ring on her finger.

It's you're able to see her.

It is clear.

In the second picture it's a little bit blurry.

It's unclear.

It's difficult to see her.

But also use this to talk about listening.

Like I had trouble hearing the speaker.

The things he were saying it wasn't clear.

Or it was very unclear.

Sorry I should use the unversion.

We do negate using not as well sometimes.

So the speaker didn't use a mic. but he was very clear.

I could hear him.

He was, he spoke loud enough.

He was very clear or he didn't speak very loudly and it was unclear what he was saying.

We also use it to talk about understanding.

My description might be very clear and you understand what I'm saying, or it might be unclear and you're confused and don't know what I'm saying.

Equal and unequal.

Equal would be the same in amount, size, or value.

You have two children here.

They each have three candies.

The.

The teacher has decided to give them each an equal amount, or their parent has given them an equal amount.

The second picture though, we have unequal, not the same in amount, size or value.

So you have two kids here and for some reason the one kid has four candies and the other kid has two candies.

So that is an unequal amount.

So equal would be the same, unequal would be not the same amount Acceptable and unacceptable.

I will admit I used AI to make this photo cuz I thought it would be funny.

Acceptable would be good enough to be allowed or approved.

Unacceptable, would be not good enough to be allowed or approved.

Let's say I was having a birthday in the summer.

And Jen ordered a cake.

She would want the cake to say happy birthday Bob.

And when she went to pick up the cake, it would be acceptable if it looked like the cake with the blue icing.

And If Jen went to pick up the cake and it said happy birthday, bib.

If the O was an I, that would be unacceptable.

Jen would say I don't I can't take this home.

Bib I mean Bob will not be happy if I bring this cake home.

He will be he will be wondering who's bib.

Why did you get a cake that says happy birthday bib?

If you don't know my name is Bob.

B-O-B.

So the far cake would be acceptable.

The cake in the closer picture would be unacceptable.

Able and unable.

I am able to do a live stream today.

I was unable to make a video earlier this week for you.

When you are able to do something, you are having the skill or power to do something, or the time you're unable to do it, you're not having the skill or power to do something, or the time.

It's probably more common to talk about time.

Like I'm able to go to work today.

I feel really good.

I'm not sick.

Um I had breakfast.

I required to go to work but I'm also able to go to work.

A few weeks ago I was unable to go to work because I was not feeling well.

So I didn't have the ability to do that.

So when you are able to do something it means that you you can do it.

When you're unable to do something, it means you can't do it for various reasons, and I know can and can't are hard to hear.

So, let me say that again.

When you are able to do something, you can do it.

When you are unable to do something, you can't do it, you can't do it.

Okay um, certain and uncertain.

So I did get AI to make this photo.

Certain is when you are sure about something um, and I had it make a sign that says uh, scenic view, harder trail, and this guy under the word certain looks pretty positive.

Uncertain though, means you are not sure about something, and the lady in this picture looks uncertain.

She's not sure she wants to do the harder trail.

So, when you are certain, you are sure about something. know I'm certain my name is Bob.

It's not bib.

When you are uncertain about something you're not sure about something. and uncommon.

Uh in the far picture you see something that is found in many places not rare.

This is a Canadian stamp.

You will see Canadian stamps everywhere.

In the closer image though under the word uncommon we see a US postage stamp.

This is very rare.

It is not very common.

If you have one you should try to figure out how much it is worth.

It is worth a lot of money.

So common something you see everywhere.

In Canada at least in my part of Canada maple trees are very common but palm trees are uncommon.

So you will see a maple tree, that I can see three right now, but if I want to see a palm tree, I have to go to a greenhouse or somewhere where they control the climate, known and unknown.

So, this is a little, I'm just making a little joke here.

Known would be recognized or familiar to people.

So, we all know in the far picture that that is Matt Damon.

And then unknown would be someone who no one knows who it is.

And I put Timothy Chalamet here because he A few years ago I went to see a movie and he was an unknown to me.

I didn't know who he was, but my family... said he's the most popular actor right now.

So unknown would be not recognized or familiar to people.

So again when I went to see what movie did I go see?

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory?

Was that the one?

Anyways I went to see a movie with Timothée Chalamet and he was unknown to me.

I did not know Tim He was a famous actor but Matt Damon is known.

He is recognized or familiar to people.

So, yes, Timothee Chalamet.

I I should say this though.

Let me say something positive about Timothee.

He speaks fluent English and French and that is really cool.

So, good job, Timothee Chalamet.

Popular and unpopular.

Popular would be liked by many people.

Unpopular would be not liked by many people.

So this can be almost anything.

A movie can be very popular or a movie can be very unpopular.

A musician can be very popular or unpopular.

Um unpopular usually means people don't like it.

So they know about the person or they know about the thing and they don't like it.

So it's different than unknown.

Um in at least in my opinion.

So popular, liked by many people, unpopular, not liked by many people.

True.

I had a little bit of fun with this one as well.

True, would be correct and in agreement with the facts.

And we see a poster here that says um World Series bound, and these are the Toronto Blue Jays from the fall of 2025.

So in the fall of 2025, the Toronto Blue Jays.

When you say they're bound, it means they're going to the World Series.

They were they were going to play against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Untrue means not correct, not in agreement with the facts.

And here you see a poster where it says World Series champs.

This is untrue.

This is not true.

This is fake.

So, what is true is the Blue Jays were World Series bound.

They were going to the World Series.

What is true is that they lost the World Series.

But just to have a little bit of fun, I made some fake news here where it says World Series champs.

Look how excited they were.

But this is untrue.

It is not correct.

It is not in agreement with the facts.

Wise and unwise.

Wise would be showing good judgment and understanding.

And unwise would be showing poor judgment or understanding.

So here we have two skiers.

It would be wise to go down the easy way.

And it would be unwise to go down the very, very challenging experts only part of the ski hill.

I have made this decision before.

I have made the unwise decision and then I had to go down really slowly, basically jumping and turning for most of the slope.

So and unselfish.

A selfish person would be someone who is caring mostly about yourself and your own needs.

So if you care mostly about yourself and your own needs you may be considered selfish.

If you are unselfish it means caring about the needs of others as well as your own.

So in the first picture we have the I would think is maybe a selfish person.

He has lots of food and he is not sharing. a lot of food.

It's very very North American types of food there.

And then unselfish would be caring about the needs of others as well as your own.

We have someone who is handing the food to someone else and sharing it.

So selfish caring mainly mainly about yourself and your own needs.

Unselfish caring about the needs of others as well as your own.

Hurt, injured or feeling pain, unhurt, not injured or unharmed.

So, we have two car accidents here. the word hurt.

We have a lady who is holding her arm.

She is probably injured and feeling pain.

But the person in the closer picture he seems fine.

He's unhurt.

He's not injured or unharmed.

So you'll often read a news article.

And it might say something like car accident on Highway 27.

Occupants of both vehicles are unhurt.

Miraculously, they're unhurt.

Or you might hear that three were hurt in the crash and one was unhurt.

So hurt, injured, or feeling pain.

Unhurt, not injured, or harmed.

[英語詞彙教學：以「un-」作為前綴的相反詞]-[Let's Learn English! Topic: Opposites with "-un" 🔐🔒🔓]

📋 Summary

透過前綴「un-」構建相反詞

常用詞彙解析

總結

🎯Key Sentences

📝Key Phrases

📖 Transcript