Basic Negation — Fill in the Gap, Set 1 (A2)

Your task

Fill in the gap in each sentence with the correct word or phrase.

0 / 15 answered

Your score

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Keep practising! Focus on the explanations below.

She cried all evening after hearing the bad news. She was very . (HAPPY)

Correct answer: unhappy

Add the prefix un- to "happy" to form "unhappy" — meaning sad or not happy. Un- is a very common negative prefix added to adjectives.

He always gets the best projects at work. His colleagues think it is . (FAIR)

Correct answer: unfair

Add un- to "fair" to form "unfair" — not treating people equally or justly.

The old bridge had cracks in it. The engineers said it was to cross. (SAFE)

Correct answer: unsafe

Add un- to "safe" to form "unsafe" — dangerous or not safe to use.

He laughed at her mistake in front of everyone. That was very of him. (KIND)

Correct answer: unkind

Add un- to "kind" to form "unkind" — not kind; hurtful or unpleasant to others.

The chair was too hard and the back was broken. Sitting in it was very . (COMFORTABLE)

Correct answer: uncomfortable

Add un- to "comfortable" to form "uncomfortable" — not comfortable; causing physical or emotional discomfort.

It is to see snow in April here. It almost never happens. (USUAL)

Correct answer: unusual

Add un- to "usual" to form "unusual" — not normal or not expected. Note that "usual" starts with a vowel, but un- is still used (not in-).

Snow leopards are quite . Very few people ever see one in the wild. (COMMON)

Correct answer: uncommon

Add un- to "common" to form "uncommon" — not common; rare or unusual.

She forgot her password and could not her phone. (LOCK)

Correct answer: unlock

Add un- to the verb "lock" to form "unlock" — to open a lock. When un- is added to a verb, it means "to reverse the action": lock → unlock, pack → unpack, fold → unfold.

They arrived at the hotel and immediately started to their suitcases. (PACK)

Correct answer: unpack

Add un- to the verb "pack" to form "unpack" — to take things out of a bag or box. The opposite action of packing.

The doctor asked the patient to so he could examine him. (DRESS)

Correct answer: undress

Add un- to "dress" to form "undress" — to take off one's clothes. The opposite of getting dressed.

The cause of the fire is still . The police are investigating. (KNOWN)

Correct answer: unknown

Add un- to "known" to form "unknown" — not known or not identified. Often used for things not yet discovered or identified.

He broke his wrist and was to write for several weeks. (ABLE)

Correct answer: unable

Add un- to "able" to form "unable" — not able to do something. Note: "unable" (un-) not "inable" (in-). This is a common learner error.

His handwriting was very . Nobody in the class could read it. (CLEAR)

Correct answer: unclear

Add un- to "clear" to form "unclear" — not easy to understand or see. Both "unclear" and "not clear" are correct, but "unclear" is the word formation target here.

He had a terrible week — he lost his wallet and then missed his train. He was very . (LUCKY)

Correct answer: unlucky

Add un- to "lucky" to form "unlucky" — having bad luck. Note the spelling: un- + lucky (no letter is dropped or added).

She took the letter out of the envelope and slowly began to it. (FOLD)

Correct answer: unfold

Add un- to the verb "fold" to form "unfold" — to open something that was folded. Un- before a verb reverses the action.

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