Antonyms

Pair of Antonyms for Class 3 English

This learning concept will help students to understand antonyms and the most used pair of antonyms. It also details how to form and use opposite word in a sentence. Children can also be aware of the blunders they might make while using antonyms or a pair of opposite words in the correct context.

In this learning concept, the students will learn how to:

• Form opposite words using prefixes and suffixes.
• Identify the pair of antonyms in a sentence.

Each of the topics in English grammar has been developed by subject matter experts using concept maps, illustrations, and examples. Students of class 3 can determine their understanding of a particular concept by solving the two printable antonyms worksheet given at the end of the page. Download the worksheets and check the solutions for the concept, pair of antonyms, provided in PDF format.

Definition:

• Antonyms are words that are opposite in meaning. It refers to a word that is totally different from the other.
• Antonyms help to describe things better.

Examples:

	Word	Antonym
1.	Light	Heavy
2.	Day	Night
3.

What are Antonyms?

1. An antonym can change the meaning of a sentence or a word. Notice in the sentence given below a pair of antonyms, happy and sad, have been used. It has changed the sentences through the emotions mentioned.


Example:

I thought on hearing the joke, she was happy; however, she became sad after watching the movie.



2. A word may have more than one antonym, which means there can be many words that can be opposites to one word.

Example:

The following are antonyms of the word ‘good’: bad, evil, wicked, and horrible.

The word ‘good’ can be a noun or an adjective; thus, its antonyms are a combination of adjectives and nouns.

How are Antonyms Formed?

1. Antonyms are also formed by adding a prefix to a word. These prefixes include ‘mis, dis, un, im, in’.

Examples:

Word	Antonym
able	unable
likely	unlikely
decent	indecent
honest	dishonest
moral	immoral
possible	impossible
lead	mislead
understand	misunderstand

2. Antonyms are also formed by ending a word with a suffix. The adjectives that end with the suffix – ‘ful’ are replaced by the suffix – ‘less’ to make an antonym.

Examples:

Word	Antonym
useful	useless
hopeful	hopeless
painful	painless
harmful	harmless
shameful	shameless
thankful	thankless
careful	careless

How do you Find Antonyms in a Sentence?

Check for signal words as they are clues that can help to identify antonyms. These words are ‘not’, ‘but’, ‘unlike’, ‘yet’, ‘different from’, ‘however’, ‘even though’, ‘although’, ‘opposed to’, and ‘in contrast’.

Observe these signal words in the examples given below and look at how these words can be used with antonyms.

Examples:

1. Although Ranbir should be asleep, he is awake.
2. If you throw the packet, I can catch it.
3. Kiran was a coward, but his sister was brave.
4. My baby brother was tired in the morning but energetic at night.

Common Mistakes:

1. Do not confuse synonyms with antonyms.
• Synonyms are words that mean exactly or almost the same as another word.
• Antonyms are words that mean exactly the opposite of that word.
2. Not knowing the meaning of the word If you have a rough idea of what the word means, then you can guess what its antonym or opposite word could be. Unless you know the meaning, you will find it difficult to guess its opposite pair.