A prefix is a group of letters added to the beginning of a word to modify its meaning. The original word may be recognizable, which is the case in the following examples: 

"Unhappy" means "not happy."

Caption 20, The Alphabet: The Letter U

 Play Caption

banner1 PLACEHOLDER

The prefix "inter-" means "between" or "among," so "international" refers to being between different nations. "Neo-" means "new," while "proto-" means "first" or "original." 

It was four men from Jamaica who made international headlines.

Caption 5, 16x9 - Cool Runnings: Truth Behind Original Jamaican Bobsled Team

 Play Caption

The palace was rebuilt in a neo-Gothic style.

Caption 45, London: City Sights

 Play Caption

We need some sort of 3D prototype.

Caption 29, Apple Advertising: The Underdogs

 Play Caption

In this sentence, "hyper-" means "extra" or "extreme," and "pan" means "all." 

Many millions of years ago, a race of hyperintelligent, pandimensional beings...

Caption 2, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: The Answer to Life, Universe and Everything

 Play Caption

You may also encounter words with roots that you don't recognize. Here, the prefix "omni-" means "all" and "vore" comes from the Latin word "vorare," which relates to eating or devouring. The prefix "dys" means "bad" or "abnormal," and "lexia" comes from the Greek word for "word." 

Like all bears, the glacier bears are also omnivores.

Caption 60, Nature & Wildlife: Search for the Ghost Bear

 Play Caption

If dyslexia takes over, you are lost in the middle of the ocean.

Caption 24, Movie Trailers: True Spirit

 Play Caption

You may be wondering why some prefixes are followed by a hyphen and others aren't. Generally, a hyphen is used before proper nouns or terms (like "Gothic" above), numbers, or abbreviations. It is also used when the prefix ends with the same vowel that is at the beginning of the main word. Certain prefixes, such as "ex-," "self-," "all-," and "quasi-," are always hyphenated. 

Further Learning
From "anti-" to "super-," you'll find many prefixes on Yabla English. 

It's another new year — and this time around, it's a new decade as well! Let's take a look at some examples relating to the New Year in Yabla videos:

New Year's Day is on January first or on the first of January.

Caption 39, Sigrid explains - Numbers

 Play Caption

Uh, my New Year's resolution is to just, like, keep going at the gym.

Caption 7, Ashley Tisdale - Happy New Year!

 Play Caption

BANNER PLACEHOLDER

A "New Year's resolution" is a promise you make to yourself about something you want to do in the New Year, usually something expressing a wish to somehow become a better person. 

On the twelfth day after Christmas, we have to take down all the decorations and the tree, or else it's bad luck for the New Year.

Captions 47-48, Christmas Traditions - in the UK

 Play Caption

Depending on people's beliefs, the Twelfth Night fell on either January 5th or January 6th this year, so you'd best have your Christmas tree taken down by now!

On New Year's Eve we checked out the rings of Saturn.

Caption 15, Jason Mraz - Tour of Studio

 Play Caption

Looking through a telescope at the stars is not a traditional pastime on New Year's Eve, but perhaps it should be...

The second part of Brick Lane is a party atmosphere,

for younger people and the younger generation to celebrate,

and they're very famous for their New Year's parties.

Captions 24-26, London - Brick Lane

 Play Caption

And it's where people gather for the New Year's celebrations.

Caption 7, London - City Sights

 Play Caption

The place in the second caption is London's Trafalgar Square, so a couple of suggestions here if your next New Year's Eve is going to be celebrated in the UK!

Further Learning
Look for more videos relating to New Year's day on Yabla English to improve your English in this context!