What does the prefix 'dis' do to the word 'appeared' in this sentence? The cat disappeared before her very eyes.

Question

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

To analyze the effect of the prefix dis- on the word appeared in the sentence, we need to recall how dis- functions in English. 
Option a: It tells you that the act appeared to be further away. This would imply distance or perception of distance, which is not what dis- conveys in disappeared; the prefix does not modify distance but negation of the verb itself. 
Option b: It tells you that the cat vanished. This aligns with the meaning of disappeared: when something that was visible ceases to be visible, it vanishes. The prefix dis- adds negation to appear, turning the act of appearing into the act of not appearing, i.e., vanishing. 
Option c: It tells you that the cat appeared to be next to you. This would suggest proximity or location, not negation of appearance. The prefix dis- does not change the sense to indicate proximity; it changes the presence into absence. 
Option d: It tells you that the cat appeared bigger than before. This implies a change in size, which is unrelated to the negation or reversal implied by dis- in this verb form.

In summary, the prefix dis- negates the base verb appear, producing disappear, and in past tense disappear-ed, the meaning is that something that was seen is no longer visible, i.e., the cat vanished. The other options misinterpret either negation, distance, proximity, or size, which are not characteristics introduced by the dis- prefix in this context.

What does the prefix 'dis' do to the word 'appeared' in this sentence? The cat disappeared before her very eyes.

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