Prefixes of Time and Number of Times: PRE-, POST-, RE-, ANTE-

Read prefixes that place an event before, after, or again.

Time prefixes tell you when something happens in relation to something else. Pre- means before: preview, prehistoric (before written history), precaution (care taken beforehand). Post- means after: postwar, postpone (put after), postgame. Ante- also means before, mostly in older or formal words: antechamber (a room before the main room), antebellum (before the war). Do not confuse ante- with anti-, which means against (antibiotic, antifreeze). Re- means again or back: rebuild, reconsider, return, recall.

In history and science texts these prefixes organize time. Read: 'Prehistoric tools were found beneath a postwar housing development, and scientists had to reexamine their dates. ' Prehistoric: before writing existed. Postwar: built after a war. Reexamine: look at again. One sentence holds three separate time markers. Spotting them quickly is the difference between reading a confusing jumble and understanding a clear timeline.

• 1PRE- and ANTE- mean before; POST- means after.
• 2RE- means again or back.
• 3ANTE- (before) is different from ANTI- (against).