
Get these prefixes right
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This is an All Ears English podcast episode 2507 Pesky prefixes part 2 Inconvenient English vocabulary welcome to the All Ears English Podcast, downloaded more than 200 million times. Are you feeling stuck with your English? We'll show you how to become fearless and fluent by focusing on connection, not perfection, with your American host, Aubrey Carter, the IELTS whiz and Lindsey McMahon, the English adventurer coming to you from Arizona and Colorado, usa. To get real time transcripts right on your phone and create your personalized vocabulary list, try the All Ears English app for iOS and Android. Start your 7 day free trial at allearsenglish.com forward slapp.
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Do you ever get confused whether you should say unconvenient or inconvenient? Many native speakers make these mistakes, so in today's episode we'll give you five words and their correct prefixes so you can focus on connection and not mistakes in English.
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B
Oh, it's been a great day here in Arizona. It's finally cooling off. We've had a couple of nice weeks in September and I am ready. I'm ready for the fall.
A
I'm ready. Ready to get away from the warm weather that you get there for sure. Yeah. Well let's talk inconvenient things. Aubrey, do you ever have to do things that are just really inconvenient?
B
Yes. As a mom, I feel like most of my day is spent doing things that are inconvenient for me. Right. I'm often like, I've got to do it cuz the kids need it. Right. What about you? Do you often have to do inconvenient things?
A
I guess anytime. If I have to go to the post office, I find that highly inconvenient and annoying.
B
Waiting in line.
A
Yes. Or any kind of government thing where maybe you're getting a new license. Oh, the dmv. Oh my gosh. I. I shared the whole. The whole episode I had with my aunt's car trying to get a car retitled in California. Hardest thing I've ever done. Yes.
B
So things like. Is that the word you're talking about?
A
Is what I was looking. Yes, exactly. So what are we, what are we talking about? Inconvenient things today?
B
Yes. Because there are a lot of. This is part two of a three part series on prefixes and there are a lot of mistakes that are made with this prefix and in where someone will accidentally use un and in is one of them. We're going to talk about today where sometimes people will say unconvenient.
A
This is tricky and this is something that I feel like our native speaking friends could use. This episode. I'll speak for myself. The people that I know like will make these mistakes. This is not just an English learning thing, this is a native speaker thing.
B
Yes, native speakers make these errors which makes it difficult because if you're hearing these errors then you'll just repeat what native speaker say. So we're going to set you straight today so that you're aware of these common errors.
A
Yeah, we want to learn it the right way. So that's why we're here today. So what are some easy errors to make, Aubrey?
B
Yes. So you know, in often means not capable of being. But when you know, the prefix un usually means not right. It is very common that, you know, we have known and then unknown, believable and unbelievable. So it makes sense often to add on when you're trying to say the opposite. Not right. But yeah, English often. Instead we use this prefix in.
A
Yes. So important to know. And again, we want you to learn it the right way. So today is really about kind of remembering chunks and remembering them in context. Right.
B
Aubry.
A
And this is a three part series so we have a lot of opportunities to pick up on these skills.
B
Exactly yes. Stay to the end. We'll share details about part one if you missed it, and be sure to hit follow so that you don't miss part three. This is a really great series.
A
Yeah. I love when we get a chance to talk about pronunciation. I think we don't talk about it well, pronunciation, not today, but we do have a course that just went live that should be live right now. Aubry, our new pronunciation course. So what is this course all about?
B
Yes, and this really is actually really appropriate for this episode because a lot of these words are among the most difficult to pronounce in English syllables. These prefixes sometimes are hard to pronounce. Right. So pronunciation course, we're very excited to give you all of the skills you need to have clear pronunciation. It's not about having the perfect accent. You can have an accent, but you want to be able to enunciate clearly.
A
Exactly. When we sat down to build this course, to ideate on this course, you know, we could have taught. We could have gone into great depth in the American accent.
B
Right.
A
We could have taught you all the regional accents in the US and that would have been fun. But what we think you guys need is global English for, you know, clear English pronunciation for global business. Right. We need to be able to be understood using the British accent or hearing the British accent, the American accent, the South African accent, the Aussie accent. So it's not so much about accents. They're all included in the course. It's about what are the secrets of the fact that English is a stress time language, not a syllable time language. What does that mean? You learn about that in the course.
B
Exactly. So whether you're learning English to work or travel, all, everyone, no matter what your goal is, you want to be understood, you want to be able to speak clearly, and you learn every skill you need in this course in order to make your speech understood.
A
Yeah. It's about learning what. What is the heartbeat of English? What is that rhythm? And there are a lot of native speaker secrets kind of behind that that we show you in the course. So, Aubry, where can our listeners go to get access?
B
Yes. Go to allersenglish.com pronunciation P R O- N U N C I TION. Yes.
A
This is going to be the missing piece for a lot of our listeners. This is the first pronunciation course we've ever developed. I'm so excited to fill that gap for our listeners with this course. So good.
B
Absolutely awesome. Okay, let's dive in. We have five of these for you today. So the first One is, as we mentioned, inconvenient. The common mistake being unconvenient. Of course, this means something that causes difficulty, trouble, or discomfort. Let's give a couple of examples.
A
Okay, so first example, it was inconvenient for me to attend the meeting because I had another appointment at the same time. Yes. We use this all the time. And that conversation that you and I had at the top of the show, very common, right?
B
Exactly. We might say the store's location is inconvenient for me since it's clear across town from where I live. So, yes, a very common word. And you will hear native speakers as well, say unconvenient. So don't make that mistake. And remember that this is one that has the prefix in inconvenient.
A
And you also have the option of saying not convenient. That's not very convenient for me. I think we should meet somewhere else, for example. Right.
B
We can do that. Absolutely. Especially to avoid repetition. If you've already said something's inconvenient, then later you might be like, yeah, that's just not at all convenient.
A
Yes. But the next one actually is one that I'd be less likely to put not with, and I would go with the full indescribable. Let's talk about it, Aubry. So it's indescribable.
B
Indescribable means you can't describe it. It's too extraordinary, maybe intense or unusual to be described. Often we'll just use it to mean amazing. That is indescribable. The common error would be to say undescribable. Instead, you want to use the prefix in indescribable.
A
This one evokes a sense of awe. Right. It's just something is amazing. The sense of pride after landing our first client was indescribable. Years of effort had finally paid off. Or do you know, Aubrey, when you go into, like, a diner, they often have their first dollar on the wall. The first dollar they earned. Have you seen that before?
B
Yes, absolutely. That's kind of getting feeling of that. First dollar is indescribable. Absolutely. When you open a store and you're so excited.
A
Yeah. So cool. So cool. It's good to share the dreams of your life and the accomplishments with this word. What's another one?
B
You might say, when I got the job, my excitement was truly indescribable. So, yeah, this is great. And what a way to connect. This word is one of the best, this, at least this episode for connecting with others. Because when you have these indescribable experiences and emotions. You want to be able to share them with others.
A
Yeah. You kind of need a word that's big enough for your feelings. And this is one of them.
B
Right, Exactly. You don't want to say very good. Awesome. Yeah.
A
Right. No, don't.
B
You need a bigger word.
A
You need a bigger, more rare word.
B
Right. So that.
A
That's connection right there. Next one. Incapable. Right. And we don't. The mistake we're avoiding here is you might hear a native speaker say not we. Again. They might say uncapable. They might say uncapable, but that's wrong. Okay.
B
Exactly right. You want to use the prefix in incapable, which means lacking the ability or capacity to do something. For example, I think that I'm incapable of lifting this couch without helping. Like, I can't do it.
A
Or she was incapable of hiding her excitement when she heard the good news. Yeah.
B
Yeah. And like you said, Lindsay, for this one, you could say not capable. I am not capable of carrying this couch on my own. Right.
A
Yeah.
B
But if you're wanting to use this bigger word with the prefix, be sure to use in incapable.
A
Yeah. And for most of these, you can put the knot. You can put the. Not just a few that are a little more chunky on their own, like indescribable. That's more of a chunk in a way. Yeah.
B
And it's almost maybe because it's too much of a mouthful to say not describable. We just don't hear it that way very often.
A
It's awkward. What would be the next one?
B
All right. Inaccurate. So the mistake is unaccurate. You might hear native speakers say unaccurate, but this should have the prefix in inaccurate, which means not correct, containing errors or mistakes.
A
Yeah. So, for example, the report was filled with inaccurate data, which led the team to make the wrong decision. That's not good. Never good.
B
Exactly right. Or she realized her assumption was inaccurate. Just means that it's not correct.
A
Perfect. All right. There's still another one. Aubrey. Amazing. Okay. Indefensible. This one's good. So a native speaker might make a mistake and say undefensible.
B
Yeah. And interestingly, I looked all of these up in the dictionary to make sure that I was correct about the correct prefix. And this word undefensible, does exist in the dictionary, but I've never heard a native speakers say it in the United States at least. So it's going to be I. It's going to be either because it's out of fashion or I'm not sure it will be interpreted as a mistake by most native speakers. So I recommend indefensible.
A
Yeah, it might be like. It's. It's used in, like, legalese or something.
B
It could be trial legal.
A
Trial world or something.
B
But not a common conversation.
A
Right. Which is what we're focusing on on this show.
B
Right, Aubrey? Right. I actually heard someone at a volleyball game say this. Not that long ago. They were like, that serve was indefensible. And somebody else was like, don't you mean indefensible?
A
Oh, is that you that made that correction? No, I didn't.
B
I don't correct people's grammar. I really don't. But I did think it. I was like that. I don't think that's right. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
A
I know. I'm not a grammar corrector either, but I do correct in my head. Right.
B
Same. Yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure. Yeah.
A
But you don't want to be that person because.
B
But then I was surprised when I looked it up in the dictionary, and that word does exist, because it sounds wrong to me. We just don't. At least not in the States. We don't use it in conversation.
A
Yep. So, for example, his behavior in the meeting was completely indefensible. Even his closest colleagues refused to back him up.
B
Yeah. That means there was no excuse for it. Right?
A
Yeah.
B
It was really not justifiable. No one could defend it.
A
What's another example?
B
Right. The lawyer realized that her client's actions were morally indefensible, even if they weren't technically illegal. So, yeah, like Mo, you know, people would not defend her.
A
Yes.
B
If it's something is morally indefensible. Most people would disagree.
A
Exactly. Love it.
B
All right.
A
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B
All right, let's do it.
A
Yes. Okay. Hey, thanks for meeting here. I've been wanting to try this place, but I know it's kind of inconvenient since it's not. It's not near any subway stops.
B
No problem. The pastries make up for it. That chocolate croissant I just had was indescribable. I can't even put into words how good it was.
A
True. Have you ever tried to make croissants? I tried once, and I don't know what I did wrong, but they ended up flat and sad.
B
I'm impressed you even attempted. I'm totally incapable of baking anything that fancy.
A
I feel like that's inaccurate. Remember when you made that amazing tiramisu?
B
Oh, yeah, that's true. But then I tried to make cannolis, and the mess I made of them is completely indefensible.
A
Nice.
B
Yeah.
A
Yeah. I feel like any time I have a chocolate croissant outside of Paris, I'm disappointed, so I just don't get them.
B
Well, have you tried. And this is for anyone who has a Trader Joe's near them. Have you tried the. The chocolate croissants that are frozen at Trader Joe's?
A
I have not.
B
It's like a little box, and there are four frozen ones in there, so they haven't risen yet. They're small. You take them out and you put them on a pan, and they rise all night long. You bake them in the morning, and they're just like you got them out of a French bakery.
A
That sounds dangerous.
B
All right. Maybe don't ever get them because they're not good for you, but delicious. Huge plug for Trader Joe's.
A
Okay, Good to know. Good to know. You're welcome. Trader Joe's, love.
B
Yeah.
A
All right, let's break down our role play. So I said thank you for meeting here. I know it's kind of inconvenient. Very common thing to say, right?
B
Yes. And a couple of these did feel almost a little formal for this conversation among friends, but this one didn't Right. Inconvenient. How I know it's inconvenient. This. We would say just like this, even in a very casual conversation.
A
Yes. And then what did you say after that, Aubry?
B
And then I said, this chocolate croissant I just had was indescribable. And same. I would use this in a regular conversation just to emphasize how amazing it was.
A
Yeah. And you're really punching the in. Right.
B
Indescribable scribble. Yeah.
A
You're slowing down. And you're punching that in much more than you would with inconvenient, because it's not a word that you're lingering on. Right. Inconvenient is just not convenient for you. But indescribable, you're talking about something amazing, something lush, like delicious.
B
Right. That's a really good point. That if you wanted to emphasize inconvenient, you'd need to add, like, really or very. It was really inconvenient. Whereas indescribable, you can emphasize that one by punching the in more. It was indescribable.
A
Yes. I love it.
B
Interesting.
A
And then you said, I'm impressed you even attempted. I'm totally incapable of baking anything that fancy. Right.
B
Yeah. And this is another one where I have to add totally to emphasize it. I'm not going to say, like, incapable. I'll say, I'm totally incapable.
A
Exactly. And then what, Aubry? What did I say?
B
You said, I feel like that's inaccurate. Remember when you made that amazing tiramisu? And this is one where I would probably say, I don't think that's right, or, I don't think that's accurate. Right. This one felt a little formal. Maybe would use it more at work. What do you think?
A
Okay. Yeah, I hear what you're saying. I mean, maybe sometimes with friends, it's fun to mix it up and say things in a different way.
B
And some people use more often just a more elevated vocabulary. I'm impressed by that. And so they might say it.
A
Yeah. Like I said, especially if you're both word nerds and you like language. I could see maybe you might drop that. But I see what you're saying by say, it would just be easier and more common to say, oh, I feel like that's not accurate.
B
Right. Like. Or that's not true at all. Yeah.
A
Yeah. Right. And then you said, oh, yeah, that's true. But when. But then I tried to make cannolis, and the mess I made of them is completely indefensible.
B
This is kind of funny. It's like a fun way to poke fun at yourself. Right? There was no excuse for how much I cannot defend.
A
Cannot defend that. I love that.
B
So good.
A
This is a fun series and so important. Aubry, what was part one of the series so our listeners could go back?
B
Yes, it came out on Saturday, October 25. It was called Pesky Prefixes, Part 1, Insecurity or Lack of Security. So this was an interesting student error that inspired this whole series.
A
I love it. Go check out that episode. And Aubrey, what's the takeaway? I mean, it always comes back to human connection. So what do we want to know here?
B
Yeah, this is interesting. Yes, it can be tricky to know whether to add in or un. It is not something that's going to keep you from being understood. Right. But we do hear native speakers make these mistakes as well. So don't let that fool you. Right. So we're just wanting you to know about these very common errors so that you can connect in English without worrying about them.
A
I love it. Great episode. Great topic today. Thanks for being on the show. And guys, hit the follow button right here on Allers English if you love our show. All right, awesome.
B
See you next time.
A
All right, take care. Bye bye. Thanks for listening to Allears English. Would you like to know your English level? Take our two minute quiz. Go to allearsenglish.com forward/fluencyscore and if you believe in connection, not perfection, then hit subscribe now to make sure you don't miss anything. See you next time.
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Pesky Prefixes Part 2: Inconvenient English Vocabulary
Hosts: Lindsay McMahon & Aubrey Carter
Date: November 4, 2025
This episode is Part 2 in the “Pesky Prefixes” series, focusing on the English prefixes “in-” and “un-” and how easily even native speakers confuse them. Lindsay and Aubrey discuss commonly misused vocabulary (e.g., “inconvenient” vs. “unconvenient”) and provide ESL learners with 5 key adjectives where “in-” is the correct choice, not “un-.” Using lots of practical examples, the show helps learners boost not just their vocabulary, but their ability to connect authentically in English. The episode includes a lively dialogue role play and an exploration of language nuances in casual versus formal conversation.
A. Inconvenient (08:01)
B. Indescribable (09:05)
C. Incapable (10:41)
D. Inaccurate (11:46)
E. Indefensible (12:13)
On native errors:
“Native speakers make these errors which makes it difficult because if you’re hearing these errors then you’ll just repeat what native speaker say. So we’re going to set you straight today...” – Aubrey [04:39]
On “indescribable”:
“You kind of need a word that’s big enough for your feelings. And this is one of them.” – Lindsay [10:29]
On “indefensible”:
“I looked all of these up in the dictionary to make sure that I was correct...‘undefensible’ does exist...but I’ve never heard a native speakers say it in the United States at least...So I recommend ‘indefensible.’” – Aubrey [12:23]
Grammar pet peeves (humorous moment):
“I’m not a grammar corrector either, but I do correct in my head.” – Lindsay [13:18]
Scenario: Lindsay and Aubrey meet for breakfast and naturally use all five key adjectives.
The hosts discuss how some of these sound formal (“inaccurate”), but others fit casual speech (“inconvenient”, “indescribable”).
Aubrey: “If you wanted to emphasize ‘inconvenient,’ you’d add ‘really’ or ‘very.’ With ‘indescribable,’ you can just punch the ‘in-’ more.” [18:17]
Aubrey’s summary:
"It can be tricky to know whether to add ‘in’ or ‘un.’ It is not something that's going to keep you from being understood. Right. But we do hear native speakers make these mistakes as well. So don’t let that fool you...we’re just wanting you to know about these very common errors so you can connect in English without worrying about them." [20:21]
AEE Pronunciation Course: Focus on clear, global English pronunciation (not accent perfection).
[Timestamps: 05:48–07:51]
Previous Episode:
”Pesky Prefixes, Part 1: Insecurity or Lack of Security” (Oct 25, 2025)
This episode is lively, practical, and reassuring. Lindsay and Aubrey demystify confusing English prefixes with relatable examples and empower learners to speak confidently. Whether native or non-native, anyone can benefit from internalizing these “pesky prefix” patterns for stronger English connections—because it’s all about connection, not perfection.
For full context or pronunciation tips, listen in or check out the All Ears English app for transcripts and vocab lists!