Opposites in English: Word Pairs for Kids with Examples

How to teach it

1. 1. Show it with your body

   Act out each pair: arms wide for big, arms close for small, stand tall and crouch down for tall and short. Say the word as you do it. The child copies and then gives the instruction: "Be fast. Now be slow." Movement makes the meaning clear.

2. 2. Opposite hunt at home

   Ask the child to find two things that are opposites: a heavy book and a light feather, a wet cloth and a dry cloth. Hold them up and say a sentence with both words. Let the child choose the next pair.

3. 3. Say the opposite

   Say one word of a pair and the child answers with the other, faster and faster: "Hot." "Cold." "Up." "Down." Start with pairs the child knows well. When the child gets it, give a sentence to finish: "The elephant is big, but the mouse is ..."

4. 4. Opposite pairs memory game

   Make two cards for every pair, a picture on each: a sun and a moon for bright and dark. Turn all cards face down and find the matching opposites. Each time a pair is found, the child says both words.

5. 5. Silly opposite day

   Choose a day or a short time when everything is backwards. If you say "Stand up," the child sits down, and if you say "Open the door," the child closes it. The child must also say the opposite word out loud, which makes it a listening and speaking game.

6. 6. Draw a pair

   Fold a paper in two. On one side the child draws something big, on the other something small, and writes or says the two words. Do one fold for each pair and join them into a little book of opposites.

Common mistakes

• Using young as the opposite of old for things

  For people and animals, old and young are opposites: an old man, a young girl. For things, the opposite of old is new: an old car, a new car. Wrong: "a young book." Right: "a new book."

• Forgetting that tall and short are not only for height

  Tall and short are used for people and trees: a tall girl, a short boy. For a rope, a road or a pencil we also say long and short. Wrong: "a tall rope." Right: "a long rope."

• Missing the second meaning of right, light and hard

  Right is the opposite of left, but also means correct. Light is the opposite of heavy, but also of dark. Hard is the opposite of soft, but also of easy. A sentence shows the meaning: "The test is hard."

• Making opposites with un- when no such word exists

  Some opposites use un-, such as happy and unhappy, but not all. The opposite of big is small, not "unbig." The opposite of hot is cold, not "unhot." Learn the pairs as two separate words.

• Mixing up late and lately

  Late is the opposite of early: "I go to bed late." Lately means recently and is a different word. Wrong: "I get up lately." Right: "I get up late." Early is both an adjective and an adverb: "I get up early."