Linguistics: Morphemes

Choose a study mode

Play Quiz
Study Flashcards
Spaced Repetition
Chat to Lesson

Podcast

Play an AI-generated podcast conversation about this lesson
Download our mobile app to listen on the go
Get App

Questions and Answers

Which type of morpheme can stand alone as a word?

  • Bound morpheme
  • Affix morpheme
  • Root morpheme
  • Free morpheme (correct)

What is the primary characteristic of a morpheme?

  • It carries meaning (correct)
  • It is always a suffix
  • It is always a prefix
  • It is always dividable

What type of morpheme modifies the grammatical category or meaning of a word?

  • Derivational morpheme (correct)
  • Bound morpheme
  • Root morpheme
  • Inflectional morpheme

What is an example of compounding?

<p>Blackboard (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the term for the combination of a root morpheme with an inflectional morpheme?

<p>Inflection (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What type of morpheme indicates grammatical function?

<p>Inflectional morpheme (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Flashcards are hidden until you start studying

Study Notes

Morphemes

Morphemes are the smallest units of language that carry meaning.

Types of Morphemes:

  1. Free Morphemes: Can stand alone as a word, e.g., "run", "happy".
  2. Bound Morphemes: Cannot stand alone, must be combined with another morpheme, e.g., "-un" in "run", "-ness" in "happiness".

Characteristics of Morphemes:

  • Minimal unit: Morphemes are the smallest units of language that carry meaning.
  • Meaningful: Morphemes have a specific meaning or function.
  • Indivisible: Morphemes cannot be broken down into smaller units.

Morpheme Classification:

  • Root morphemes: Core meaning of a word, e.g., "run" in "running".
  • Affix morphemes: Added to roots to modify meaning, e.g., "-ing" in "running".
  • Derivational morphemes: Change the grammatical category or meaning of a word, e.g., "-ness" in "happiness".
  • Inflectional morphemes: Indicate grammatical function, e.g., "-ed" in "walked".

Morpheme Combinations:

  • Compounding: Combination of two or more root morphemes, e.g., "blackboard".
  • Derivation: Combination of a root morpheme with an affix morpheme, e.g., "happiness" (root "happy" + suffix "-ness").
  • Inflection: Combination of a root morpheme with an inflectional morpheme, e.g., "walked" (root "walk" + suffix "-ed").

Morphemes

  • Morphemes are the smallest units of language that carry meaning.

Types of Morphemes

  • Free Morphemes are words that can stand alone, such as "run" or "happy".
  • Bound Morphemes cannot stand alone and must be combined with another morpheme, such as "-un" in "run" or "-ness" in "happiness".

Characteristics of Morphemes

  • Morphemes are the minimal unit of language that carries meaning.
  • Morphemes have a specific meaning or function.
  • Morphemes are indivisible and cannot be broken down into smaller units.

Morpheme Classification

Root Morphemes

  • Root morphemes carry the core meaning of a word, such as "run" in "running".

Affix Morphemes

  • Affix morphemes are added to roots to modify meaning, such as "-ing" in "running".

Derivational Morphemes

  • Derivational morphemes change the grammatical category or meaning of a word, such as "-ness" in "happiness".

Inflectional Morphemes

  • Inflectional morphemes indicate grammatical function, such as "-ed" in "walked".

Morpheme Combinations

Compounding

  • Compounding involves combining two or more root morphemes, such as "blackboard".

Derivation

  • Derivation involves combining a root morpheme with an affix morpheme, such as "happiness" (root "happy" + suffix "-ness").

Inflection

  • Inflection involves combining a root morpheme with an inflectional morpheme, such as "walked" (root "walk" + suffix "-ed").

Studying That Suits You

Use AI to generate personalized quizzes and flashcards to suit your learning preferences.

Quiz Team

More Like This

Morphology in Linguistics
8 questions

Morphology in Linguistics

ConscientiousCloisonnism avatar
ConscientiousCloisonnism
Morphology in Linguistics
10 questions
Language, Linguistics: Phonetics, Morphology, Syntax
41 questions
Use Quizgecko on...
Browser
Browser