Exercise 1
Make identification of the following words
Words Number Number of Free Bound
of morphemes morphemes morphemes
syllables
EX boats 1 2 boat -s
1 pretests
2 carelessly
3 misjudgemen
t
4 unfriendliness
5 pleasure
6 antedate
7 island
8 Paper
9 Mahogany
10 ugly
Exercise 2
Make identification of the following words
Words Number Number of Free Bound
of morphemes morphemes morphemes
syllables
EX boats 1 2 boat -s
11 hygiene
12 misconceiving
13 immortal
14 unpredictable
15 intervene
16 audience
17 emit
18 subscribe
19 oppose
20 recurrence
Exercise 3
Make identification of the following words
Words Number Number of Free Bound
of morphemes morphemes morphemes
syllables
EX boats 1 2 boat -s
21 dysfunctional
22 contradict
23 inspect
25 invisible
26 portable
27 progressive
28 kingdom
29 drinkable
30 letter
Exercise 4
Make identification of the following words
Words Number Number of Free Bound
of morphemes morphemes morphemes
syllables
EX boats 1 2 boat -s
40 semicircle
41 pesticide
42 extinguisher
43 broader
44 narrower
45 cookers
46 postage
47 dictatorship
48 reappearanc
e
49 doorbells
50 command
Exercise 4
Inflectional versus Derivational Affixes
◾ Is -ly an inflectional or a derivational affix?
◾ Like an inflectional affix, it seems to attach to many (though not all)
the members of the class of adjective, as in quickly, helpfully, sadly,
softly, sharply, foolishly.
◾ If -ly is an inflectional suffix marking the grammatical category
adverb, then it should meet the following criteria for inflectional
suffixes:
a. never change the part of speech of a root,
b. follow, not precede, any derivational suffixes,
c. affix to virtually any member of the category adjective.
Does -ly meet these criteria? Try to think of examples which violate
these principles.
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Exercise 4
Pick the odd out and give your explanations
1. A dancer B. farmer C. reporter D. thicker
2. A. thinner B. letter C. taller D. bigger
3. A. fortress B. actress C. hostess D. stewardess
4. A. advisor B. factor C. sailor D. visitor
5. A. enable B. eatable C. drinkable D. readable
6. A. thorny B. dairy C. needy D. rocky
7. A. geese B. teeth C. fleet D. feet
8. A. soften B. harden C. chicken D. sharpen
9. A. cooker B. heater C. reaper D. blister
10. A. incurable B. inborn C. indirect D. inaccurate
11. A. unpack B. unfair C. unsafe D. unkind
12. A. reappear B. rebuild C. reassure D. remarry
13. A. smartly B. manly C. cutely D. rudely
14. A. princely B. cheaply C. orderly D. worldly
15. A. entail B. enlarge C. enforce D. enfeeble
16. A. silken B. woolen C. wooden D. stiffen
17. A. shortage B. cottage C. spoilage D. blockage
18. A. helpful B. useful C. handful D. careful
19. A. kingdom B. condom C. freedom D. wisdom
20. A. guitarist B. pianist C. violinist D. enlist
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Exercise 5
Morphology: Immediate constituents
1. international (adjective)
A. nation + -al + -inter B. nation + -inter + -al
2. unpardonable (adjective)
A. pardon + -able + -un B. pardon + -un + -able
3. unbelievable (adjective)
A. believe + -able + -un B. believe + -un + -able
4. unwritten (PP)
A. write + -un + -en B. write + -en + -un
5. insincerity (noun)
A. sincere + ity + in B. sincere + in- + ity
6. unhappiness
A. happy + -ness + un- B. happy + un- + -ness
7. restatement (noun)
A. state + re- + -ment B. state + -ment + re-
8. repackage (verb)
A. pack + re- + -age B. pack + -age + re-
Further reading
English Word-Formation (1983) by Laurie Bauer
As you can see below, Bauer acknowledges the root/stem/base
problem and then explains a model that removes the
ambiguity.
The Problem: “‘Root’, ‘stem’ and ‘base’ are all terms used in the
literature to designate that part of a word that remains when
all affixes have been removed. Of more recent years, however,
there has been some attempt to distinguish consistently
between these three terms.”
Root: “A root is a form which is not further analysable, either in
terms of derivational or inflectional morphology. It is that part
of word-form that remains when all inflectional and
derivational affixes have been removed… In the form
‘untouchables’ the root is ‘touch’.”
Stem: “A stem is of concern only when dealing with inflectional
morphology. In the form ‘untouchables’ the stem is
‘untouchable’.” [In short, when you remove the inflectional
suffixes, you have the stem.]
Base: “A base is any form to which affixes of any kind can be
added. This means that any root or any stem can be termed a
base; ‘touchable’ can act as a base for prefixation to give
‘untouchable’.”
