Chapter 1: MORPHEMES

1. What is a morpheme?
A morpheme is the smallest meaningful unit in a language.
2. What are characteristics of Morphemes?
Any morpheme is meaningful, recurrent and inseparable
 Morpheme can be either a word or part of a word that has the
meaning.
Ex: teach { teach } ; teacher {teach}+{er}
 Morpheme can reoccur in different environment without any
change in meaning.
Ex: {un-} unhappy, unimportant,…
 Morphemes cannot be divided into smaller parts.
3. Classification/Type of Morphemes
Morphemes

Free morphemes bound morphemes

( basic word forms ) ( prefixes and suffixes )

 Free morphemes: can stand alone with meaning.

Ex: girl, happy, work…
 Bound morphemes: are never used alone but must be used with other
morphemes.
Ex: reprint, misunderstand, typist, teacher, boys,…
4. What are bases (roots) and affixes?
A base (or a root): is not morpheme in a word that has the principal meaning.
It is the central morpheme, the basic part of a word.
Ex: worker -> work
FM BM K/B
Unhappy -> happy
BM FM K/B
Most bases in English are free morphemes, but some are bound morphemes.\
 Free base: can stand alone with no affix.
  Bound base: need an affix for meaning.
Free base: is a base “ which may be a word on its own right once the other
morphemes have been stripped away.
Ex: unbreakable
deactivated
friendship
national
Bound base: is a base ( i.e. it is the basic part of a word and has the principal
meaning) which can never occur on its own but can only joined to other
bound morphemes.
Ex: audience
audible
audition
auditory
auditorium
audi – hear
orator, oratorio, oratory, oration (ora-speak)

Bound base Bound base

-vise means see -port means carry
revise: ôn lại portable: có thể mang đi
devise: sáng chế deport: trục xuất
vision: tầm nhìn transport: vận tải
visable: có thể thấy portage: sự vận chuyển
visual: thị giác
An affix is a bound morpheme that can be added to a base. An affix can
change or modify the meaning of the base.
Ex: kind + ly = kindly
un + happy = unhappy
care + less = careless
mis + understand = misunderstand
affix base
5. Classification of affixes
*prefixes
*suffixes
 *inflectional affixes
*derivational affixes
Affixes
Group of letters attach before and after the root word (gốc từ)
Un + accept + able = unacceptable
Prefixes root word Suffixes
A group of letters A group of letters
placed before placed after
the root word the root word

Affixes( function)

Derivational (phái sinh) Inflectional (biến tố)

Derivational affixes are affixes Inflectional affixes are suffixes that are
(prefixes and suffixes) that are added to added to words to perform a
words to form new words. grammatical function.
possible – impossible
happy – happiness work – worked
fame – famous small – smaller
do - redo play – playing
apple - apples

Derivational (phái sinh) Inflectional (biến tố)

- Are prefixes, suffixes - Always suffixes in English
- Create new words - Perform a grammatical function
- Change or do not change the - Do not change the class of a
class of a word word
person(n) – personal(adj)
quick(adj) – quickly(adv) play(v) – played(v)
polite(adj) – impolite(adj) go(v) – going(v)
 king(n) – kingdom(n) small(adj) – smaller(adj)

Derivational affixes
 may be prefixes or suffixes in English
 create new words
o Class – changing derivational affixes change the word class.
work(v) + -er -> worker(n)
beauty(n) + -fy -> beautify(v)
o Class – maintaining derivational affixes do not change the word
class.
Inflectional affixes
 all of these are suffixes
o there are precisely eight inflectional affixes
1 -s 3^rd person wait -> waits
2 -ing? progressive wait -> waiting
3 -ed? past tense wait -> waited
4 -en? past participle eat -> eaten
5 -s? plural card -> cards
6 -‘s possessive dad -> dad’s
7 -er comparative tall -> taller
8 -est superlative weak -> weakest
Receptionist
Re - ceive- -tion – ist – s
Derivational Inflectional
Re-, -tion, -ist -s
Many derivational only 1 inflectional
affixes affix(suffix)

6. Morphemes vs Phonemes
Morphemes vs Syllables
Morphemes vs Words
Definition Example
 is the smallest unit in a language book and s in books
morpheme
that has meaning.
is the smallest unit of sound /z/ in boys, /i:/ in bee
phoneme
does not have meaning
is a unit in speech pho, to, co, py in the
syllable
word photocopy
words are made of morphemes One morpheme: boy,
a word may consist of one or desire
more morphemes Two morphemes: boy-
ish, teach-er, en-able
Three morphemes:
word boy-ish-ness, comfort-
ably
Four morphemes:
gentle-man-li-ness
Five morphemes: un-
gentle-man-li-ness

7. What are Morph (hình tố) and Allomorphs (biến thể

hình vị/tha hình vị)?
Morphs: a morph is a physical form of a morpheme in a language.
Ex: man -> 1 morph, 1 lexical morpheme
impolite -> 2 morphs, 2 morphemes
( negative meaning morpheme { im-} + lexical morpheme { polite })
students -> 2 morphs, 2 morphemes
( lexical morpheme { student } + plural morpheme {-s})
Allomorphs: is any of the different forms of the same morpheme.
Allomorphs are different sounds that pronounce a morph.
Cats – dogs – matches
o plural morpheme {-s}
o the plural morpheme has three allomorphs /s/, /z/, iz/
called – talked - needed
o past tense morpheme {-ed}
o the past tense morpheme ‘-ed’ has three allomorphs /d/, /t/, /id/
 ‘A’ and ‘An’ have the same meaning: ‘one’, ‘a’ occurs before
consonants and ‘an’ occurs before words. Therefore, they are two
allomorphs of the same morpheme.
 8. Types of Allomorphs
o Additive allomorphs: something is added to a word.
Ex: ask + -ed = asked
teacher + -s = teachers
live - lives
o Replacive allomorphs: a sound is used to replace another sound in a
word.
Ex: drink – drank
come – came
foot - feet
o Suppletive allomorphs: there is a complete change in the shape of
word.
Ex: go – went
be – was
good - better
o Zero allomorphs: there is no change in the shape of a word.
Ex: put – put
hurt – hurt
sheep – sheep
deer - deer

CHAPTER 2: MORPHOPHONEMIC CHANGES

 Definition: morphophonemic changes are phonemic changes when two and
more morphemes are combined into a single word. It will change their forms
and pronunciation (sound).
1. Loss of phonemes:
One or more phonemes that are present in the normal allomorph of a
morpheme may simply be missing in another allomorph.
different - difference
relevant – relevance
democrat – democracy
aristocrat – aristocracy
enemy – enmity
meter – metric
negative prefix [in-]
 incorrect / ɪnkəˈrekt /
invisible / ɪnˈvɪzəbl /
inhospitable / ɪnhɒsˈpɪtəbl /
insecure / ɪnsɪˈkjʊər /
but before / m, l, r, n / [n] is dropped, simple /i-/ appears
immobile / ɪˈməʊbaɪl /
illegal / ɪˈliːɡl /
innocent / ˈɪnəsənt /
immodest / ɪˈmɒdɪst /
irregular / ɪˈreɡjələr /
2. Addition of phonemes:
One phoneme which is not present in the normal allomorph may be added to
another allomorph.
solemn / ˈsɒləm / -> solemnize / ˈsɒləmnaɪz /
( phoneme /n/ is added)
long / lɒŋ / -> longer / lɒŋɡə / (phoneme /g/ is added)
sword -> swordsman
sale -> salesman
craft -> craftsman
( phoneme/s/ is added)
3. Consonant change or sound interchange:
Consonant change occurs when the last or final consonant in a morpheme
undergoes a change when a suffix is added. Then, a consonant changes to
another consonant.
In many cases we have consonant interchange such as
bath / bɑːθ / -> to bathe / beɪ:ð /
life / laɪf / -> to live / lɪv /
breath / breθ / -> to breathe / briːð /
This is also true to the following cases of pluralizing: the consonant / θ / of ‘
path’ is changed to / ð / when ‘ path’ is pluralized.
path / pɑːθ / + -s /z/ -> paths /pɑːðz/
and the consonant /f/ of ‘wife’ is changed to /v/ when ‘wife’ is pluralized.
wife / waɪf / + -s/z/ -> wives / waɪvz /
4. Assimilation: đồng hóa
Assimilation is the process of replacing a sound by another sound under the
influence of a third sound which is near to it in the word. It is a phonemic
 change which takes place when two morphemes are combined results in
neighbouring phonemes becoming more like each other.
a. The negative prefix { in-} becomes /im-/ in impossible imbalance.
b. The prefix { en-} becomes /em-/ in empower, embitter
5. Dissimilation: dị hóa
Dissimilation takes place when the combination of two morphemes brings
together two identical phonemes resulting in the change of one of them to a
phoneme less like its neighbor.
The prefix ‘in-’ has the allomorph /-ig/ in
ignoble(adj), ignore (v)
ignominy(n), ignominious(adj)
6. Synthesis: kết hợp
This is the fusion of two consonants brought together by morpheme
combination into a single new phoneme.
moist + -ure -> moisture
/mɔɪst/ /juə/ -> /ˈmɔɪstʃə/
/t/ + /j/ -> /tʃ/
act + -ion -> action
/ˈækt/ + / jən/ -> / ˈækʃn/
/t/ + /j/ -> /ʃ/
7. Change of syllabic vowel or diphthong: nguyên âm
đôi
This is the substitution of another syllabic vowel or diphthong for the one
which appears in the normal allomorph.
clear / klɪə / -> clarity / ˈklæriti /
/iə/ -> /æ/
please / pliːz / -> pleasant / ˈpleznt /
/iː/ -> /e/
take / teɪk / -> took / tʊk /
/eɪ/ -> /ʊ/
8. Stress shift:
The addition of an affix to a word is accompanied by a shift in stress called
stress shift.
s’yntax -> synt’actic
/ˈsɪntæks/ -> / sɪnˈtæktɪks/
 l’inguist -> ling’uistic
/ ˈlɪŋɡwɪst/ -> / lɪŋˈɡwɪstɪk/
‘impulse -> imp’ulsive
/ ˈɪmpʌls/ -> / ɪmˈpʌlsɪv/

9. Gradation:
Gradation can be defined as the change in stress of a word including the
change in vowel when adding an affix to the word.
s’ymbol -> symb’olic
/ ˈsɪmbəl/ -> / sɪmˈbɒlɪk/
telepath -> telepathy
/ telipæθ/ -> /təˈlepəθi/
coincide -> coincidence
/ ˌkouɪnˈsaɪd/ -> / ˌkouˈɪnsɪdəns/
parent -> parental
/ ˈpeərənt/ -> / pəˈrentəl/
10. Suppletion:
Suppletion is a type of irregularity in which there is a complete change in the
shape of a word in its various inflected forms.
The verb:
{be}={am}={is}={are}={was}={were
{go}={went}
The adjective:
{good}={better}={best}
{bad}={worse}={worst}
The adverb:
{well}={ better}={best}
{badly}= {worse}= {worst}
The noun:
{ ox} – { oxen}

CHAPTER 3: IMMEDIATE CONSTITUENTS IN

MORPHOLOGY ( thành tố trực tiếp)
- Immediate Constituents are any of the two meaningful parts forming a layer
linguistic unit.
- We can make successive division into two parts, each of which is called
immediate constituent. This division is called IC division.
- Immediate Constituent Division is the way to describe the layers a word, a
phrase or a clause to identify how many parts each consist of

Ex: health(n)
healthy(adj)
unhealthy(adj)
unhealthily(adv)
How to divide the constituents of a word:
- The first division is between an inflectional morpheme (suffix) and the rest
of the word.
teacher/s play/ed
learn/ing strong/er
- At the division, one of the IC’s should be a free form.
in/dependent not independ/ent
unhappy/ness not un/happiness
- The division must ensure the meaning of the word as the whole.
restrain/ed not rest/rained
Tree structures
N V
adj suffix prefix V
happi -ness re write
We can use a tree diagram to represent the internal structure of a word.

CHAPTER 4: WORDS
1. Definition:
- The words may be described as the basic unit of language.
- Words are made of morphemes, and a word may consists of one or more
morphemes.
One morpheme: boy, desire…
Three morphemes: boy-ish-ness, comfort-ab-ly….
Four morphemes: gentle-man-li-ness….
 Five morphemes: un-gentle-man-li-ness
More than five morphemes: anti-dis-establish-ment-ari-an-ism
2. Characteristics:
- Internal stability
- External independence
- Positional mobility
Slowly, he walked down the street.
He slowly walked down the street.
He walked slowly down the street.
He walked down the street slowly.
3. Classification of words:
3.1. According to the structure (FM/BM)
- Simple words: consist of a single free base (= a free morpheme): stay, flea,
long, spirit.
- Complex words: contain at least one bound morphemes as an immediate
constituent.
o C-FB(free-base) have one free morpheme
lion|-ess rain|-y
deep|-en un-|certain
o C-BB(bound – base) have a bound morpheme
tele-|-vise pre-|-clude
ex-|-tract termin-|-ate
pre-|-dict re-|-cur
- Compounds words : have at least two free bases (free morphemes) with or
without bound morphemes.
Goal + keeper: goalkeeper
Milk + man: milkman
3.2. According to the internal structures of words
- Closed classed
- Open classed
Closed class Open class
- Contains a limited number of - Contains an unlimited
members number of members
- Consist of - Consist of
o Auxiliaries (can, must, o Nouns (mother, pig,
 will) peace)
o Conjunctions (and, but, o Adjectives (clean,
or) easy)
o Pronouns (he, she, we) o Verbs (go, eat, walk)
o Articles (a, an, the) o Adverbs (quickly,
o Demonstrative (this, softly)
that, these, those)
o Prepositions (on, of, to)

3.3. According to functions and grammatical

behavior
- Lexical words
- Function words
Function words(closed class) Lexical words (open class)
o Auxiliaries (can, must, will) o Nouns (mother, pig, peace)
o Conjunctions (and, but, or) o Adjectives (clean, easy)
o Pronouns (he, she, we) o Verbs (go, eat, walk)
o Articles (a, an, the) o Adverbs (quickly, softly)
o Demonstrative (this, that,
these, those)
o Prepositions (on, of, to)

- Inserts: to add some emotional or interactional value YES, YEAH, NO,

NOPE, HM, UGH, UHHUH.
-
 CHAPTER 5: WORD-FORMATION

Word formation process is defined as the ways in which new words are
formed in a language.

1. Derivation:
The formation of a new word by adding an affix to the root word.
friendly + -ness = friendliness
im- + polite = impolite
care + -ful = careful
confer + -ence = conference
2. Compounding:
A process that forms a new word by combining two or more independent
words.
homework, pickpocket, doorbell, rainbow, bookcase, toothpick.
3. Conversion (zero derivation):
The formation of a new word in a different part of speech without adding
any element.
hope (n) – to hope
a drop out (n) – to drop out (n)
lecture (n) – to lecture
increase (n) – to increase (v)
4. Clipping:
The process of cutting off the beginning or the ending of a word.
ad = advertisement
 lab = laboratory
photo = photograph
prof = professor
5. Acronomy:
The process of forming a new word using the first letter of each word from a
phrase.
PIN Personal identification number
FBI Federal Bureau of Investigation
SIM Subscription Identification Module
WHO World Health Organization
6. Blending:
The process through which new words are formed in a language. It refers to
joining the beginning of one word and end of another word.
Ex: smoke + fog = smog
breakfast + lunch = brunch
motor + hotel = motel
7. Back formation:
A process of word formation by which a word is created by the deletion of a
suffix. It is also known as a reserve derivation.
television – televise
donation – donate
option – opt
editor - edit
8. Sound imitation:
Sound imitation is the way to form words by imitating sounds produces by
actions, things and so on.
 Sounds produced by human beings: to whisper, to giggle, to mumble,
to sneeze, to whistle…
 Sounds produced by animals, birds, insects: to hiss, to buzz, to bark,
to moo, to twitter…
 Sounds produced by nature and objects: to splash, to rustle, to clatter,
to bubble, to ding-dong, to tinkle…….
9. Words from names:
The creativity of word formation is sometimes possible from proper names
of individuals or places.
Ex: sandwich, hamburger, watt,…..