Section 4.1 Morphemes: The Building Blocks
Morphology is the study of word structure and word formation. The fundamental unit of morphology is the morpheme—the smallest unit of language that carries meaning. A morpheme is a collection of sounds (or letters, in writing) that expresses a thought or concept.
Words consist of one or more morphemes connected together. Understanding how to identify and analyze morphemes gives you insight into how English builds its vocabulary and how speakers create and understand new words.
Free and Bound Morphemes.
Morphemes fall into two categories based on whether they can stand alone:
Free morphemes (also called bases or roots) can function as independent words. They carry the core meaning of a word.
Examples of free morphemes:
-
boy, girl, walk, happy, book, run
Bound morphemes cannot stand alone as words; they must attach to other morphemes. Most bound morphemes in English are affixes—prefixes that attach before the base or suffixes that attach after it.
Examples of bound morphemes:
-
Prefixes: un-, re-, pre-, mis-, dis-
-
Suffixes: -ness, -ly, -able, -tion, -er, -ed, -ing
Morpheme Analysis Examples.
Let’s practice identifying morphemes in words:
“Big” — One free morpheme
-
big = free
“Bigger” — Two morphemes
-
big = free morpheme
-
-er = bound morpheme (comparative)
“Unbelievable” — Three morphemes
-
un- = bound morpheme (prefix meaning "not")
-
believe = free morpheme
-
-able = bound morpheme (suffix meaning "capable of")
“Rewriters” — Four morphemes
-
re- = bound morpheme (prefix meaning "again")
-
write = free morpheme
-
-er = bound morpheme (suffix meaning "one who")
-
-s = bound morpheme (plural marker)
“Expectantly” — Three morphemes
-
expect = free morpheme
-
-ant = bound morpheme (forms adjective)
-
-ly = bound morpheme (forms adverb)
