Studied by 4 peopleMorphology
The study of word formation and the internal structure of words.
Morpheme
The smallest part of a word that has grammatical function or meaning.
Allomorphs
Different variations of a morpheme that occur in different linguistic environments.
Free morpheme
A morpheme that can stand alone and be used as an independent word.
Bound morpheme
A morpheme that cannot stand alone and must be attached to a stem or root.
Affix
A bound morpheme that is attached to another unit, such as a prefix or suffix.
Prefix
An affix that is attached before the word.
Suffix
An affix that is attached after the word.
Root
The basic core of a word.
Stem/base
A root to which something is added.
Inflectional morpheme
A bound morpheme that indicates grammatical information, such as tense, number, case, or comparison.
Third person singular (3psg) present
A grammatical form used to indicate an action performed by a singular subject in the present tense.
Past tense
A grammatical form used to indicate that an action or event took place in the past.
Past participle
A grammatical form used to indicate that an action or event was completed in the past and has continuing relevance or effect in the present.
Present participle
A grammatical form used to indicate that an action or event is ongoing or in progress at the present time.
Plural
A grammatical form used to indicate that a noun represents more than one person, animal, place, thing, or idea.
Possessive/Genitive
A grammatical case that indicates possession, ownership, or a close relationship between two nouns.
Comparative
A grammatical form used to indicate a higher degree of a particular quality when comparing two things.
Superlative
A grammatical form used to indicate the highest degree of a particular quality when comparing three or more things.
Derivation
The process of adding derivational morphemes to change the meaning or part of speech of a word.
Word Formation
The process of creating new words through various processes such as compounding, conversion, clipping/abbreviation, acronym, blend, and borrowing.
Free Morphemes
Morphemes that can stand alone as words and carry meaning independently.
Bound Morphemes
Morphemes that cannot stand alone as words and must be attached to other morphemes.
Inflectional Morphemes
Bound morphemes that indicate grammatical relationships such as tense, number, possession, comparison, etc.
Derivational Morphemes
Bound morphemes that create new words or change the grammatical category or meaning of words.
Spelling and Pronunciation Variations
Differences in spelling and pronunciation of words in different communities of English speakers.
Vocabulary Differences
Different words or expressions used to convey the same meaning in different English-speaking communities.
Slang and Colloquialisms
Variations in word forms and usage due to the use of slang and informal language.
Morphological Variations
Differences in morphological forms of words, such as irregular verb forms or plural forms.
Semantic Shifts
Variations in word usage and forms due to changes in word meanings over time.
English Inflectional Morphology
Involves the addition of inflectional morphemes to indicate grammatical properties without changing the fundamental meanings of words.
English Derivational Morphology
Involves the addition of derivational morphemes to create new words or change the grammatical category or meaning of words.
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