Understanding Word Structure and Morphology

These flashcards cover the key vocabulary and concepts related to word structure, including morphemes, affixes, and word families.

Morpheme

A meaningful group of sounds that forms the smallest unit in a language.

Root

A morpheme that can exist independently and provides the main meaning of a word.

Affix

A morpheme that is added to a root to create a new word, including prefixes and suffixes.

Prefix

An affix added to the beginning of a root word.

Suffix

An affix added to the end of a root word.

Grammatical Suffix

A type of suffix that does not change the class of a word, only adds grammatical information.

Derivational Suffix

A suffix that changes the class of a word, such as from an adjective to an adverb.

Word Family

All the words that can be created from a single root, including various forms and derivations.

Polymorph

An organism that can take many forms; derived from the morpheme 'morph-' meaning shape.

Civil

Relating to the affairs of a state or being polite; derived from the Latin root 'civ'.

Quickly

An adverb derived from the adjective 'quick' using the derivational suffix '-ly'.

Expectation

A noun derived from the verb 'expect' by adding the derivational suffix '-ation'.

Explode

A verb that can create various forms, such as noun 'explosion' and adjective 'explosive'.

Shapeable

An adjective indicating that something can be shaped, derived from the root 'shape'.

Morphology

The study of morphemes and their structure in a language.