MORPHOLOGY

BY

RAHMI FHONNA, MA
DEFINITION

The study of word is called MORPHOLOGY. It can be defined

as the study of the internal structure of complex words.
The words in any languages can be divided into two broad
categories, closed and open.

Words can be defined as the smallest meaningful unit of

language.

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Types of Human Language
There are two basic types of human language– simple and
complex.

Simple words are those that cannot be broken down into

smaller meaningful units while complex words can be
analyzed into constituent parts , each of which expresses
some identifiable meaning

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 Morphemes
Many English words consist of one morpheme, others can
contain two, three or more. See example below:
Boy= 1 morpheme, boys= 2 morphemes
Hunt= 1 morpheme, hunter= 2 morphemes, and hunters= 3
morphemes.
Hospital= ?
▪ Hospitalize= ? Hospitalization=?

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 Kinds of Morpheme
a. Free Morpheme is a base word/stem, has meaning,
and it can stand alone without depending on
another morpheme

b. Bound morpheme is an affix; the combination

prefix and suffix. Prefix is an affix placed before
base word/stem while suffix is an affix placed after
base word/stem.

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 Ways of Identifying Morpheme
By understanding kinds of prefixes and suffixes, for
example; noun prefixes/suffixes, verb
prefixes/suffixes, adjective prefixes/ suffixes, and
adverb prefixes/suffixes.

By drawing tree diagrams, This ability must be

supported by the knowledge of kinds of
prefixes/suffixes.

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 Noun Suffixes
Noun suffixes: -ness, -ity, -ion, -ment, -hood, -s, -es, -ies, -or,
-er, ence, -ance, -ian, -ist, -dom, -ee, -ship, -ism, -ogy, -ate,
-age, -th, etc.

Darkness, nationality, protection, development,

motherhood, cats, brushes, babies, contractor, farmer,
importance, difference, musician, perfectionist , boredom .

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 adjectives Suffixes
adj suffixes: -less, -ful, -ive, -al, -ly, ent, -ant,
-ish, - ous, -ic, -y, -er, -est, -able, -ible, -etc.

homeless, hopeful, protective, optional,

friendly, different, boyish.

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THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR
YOUR ATTENTION