The Real Difference Between Roots, Base

Words, and Stems

Teachers frequently debate this question: What’s the difference between a root,
base word, and stem? The reason teachers are forced to debate this question is that
their textbooks present a model that quickly falls apart in the real world.

If teachers are confused, their students will also be confused. By the end of this
page, you won’t be confused. To end this confusion, we will look at two systems:

1. The Traditional Root and Base-Word System for Kids

2. A Modern System of Morphemes, Roots, Bases, and Stems from Linguistics

The Traditional Root and Base-Word System for Kids

Here is a problem-filled system that, unfortunately, some students still learn.

Students learn that ROOTS are Greek and Latin roots. Most of these roots cannot
stand alone as words when we remove the prefixes and suffixes.

e.g., Word: justify      Latin Root: jus (law)

Students also learn that BASE WORDS can stand alone as words when we

remove all of the prefixes and suffixes. Students learn that if it cannot stand alone
when we remove all of the prefixes and suffixes, then it is not a base word.

e.g., Word: kindness      Base Word: kind

The problem comes later in the day when the teacher is teaching verb tenses.

Teacher: Look at these two verbs: responded and responding. What’s the

base word?

Student #1: Respond.

Teacher: Correct!

Student #2: Isn’t re- a prefix? If re- is a prefix, then respond can’t be a base

word. I suspect that spond is a Latin root. Is it?
Teacher: I’m not sure. Let me research this. Yes, the word respond has the
prefix re- attached to the Latin root spond. The Latin root spond comes
from sponder, which means to pledge.

Although the teacher was looking for the answer “respond,” Student #2’s answer
was the correct answer according to this Traditional System. That’s how easily the
Traditional System falls apart. And the problems get worse from here.

Modern Linguistics

I looked at a few current student textbooks from major publishers, and most of
them don’t mention the terms base or base word. They only use the term root in
their basic word studies. I suspect that this is because modern linguistics has
created a new meaning for the term base.

In case you are not aware, modern linguistics and modern grammar fix many of the
broken models from centuries past—i.e., models and definitions that quickly fall
apart when you question them. These days, most books on linguistics and
morphology present a somewhat standardized model. In English Word-
Formation (1983), Laurie Bauer explains this model succinctly and definitively.
Let’s take a look.

English Word-Formation (1983) by Laurie Bauer

As you can see below, Bauer acknowledges the root/stem/base problem and then
explains a model that removes the ambiguity.

The Problem: “‘Root’, ‘stem’ and ‘base’ are all terms used in the literature to
designate that part of a word that remains when all affixes have been removed. Of
more recent years, however, there has been some attempt to distinguish
consistently between these three terms.”

Root: “A root is a form which is not further analysable, either in terms of

derivational or inflectional morphology. It is that part of word-form that remains
when all inflectional and derivational affixes have been removed… In the form
‘untouchables’ the root is ‘touch’.”

Stem: “A stem is of concern only when dealing with inflectional morphology. In

the form ‘untouchables’ the stem is ‘untouchable’.” [In short, when you remove the
inflectional suffixes, you have the stem.]

Base: “A base is any form to which affixes of any kind can be added. This means
that any root or any stem can be termed a base… ‘touchable’ can act as a base for
prefixation to give ‘untouchable’.”
This model holds up across the curriculum. This model is the foundation of what I
teach my students.

My Perfect Model: Roots, Stems, and Bases

I always like to have a complete model in mind that holds up across the
curriculum. This lets me find teaching moments and ensures that I can answer my
students’ questions clearly and consistently. Although I may not teach my students
the entire model, at least the concepts are straight in my mind.

For this reason, I created this “Perfect Model of Roots, Stems, and Bases.” To be
clear, this model is an interpretation and fuller explanation of what you might find
in a linguistics book. Let me explain it to you. It all begins with morphemes.

Keep in mind that teachers don’t need to teach their students this entire model. In
fact, most teachers will want to keep their morphology lessons simple and focus on
roots, prefixes, and suffixes. But all teachers will want to understand this entire
model.

Morphemes

The term morpheme unifies the concepts of roots, prefixes, and suffixes, and

therefore, it is an extremely valuable word. In short, words are composed of parts
called morphemes, and each morpheme contributes meaning to the word.
Morphemes are the smallest unit of language that contains
meaning. Roots, prefixes, and suffixes all have one thing in common—they are all
single morphemes. In contrast, stems and bases can be composed of one or many
morphemes.

Root / Root Morpheme

When I use the term root, I always mean the root morpheme. The root is always
the main morpheme that carries the main meaning of a word. Since a morpheme is
the smallest unit of language that contains meaning, we can’t divide or analyze the
root morpheme any further. Although a root can be a stand-alone word, to avoid
confusion, I never use the term “root word.” I use the term root, and I use the
term root morpheme to reinforce what a root is.

We have two types of root morphemes:

1. Dependent (bound) Roots: These roots cannot stand alone as words.

These roots are usually Greek and Latin roots. Here are a few examples:


o liberty          root: liber (free)
 o interrupt         root: rupt (break)
o similar         root: sim (like)

2. Independent (free) Roots: These roots are stand-alone words.

Practically speaking, these roots are almost always single-syllable words. You
know the ones. It seems to me that most multi-syllable words can be further
divided and further analyzed. With a little research, one finds that an ancient prefix
or suffix has merged with a root. In short, most multi-syllable words are not root
morphemes.

Here is what they thought 150 years ago. Although modern linguistics does not
agree with these statements, it’s still food for thought. My point is that most of the
independent roots that we deal with inside of the classroom are single-syllable
words.

“All languages are formed from roots of one syllable.” – New Englander
Magazine (1862)

“All words of all languages can be reduced to one-syllable roots.” – New

Jerusalem Magazine (1853)

Here are a few examples:


o replaced          root: place
o mindfulness         root: mind
o carefully         root: care

The Terms: Dependent Root and Independent Root

Modern linguistics use the term bound (for dependent) and free (for independent)

to classify morphemes. Since teachers spend so much time teaching students about
dependent clauses and independent clauses, I transfer this knowledge and
terminology over to morphemes. Put simply: independent morphemes CAN stand
alone; dependent morphemes CAN’T stand alone.

PREFIXES and SUFFIXES are almost always dependent morphemes—i.e.,

they can’t stand alone as words.

ROOTS are either dependent or independent morphemes.

Now, we will examine words that contain one root and words that contain two
roots. As you examine these words, pay special attention to the dependent
root and independent root aspect.
One Root: Many words have just one root. That one root may be a Dependent
Root or an Independent Root. Remember, the root carries the main meaning of the
word.

Word: justify             Dependent Root: jus

Word: kindness           Independent Root: kind

Two Roots: Some words have two roots. The roots may be Dependent Roots or
Independent Roots. With two roots, each root contributes near equal meaning to
the word.

Two Dependent Roots

Word: geography       Dependent Root: geo (earth)    Root: graph

(write)

Word: carnivore   Dependent Root: carn (flesh)   Dependent

Root: vor (swallow)

Word: cardiovascular   Dependent Root: cardi (heart)    Dependent

Root: vas (vessel)

Two Independent Roots

Word: bathroom    Independent Root: bath    Independent

Root: room

Word: downfall    Independent Root: down    Independent

Root: fall

Word: popcorn    Independent Root: pop    Independent

Root: corn

Stem

I use the term stem just as Bauer does. To find the stem, simply remove the
inflectional suffixes. It’s that simple.

When to Use the Term Stem: The term stem is quite unnecessary in

many classrooms, as all stems are bases. For this reason, teachers can always use
the term base instead of stem. However, the concept of stems is helpful in teaching
students about inflectional suffixes. Inflectional suffixes are different from
derivational affixes (derivational prefixes and derivational suffixes).

Word: reddest    Stem: red

Word: girls’    Stem: girl

Word: boats    Stem: boat

Word: preapproved    Stem: preapprove

Word: justifying    Stem: justify

Word: responded   Stem: respond

Word: unjustifiable    Stem: no stem

Word: kindness    Stem: no stem

Base / Base Word

Bauer says, “A base is any form to which affixes of any kind can be added. This
means that any root or any stem can be termed a base.”

In the table below, I use two labels to show how base and root relate to each other.
Sometimes a base is a root (marked    Base/Root), and sometimes it is not a
root (marked    Base).

To be clear, we can add a prefix or suffix to every base even if it already has a
prefix or suffix. Furthermore, if we can add a prefix or suffix to something, we can
call it a base.

Word: reread     Base/Root: read

Word: unhelpful     Base: helpful     Base/Root: help

Word: justifying     Base: justify     Base/Root: jus

Word: unreliable     Base: reliable     Base/Root: rely

Word: preponderance     Base: ponderance (uncommon) 

 Base/Root: ponder
 Word: responded     Base: respond     Base/Root: spond

Word: preapproved     Base: preapprove     Base: approve 

 Base: approved     Base: proved     Base/Root: prove

Base vs. Base Word: To keep things simple, teachers should probably strike
the term “base word” from their vocabulary. However, if the base is a complete
word that can stand alone, teachers may choose to (or through force of habit) refer
to it as a base word. If the base can’t stand alone, be sure not to call it a base word.

When to Use the Term Base: The term base is somewhat of a generic

term for when we are not interested in or concerned with the root morpheme. As an
example, we may choose to use the term base when we are ADDING prefixes and
suffixes. When we are adding prefixes and suffixes, we often are unconcerned with
finding or discussing the root morpheme. (Remember, we often add prefixes and
suffixes to words that already contain prefixes and suffixes.) We may also choose
to use the term base when removing a single, specific prefix or suffix, as the word
may still contain other prefixes or suffixes.

Putting It All Together

Here is a table to help get you started in your word analysis studies related to root,
stem, and base.

Root: Root:
Example Word Stem Base
Dependent Independent
1. undeniable  deny ** deny; deniable
2. reinvented reinvent ven/vent ven/vent; invent; reinvent
3.
forest *** forest; forestation
deforestation
4. interacted interact act * act; interact
5.
demographic demo graph * demo; graph; demographic
demographics
6. responding respond spond spond; respond
7. preserving preserve serv serv; preserve
8. hopefully hope hope; hopeful
Morphemes - Free and Bound
Review

Morpheme: The smallest unit with meaning

Morph: A form without meaning attached
Allomorph: An alternative form of a morpheme

Activity: Free and Bound Morphemes

Mark the ungrammatical sentence:

   I saw a bear.

   I saw two bears.

   I saw two -s.

It should be obvious that the last sentence is ungrammatical, I saw two -s. The
morpheme -s cannot stand alone. It is a bound morpheme.
Morphemes can be considered free or bound.

 A Free Morpheme can be a word on its own.

 A Bound Morpheme must be attached to another element.

An analysis of the word cats, as described in terms of words and morphemes,

would be:

 Cat = simple word, one morpheme

 Cat = free morpheme, can be a word
 Cats = complex word, two morphemes
 Cats = two morphemes, one free (cat), one bound (-s)

Word Analysis for Morphemes

 Consider these words:

Bears
Bearers

We can characterize these words as follows

Look at their Analyses:
Bears = bear + -s Bear is a free morpheme, -s is a bound
morpheme.
Bearers = bear + -er + -s
Bear is a simple word because it is contains
only one morpheme.

Bearer is a complex word because it contains

two morphemes: bear + -er.

Bearer is also a free form because it is a word.

-s and er are bound morphemes because they

are not words in isolation

However, we don't yet have a way to talk about the fact that -s can attach to
both bear, a simple word, and bearer, a complex word.
We need new terms to help us out:

Base
Root
Stem
A Base is a word form that other morphemes can
attach to. Bases include both roots and stems.

A Root is the core of a word. A root can be free or

bound.

A Stem is a root with some modifications to it. They

are usually derivational in nature.
With the use of plant terminology,
it might be helpful to imagine a plant in order to keep these terms clear in your
mind.
 What does Derivational mean?
 Derivational morphemes are different from inflectional morphemes.
 Derivational morphemes are morphemes that allow us to derive, or pull out,
new words with new meanings or parts of speech from another word.

Examples of derivational morphemes are:

 -er, which allows us to turn a verb into a noun meaning one who does
something
 -ify which allows us to turn an adjective into a verb meaning make
something become something (simplify, amplify)

And there are Inflectional Morphemes:

Inflectional morphemes are morphemes that provide grammatical alterations
without changing the core meaning.

Examples include:

 -s, which allows us to make cat plural but still refers to the animal

 -ed which allows us to make a verb refer to past time, but still refers to an
action

Affixes
Bases, roots, and stems are the morphemes that other morphemes attach to. The
parts that get attached are called affixes.
Affixation is the process of attaching morphemes to bases.

An affix is the morpheme that gets attached.

Affixes are always bound morphemes.

You and George Carlin already know two kinds of English uses both prefixes:
affixes.
Un-kind
Prefixes: Im-possible
Morphemes that are attached to the front of a base  
and suffixes:

Suffixes: Work-ed
Morphemes that are attached to the end of a base Teach-er
Along with suffixes and prefixes, other languages have circumfixes. These are
two-part morphemes that surround the base.

Examples:

German: ge-base-t meaning past participle - Geliebt means loved

Shilha Berber: t-base-t meaning feminine - Romi means foreign

man, Taromit means foreign woman
Other languages also have infixes. Morphemes that are inserted into the middle of
a base.

Example:

Bantoc: -um- changes an adjective into a

verb. Fikas means strong; fumikas means to be strong.
English has an infix, too, but it is profane. In English people sometimes insert the
F-word into another word to create a higher sense of emotion. Sometimes a less
profane euphemism like freaking (or fricative?)is used instead of the obscenity.

Examples:

un - f_ _ _ _ _ g - believable

fan - f_ _ _ _ _ g - tastic

These examples show the process of inserting the word f_ _ _ _ _ g into the
stem unbelievable or fantastic.

(Note: linguistics is about language, and profanity is part of language, so talking

about language includes talking about profanity.)