MORPHOLOGY REVISION TEST

Top of Form
Identify the morphemes for each of the following words, in the order that they appear in
the word.
Word Morphemes
inputs + +
components +
elements +
Indo-European + +
Persian +
within +
another +
notable +

For more information see notes.

Morphology Exercises
Do a full morphological analysis of each of the following words. Steps:
1. Say how many morphemes are in the underlined word in each
phrase, and rewrite the word with hyphens between the morphemes.
2. Identify each morpheme in the word as bound or free; root, prefix or
suffix; and, if an affix, inflectional or derivational. Any affix that is not in
the tables of inflectional affixes on my morphology page is derivational.
For inflectional morphemes, identify the category the affix marks
(tense, number, etc.), and whether or not the suffix appears in a regular
or irregular form.
3. For bound morphemes, give at least two other words in which the
same morpheme appears (same meaning; same or nearly same form).
Refer to the handout An Overview of the English Morphological System
for help as you need it; but try to develop independence from the
handout. An example is done for you.

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Example: Several Americanisms 4: America-an-ism-s
America: free root
-an: bound derivational suffix; e.g., 'Dominican', 'Republican', 'Asian'
-ism: bound derivational suffix; e.g., 'Communism', 'defeatism'
-s: bound inflectional suffix, regular plural; e.g., 'walls', 'things'

3. we have
1. An unfortunate 2. exchanging 4. children's
misidentified the
error pleasantries clothing
victim
5. They're
6. her two ex- 7. Which scenarios 8. He unmasks
previewing the
husbands is unlikelier? me every time!
slides.
9. the safest 10. the inspector's 11. They are all 12. The play
location parking place reactionaries. delighted us.

Dr. Johanna Rubba

English Department
Cal Poly State University, San Luis Obispo
© 2000 Johanna Rubba
Last updated 10/20/00

Morphology Exericises
Do a full morphological analysis of each of the following words. Steps:
1. Say how many morphemes are in the underlined word in each
phrase, and rewrite the word with hyphens between the morphemes.
2. Identify each morpheme in the word as bound or free; root, prefix or
suffix; and, if an affix, inflectional or derivational. For inflectional
morphemes, identify the category the affix marks (tense, number, etc.),
and whether or not the suffix appears in a regular or irregular form.
3. For bound morphemes, give at least two other words in which the
same morpheme appears (same meaning; same or nearly same form).
Refer to the handout An Overview of the English Morphological System
for help as you need it; but try to develop independence from the
handout. An example is done for you.

Example: Several Americanisms 4: America-an-ism-s

America: free root
-an: bound derivational suffix; e.g., 'Dominican', 'Republican', 'Asian'
-ism: bound derivational suffix; e.g., 'Communism', 'defeatism'
-s: bound inflectional suffix, regular plural; e.g., 'walls', 'things'

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 2. exchanging 3. we have
pleasantries misidentified the
4: pleas-ant-ry-s victim
please: root, free 4: mis-ident-ifi-ed
1. An unfortunate mis-: bound
-ant: bound 4. children's
error derivational prefix;
derivational clothing
3: un-fortun-ate e.g., 'miscalculate',
suffix; e.g., 2: child-ren
fortune : root; free 'misunderstand'
'irritant', child: free root
morpheme ident-: bound root;
'pollutant' -ren: bound
un-: bound cf. 'identity',
-ry: bound inflectional
derivational prefix; 'identical'
derivational suffix; irregular
e.g., 'unfair', -ify: bound
suffix; e.g., plural; used
'unpredictable' derivational suffix;
'dentistry', only in this
-ate: bound e.g., 'solidify',
'peasantry', word
derivational suffix; 'personify'
'ribaldry'
e.g., 'passionate', -ed: bound
-s: bound
'literate'
inflectional suffix, inflectional suffix;
regular plural; past tense; e.g.,
e.g., 'walls', 'tried', 'stated'
'things'

5. They're 6. her two ex- 8. He unmasks

7. Which scenarios
previewing the husbands me every time!
is unlikelier?
slides. 3: ex-husband-s 3: un-likely-er 3: un-mask-s
3: pre-view-ing ex-: bound bound
un-: bound
pre-: bound derivational derivational
derivational prefix;
derivational prefix; prefix; e.g., 'ex- e.g., 'unkind', prefix; e.g.,
e.g., 'prefix', wife', 'ex- 'untie', 'unlock',
'unhappily'
'predetermine', president' 'undo'
likely: free root
'prejudge' husband: free mask: free root
meaning 'probable'**
view: free root root -s: bound
-er: bound
-ing: bound -s: bound inflectional
inflectional suffix;
inflectional suffix; inflectional suffix, comparative of suffix; present
present participle of regular plural; tense of verb;
adjective; e.g.,
verb; e.g., 'thinking', e.g., 'walls', cf. 'eats',
'simpler', 'tastier'
'discussing' 'things' 'thinks'

9. the safest location 10. the 11. They are all 12. The play
2: safe-est inspector's reactionaries. delighted us.
safe: free root parking place 5: re-act-ion-ary-s 2: delight-ed
-est: bound 4: in-spect-or-'s re-: bound delight: free
inflectional suffix; in-: bound derivational prefix; root
superlative of derivational e.g., 'rebound', -ed: -s: bound
adjective; cf. prefix; e.g., 'respond', 'retort' inflectional
'likeliest', 'easiest' 'incise', 'incline', act: free root suffix, regular

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 'influence'
spect-: bound
past tense
root, cf.
suffix; e.g.,
'spectator',
'puzzled',
'circumspect'
'treated'
-or: bound -ion: bound
derivational derivational suffix; (Note: Neither
suffix; e.g., e.g., 'division', 'de-' nor 'light'
'advisor', 'inflation', 'coercion' carries in this
'counsellor', -s: -s: bound word the
'actor' inflectional suffix, meanings they
-'s: bound regular plural; e.g., have
inflectional suffix; 'walls', 'things'
elsewhere;
possessive of
'delight' doesn't
noun, cf.
mean 'take light
'doctor's',
away from'.)
'person's'

** You may have divided 'likely' into 'like' + '-ly'. To my mind, the 'like' part of
'likely' no longer has the same meaning as the verb 'to like something/someone',
the preposition sense as in 'he is like me', or the conjunction sense as in 'do it
like I do it'. Therefore I didn't analyze it into parts.

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Morphology Exercises
MORPHEMES & WORDS*

1. Identify the component morpheme(s) of each word. How many

morphemes does each word contain?

a) stupidity f) paper k) misidentification

b) unreliable g) sleeping l) management
c) classroom h) disinfectant m) painters
d) ugly i) magazine n) deforms
e) unfairly j) sandwich o) husbands

2. Isolate the affixes in each of these words and state whether each is
prefix or suffix.

1-depose 5-action

2-readily 6-repackage

3-active 7-unchanged

4-behead 8-forcefully

1. For the following words, identify all roots (base words).

1-dragged 6-unassuming

2-deactivated 7-redness

3-impossible 8-auctioneers

4-thumbtack 9-cloudiness

5-hopefully 10-exceptionally

* These exercises are adapted or taken from The structure of English, by Thomas E. Murray,
1995.

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 4) ANALYZABILITY

Refer to the following data to solve the problem below it.

List #1: taller, shorter, greener, higher, lower, sweeter, smarter

List #2: mower, teacher, sailor, farmer, caller, operator
List #3: never, cover, finger, either, river, candor, other, valor

Problem I: Use (a) your own knowledge of English and (b) the notion 'consistent match
between meaning and form' to construct an argument in which you agree or disagree with the
following statement, supporting your position with evidence from the data.

Statement: The item spelled 'er'/'or' is the same item in all of the words, in all three
lists.

Problem II: Do the same, using the following data:

List #1: soften, harden, sweeten, whiten, strengthen, lengthen, widen, deepen, redden,
blacken, weaken
List #2: given, taken, eaten, broken
List #3: oven, open, coven, leaven, ramen, even, often, sudden

Statement: The item spelled 'en' is the same item in all of the words, in all three lists.

* This exercise was adapted from Anatomy of English by Dorothy Sedley.

Click here to return to the exercise.

More Morphology Exercises

For each word below, trace the effect of adding each affix, one by one, on the word
category of the output word (product of attaching affix). Add affixes one at a time, as
instructed for each word. Steps:

1 - Use part-of-speech tests to find the category of the base (noun, verb, adjective,
adverb) without any affixes, e.g. "nation" for #1. Test for all categories.
2 - Add the first affix ("-al" for #1), then retest the result ("national") for part of
speech. Test for all categories.
3 - Add the next affix ("-ity" for #1), then retest the result ("nationality") for part of
speech. Test for all categories.

If the base passes tests for more than one part of speech, use your intutions about the
meaning of the word after the first affix is added. For instance, register passes noun
tests, as in "a heat register", but does "preregister" have anything to do with heat
registers? Register also passes verb tests; does "preregister" have anything to do with
the act of registering?

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In each case, change the spelling as needed when affixes are added.

What to show in your homework: Only result of each test.

Model: "uncertainty"
1. Base: certain = adjective
2. Add un- > uncertain = adjective
3. Add -ty > uncertainty = noun

1. nationality 4. preregistration

Base: nation Base: register

Affix #1: -al Affix #1: pre-
Affix #2: -ity Affix #2: -ation

2. relationship 5. gradually

Base: relate Base: gradual

Affix #1: -ion Affix #1: -ly
Affix #2: -ship

3. bolder 6. kindness

Base: bold Base: kind

Affix #1: -er Affix #1: -ness
Link to Key

Practice: Morphological Analysis

Analyze each of the items below morphologically. Determine

(a) how many morphemes each item contains (1 or more than 1);
(b) if there is more than one morpheme, which are free and which bound;
(c) if there is more than one morpheme, which are derivational and which inflectional
(use elimination: if there is an affix and it is not in the list of inflectional morphemes,
then it's derivational);
(d) if there is more than one morpheme, which one is the root; and what are the
remaining morphemes: prefixes or suffixes;
(e) whether the words are simple, compound, or complex
and finally,
(f) if there are inflectional suffixes, are they regular or irregular?

Remember: One or both of the words that make up a compound word may be complex.
Such items count as both compound and complex words.

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Warning: Don't let variations in spelling disturb you too much. Sometimes adding
suffixes changes the way the base word or suffix is spelled.

1 re-established
2 spaghetti
3 apologize
4 statements
5 snowboarding
6 nationality
7 security blanket
8 preregistration
9 relationship
10 ethnic
11 apology
12 American
13 slept
14 bolder
15 ethnology
16 apologetic
17 gradually
18 kindnesses
19 microwave
20 wavelength

answer key

ENGL 390: Modern English Grammar

Practice: Morphological Analysis KEY

Analyze each of the items below morphologically. Determine

(a) how many morphemes each item contains (1 or more than 1);
(b) if there is more than one morpheme, which are free and which bound;
(c) if there is more than one morpheme, which are derivational and which
inflectional (use elimination: if there is an affix and it is not in the list of
inflectional morphemes, then it's derivational);
(d) if there is more than one morpheme, which one is the root; and what are the
remaining morphemes: prefixes or suffixes;
(e) whether the words are simple,compound, or complex
and finally,
(f) if there are inflectional suffixes, are they regular or irregular?

Remember: One or both of the words that make up a compound word may be
complex. Such items count as both compound and complex words.

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Warning: Don't let variations in spelling disturb you too much. Sometimes adding
suffixes changes the way the base word or suffix is spelled.

1 re-established
re- derivational prefix bound; no change in part of speech
establish root free
ed inflectional suffix bound
complex word
3 morphemes, 2 bound, 1 free

2 spaghetti
spaghetti one free morpheme; simple word

3 apologize
apolog root bound
ize derivational suffix bound; changes noun to verb
complex word
2 morphemes, both bound

4 statement
state root free
ment derivational suffix bound; changes verb to noun
s inflectional suffix bound
complex word
3 morphemes: 1 free, 2 bound

5 snowboarding
snow root free
board root (compound words have as many roots as there are words)
free
ing regular inflectional suffix bound
compound/complex word
3 morphemes: 2 free (2 words), 1 bound

6 nationality
nation root free
al derivational suffix bound; changes noun to adjective
ity derivational suffix bound; changes adj. to noun
complex word
3 morphemes: 1 free, 2 bound

(Some people might analyze 'nat-' as the bound root of this word. That is a valid
analysis. In that case, there is no free morpheme in the word; all are bound.)

7 security blanket
secur root free

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ity derivational suffix bound; changes adj. to noun
blanket root free
compound/complex word
3 morphemes: 2 free, 1 bound

8 preregistration
pre derivational prefix bound; no change in part of speech
registr root free
ation derivational suffix bound; changes verb to noun
complex word
3 morphemes: 1 free, 2 bound

9 relationship
relat root free
ion derivational suffix bound; V to N
ship derivational suffix bound; N to N
complex word
3 morphemes: 1 free, 2 bound ('ship' here is not the same morpheme as the
word 'ship')

10 ethnic
ethn root bound
ic derivational suffix bound
complex word
2 morphemes: both bound

11 apology
apolog root bound
y derivational suffix bound
complex word
2 morphemes: both bound

12 American
America root free
an derivational suffix bound; N to Adj.
complex word
2 morphemes: 1 free, 1 bound

13 antennae
antenn root free (antenna)
ae irregular inflectional suffix bound
complex word
2 morphemes: 1 free, 1 bound (sometimes a suffix causes the end of the root
word to be changed)

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14 bolder
bold root free
er regular inflectional suffix bound
complex word
2 morphemes: 1 free, 1 bound

15 ethnology
ethn root bound
olog derivational suffix bound
y vderivational suffix bound
complex word
3 morphemes: all bound

16 apologetic
apolog root bound
etic derivational suffix bound; N to adj.
complex word
2 morphemes: both bound

17 gradually
gradu root bound ('grade'?)
al derivational suffix bound; creates Adj.
ly derivational suffix bound; changes Adj. to Adv.
complex word
3 morphemes: all bound

(you may analyze this word as deriving from 'grade'; this is a possible analysis, in
which case the root would be 'grade' and it would be one free morpheme)

18 kindnesses
kind root free
ness derivational suffix bound; changes N to Adj.
es regular inflectional suffix bound
complex word
3 morphemes: 1 free, 2 bound

19 microwave
micro derivational prefix (some may analyze this as a word; is it really a
free morpheme?) bound; no change in part of speech
wave root free
complex word
2 morphemes: 1 free, 1 bound

20 wavelength
wave root free
length root free

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compound word
2 morphemes: 2 free

English 336: Linguistics

Extra Exercise on Morphology

Dr. Tina L. Hanlon

Associate Professor of English
Ferrum College
Linguistics Home Page

Based on exercise 3 in Fromkin, Rodman, and Hyams, 8th ed., chap. 3, p. 108

Match the expressions on the left with the correct morphological description on
the right.
I.
(a) wifely, wifehood,
________ 1. compound noun
wifeless
________ (b) take a wife 2. root morpheme plus derivational prefix
________ (c) his wife 3. phrase consisting of adjective plus noun
________ (d) tall wife 4. root morpheme plus inflectional suffix
________ (e) housewife 5. root morpheme plus derivational suffix
6. grammatical morpheme followed by lexical
________ (f) wives
morpheme
________ (g) exwife 7. idiom

II.
________ (a) lives 1. compound noun
________ (b) a life 2. root morpheme plus derivational prefix
________ (c) long life 3. phrase consisting of adjective plus noun
(d) lifeguard, lifetime,
________ 4. root morpheme plus inflectional suffix
lifeblood
________ (e) for the life of me 5. root morpheme plus derivational suffix
6. grammatical morpheme followed by lexical
________ (f) relive
morpheme
________ (g) lifelike, lifeless 7. idiom
III.
________ (a) running 1. compound noun
________ (b) brief run 2. root morpheme plus derivational prefix
(c) run for office, run
________ 3. phrase consisting of adjective plus noun
across

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________ (d) runner, runny 4. root morpheme plus inflectional suffix
________ (e) rerun 5. root morpheme plus derivational suffix
6. grammatical morpheme followed by lexical
________ (f) runway, run-of-the-mill
morpheme
________ (g) to run 7. idiom
IV.
________ (a) the coat off his back 1. compound noun
________ (b) recoat 2. root morpheme plus derivational prefix
________ (c) coated 3. phrase consisting of adjective plus noun
________ (d) ugly coat 4. root morpheme plus inflectional suffix
________ (e) my coat 5. root morpheme plus derivational suffix
6. grammatical morpheme followed by lexical
________ (f) turncoat
morpheme
________ (g) coater 7. idiom

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