CHAPTER 3- WORD FORMATION

Mat1. ch the words/phrases wiI. th thMatch the words/phrases with their

Vietnamese equivalent
eir Vietnamese equivalent
A. VOCABULARY
Task 1: Brainstorm some words/ phrases related to word formation.

_________________ _________________ _________________

_________________ _________________ _________________
_________________ _________________ _________________
_________________ _________________ _________________
Task 2: Study the following new words and match them with their
definitions

morpheme (n) Affix (n) Bound Suffix(n) Root (n)

morpheme (n)

Free Derivation (n) Stem (n) Conversion Prefix (n)

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morpheme (n)

New words Definition

__________________ is a word or word element (in other words,

a morpheme) from which other words grow, usually
through the addition of prefixes and suffixes

__________________ a small part added to the end of a word that changes

the meaning

__________________ the act of converting

__________________ the source or origin of a word etc

__________________ is the form of a word before any inflectional affixes are

added

__________________ a letter or group of letters added to the beginning or

end of a word to change its meaning

__________________ is a morpheme (or word element) that can stand alone

as a word  

__________________ is a word element that cannot stand alone as a word,

including both prefixes and suffixes.

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__________________ a syllable or syllables put at the beginning of another
word to change its meaning.

__________________ the smallest unit of language that
has its own meaning, either a word or a part of a
word:

Source: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/& https://www.thoughtco.com

Task 3: Complete each sentence with one suitable word from the box. Make
changes if necessary.

morphemes Affix (n) Bound Suffixation Root (n)

(n) morphemes (n)
(n)

Free Derivation Stem (n) Conversion Prefixation

morphemes (n) (n)
(n)

1. ___________ must be attached to other morphemes.

2. A ___________ is the opposite of a bound morpheme, a word element that

cannot stand alone as a word.

3. A simple word consists of a single ___________.

4. Forming a new word by combining a stem and affixes is ___________.

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5. Because a ___________ tells us more about the meaning of a word than
anything else.
6. A bound morpheme that modifies the meaning and / or syntactic (sub)
category of the stem in some way is ___________.
7. ___________ is added in front of root or stem so that new word is created.
8. In linguistics, a ___________ is an affix which is placed after the stem of a
word.
9. For example, the verb bottle (I must bottle some plums) is derived
by___________ from the noun bottle.
10. The form of a word after all inflectional affixes are removed (+ derivational &
- inflectional affixes) is a ___________.
B. READING: Read the following passage and answer the questions
1. Free and bound morphemes:
Originally, “morphology” meant the study of biological organisms. But
nineteenth century students of linguistics borrowed the term and applied it to the
study of word structure, so that, in linguistics, morphology came to mean the
study of the formation and internal organization of words.
The basic concept morphology operates with is the morpheme, “the
smallest unit that has meaning or serves a grammatical function in a
language. Morphemes are the atoms with which words are built” (Katamba
2005: 29). However, they are just theoretical constructs since, in practice, it
is the variants of a morpheme that are used to form new words. These
variants are called allomorphs and they are in a relation of mutual
exclusiveness, i.e. only one allomorph can occur in a given context. For
example, im-, in-, il-, ir- are variants of the same morpheme, employed on
phonetic principles, according to the starting sound of the element to which
they are added: im-possible, in-cautious, il-literate, ir-responsible; the
selection of the morpheme –(e)s, the marker of the regular plural of nouns,
is also determined by phonological factors so that it may be realized under
the form of one of the following allomorphs: /s/ in hats, /z/ in games
and /iz/ in oranges. The morphemes that constitute the core for the
formation of new words are less sensitive to the phonetic environment and
more so to the grammatical context in which they occur. This is obvious for

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irregular verbs morphemes, whose allomorphs differ on grammatical
grounds: eg. the allomorphs drove and driven correspond, respectively, to
the past simple and the past perfect of the morpheme drive.
According to their distribution, morphemes fall into two broad
categories, free morphemes and bound morphemes. The former can
appear independently in an utterance and have a meaning of their own,
while the latter cannot be used independently and do not have a notional or
full meaning, but a functional or derivative one. Bound morphemes are
always appended to free forms (eg. drive is a free morpheme, while –er is a
bound one; if the latter is added to the former, we obtain the word driver
which, in its turn, is another free morpheme, according to the above
definition).

Answer the following questions

a. What is the morpheme?

……………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………

b. What are different between free morphemes and bound morphemes?

……………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………

2. Root:

The root is, Tătaru (2002: 22) says, “the necessary and sufficient structural
constituent for a word to exist”, the part common to all the words in a word
family (“the whole series of words and word-substitutes obtained from one
root by all possible word-forming mechanisms” (Tătaru 2002: 38)), which is
not further divisible into smaller parts that have a meaning (eg. care in the
words careful, careless, carelessness, caring). If roots are equivalent to a
word in the language and carry the notional meaning of this word into all
the new words they form, they are considered free roots (eg. civil in civility,
region in regional or person in personify). If, on the other hand, they are
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totally barred from occurring independently, they are considered bound
roots (eg. sanct in sanctify, tox in toxic or loc in local).

Answer the following questions

a. What is the root?

……………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………

b. What are different between free roots and bound root?

……………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………

3. Affix:

The bound morphemes that are appended to the root are called
affixes. Depending on their position to the root, affixes may be
prefixes, if they are added before the root, suffixes, if they are added
after the root and infixes, if they are added somewhere within the root
(modern English has no infixes in its regular vocabulary; however,
they may be employed in expressive language such as
absobloominglutely used by Alan Jay Lerner in My Fair Lady and
quoted by Adams (1973: 8) or cuck-BLOODY-oo, the way the cuckoo
sounds for Dylan Thomas (1940)).
Affixes may be derivational or inflectional, also called
functional. The former, which will be discussed in more details in
what follows, help to form completely new words (eg. –ful in
beautiful or un- in unimportant), while the latter, which Jackson and
Amvela (2007) call “relational markers”, help to build new
grammatical forms of the same basic word, according to the syntactic
environment in which this word is used (eg. –s in writes helps to form
the present tense form of the verb “to write”, when it is the predicate
of a third person singular subject; -ed in - loved is used for the
formation of the past and past participle of “to love”, while –er in
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cleverer is added to change the positive degree of the adjective
“clever” into its comparative of superiority; however, in all the
previous examples, the notional content of the root words remains
unaltered).
Inflectional affixes are characterized by a number of features,
the most important of these being the fact that “they lend themselves
to paradigms which apply to the language as a whole. The paradigm of
a major word class consists of a single stem of that class with the
inflectional suffixes which the stem may take. The paradigm may be
used as a suitable way of defining the word class in the sense that, if
a word belongs to that class, it must take at least some of the suffixes
characteristic of that set as opposed to suffixes characterizing other
paradigms” (Jackson, Amvela 2007: 84). The inflectional affixes of
nouns, adjectives and verbs are illustrated in a tabular form by Cook
(1969: 122-3) as it is shown below.

Nouns display the following inflectional contrasts:

base form stem + plural stem + possessive stem +

plural+possessive

boy boys boy’s boys’

child children child’s children’s
student students student’s students’

Mono- or disyllabic gradable adjectives show the following

inflectional contrasts:

base form stem + comparative stem + superlative

cold colder coldest

happy happier happiest
sad sadder saddest

Verbs (except the verb to be and the modals) show the

following inflectional contrasts:

base form stem + stem + stem + stem+

3rd pers. sg. past tense past part. present part.

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eat eats ate eaten eating
sing sings sang sung
singing work works worked
worked working

For some verbs, including the regular ones, the five-parts

paradigm has only four elements, since the past and past participle
inflectional affixes have the same form. However, since they confer
the stem they are added to different morphological characteristics,
they should be considered different morphemes with identical forms
(homonyms).
Pronouns are a class of function words which do not add
inflectional affixes. Their forms fit the noun inflectional paradigm, as
Jackson and Amvela (2007) show:

child children child’s children’s

I, me we, us mine ours
you you yours yours
he, him his their
she, her they, them hers
it, it its

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 The forms listed in each column of the paradigm are in complementary
distribution, i.e. they are context dependent (where one occurs the other ones
do not). For example, I occurs before the verb, as the grammatical subject in
sentences such as I wrote a letter or I shall buy flowers, while me occurs after
the verb, as the direct, the indirect or the prepositional object as in My friend
gave me the book; He wrote me a letter; My father explained the theory to me.
The possessive pronoun mine replaces the whole nominal phrase “my +
noun” as in This is my book – This book is mine.
The auxiliary verbs pertain to the class of function words as well. They
constitute a closed sub-class of verbs which can take certain forms in the
verbal paradigm, though not all. While most of the verbs have four or five
forms, most of the modal auxiliaries have two, the modal must has only one
form, while the auxiliary be is the most polymorphic of all verbs, with eight
different forms. The paradigm of auxiliaries is presented by Jackson and
Amvela (2007: 85) as it is shown below:

base form stem + stem + stem + stem+

3rd pers. sg. past tense past part. present part.

eat eats ate eaten eating be

am / is / are was were been being

can could
may might
shall should
will would
must

Some mono- and disyllabic adverbs (with the exception of those

formed with the suffix –ly) show the same inflectional contrasts like the
gradable mono- and disyllabic adjectives:

base form stem + comparative stem + superlative

fast faster fastest

soon sooner sonnest

Finally, Jacskon and Amvela (2007) also distinguish between regular

inflections and irregular inflections. The former are formed following a
regular pattern, e.g. –s for the plural of nouns, -ed for the past and past
participle of regular verbs, -er for the comparative of gradable mono- and
disyllabic adjectives, etc. However, even within the class of regular
inflectional affixes, variation may be present, in spelling, e.g. the addition of
e before the plural suffix –s (masses, classes), and pronunciation, e.g.

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 compare the pronunciation of the plural –(e)s in rats, cows, houses and that of
the past tense inflection –ed in talked, clogged, glided. Irregular inflections do
not follow a regular pattern and usually apply to only some of the members of
a morphological class. For example, the following nouns form their plural
irregularly: child – children, man – men, woman – women, ox – oxen, mouse
– mice, louse – lice, tooth – teeth, deer – deer, salmon – salmon, etc. The
number of verbs that form their past tense and their past participle irregularly
is even greater: run – ran – run, see – saw – seen, lie – lay – lain, write – wrote
– written, etc.

Answer the following questions

a. What is the affix?

……………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………

b. What are different between prefixes, suffixes and infixes?

……………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………
4. Stem:

When affixes are stripped away from the word, what we obtain is the
stem or, conversely, the stem is the part of the word to which an affix is added
in order to form a new word (eg. in the word carelessness, care is the root, -
less and –ness are affixes, and careless is the stem).
A stem may coincide with the root of the new word (eg. small in
smaller). In this case, it is called a simple stem. If it contains other elements
as well, affixes or other simple stems in combination with which a compound
word is formed, it is considered a derived stem (eg. im- probable in
improbability or air-condition in air-conditioning).
Answer the following questions

a. What is the stem?

……………………………………………………………………………………

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……………………………………………………………………………………

b. What are different between simple stem and derived stem?

……………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………

C. Practice exercises:
Task 1: Read and decide the statement are true or false?
Number Content True False

1 A word may consist of one, two, or more morphemes

2 Morpheme is the biggest unit of language that carries

meaning.

3 Morpheme can be a full word or part of a word

4 The word lazy can be divided into two syllables but it

consists of one morpheme

5 A root word has something added to it

6 Free roots are free morphemes

7 Bound roots are free morphemes

8 Affix is free morpheme that occurs before or after a root

word.

9 A morpheme attached before a stem is suffix

10 Affix can be divided into inflectional morphemes and

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 derivational morphemes.

11 Derivational affix help to form completely new words.

12 Inflectional affix: help to built grammatical form of the

same basic word

13 Inflectional affixes help to wrap lexical words for various

grammatical functions.

14 The minor of word formation is divided into compounding,

affixation and conversion.

15 Conversion is one of the major of word formation

16 Compounding is one of the minor of word formation

17 Free morphemes can not stand alone as own word

18 Bound morphemes can stand as words on their own but still

convey meaning

19 Derivational and Inflectional are bound morphemes

20 Only one allomorph can occur in a given context

Task 2: Changing the meanings of words by matching each prefix with its correct
meaning by drawing a start line.

circum- under

fore- around

extra- middle

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macro- small

mono- three

sub- before

semi- one

tri- more than

mid- half

micro- big

Task 3: Complete the table below.

cast
fore-
extra- curricular circle

semi-
tri-
mid- merge
bus
micro- sub- cycle
way

Prefix Root Word New word

Task 4: The following prefixes in-, im-, un-; dis- and ir- mean ‘not’. E.g. incomplete
means not complete. Write the correct prefixes in front of the root words.
1. ____possible 4. ____respect 7. ____order

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 2. ____responsible 5. ____regular 8. ____polite

3. ____believable 6. ____formal 9 ____personal

Task 5: Complete the sentences with an adjective formed from the noun or verb in
brackets.

- able / - al / -ant / - ent / - ible / - ful / - ic / - ing / - ive / - less / ous / - y /

1. The general secretary opened the congress on_________________ (globe) warming.

2. She was__________________ (envy) of her sister's new fashionable dress.
3. If Alan says something_______________ (offense), it may hurt your feelings, but it
was not __________________________ (intention).
4. These documents are not___________________ (access) to the public.
5. Climate change could have _______________ (disaster) effects on Earth.
6. Mary has an ___________________ (envy) relationship with her parents, who are
always ______________________ (support).
7. Doctors are______________________________ (hesitate) to comment on the new
treatment.
8. Nowadays tractors are used even in remote___________________ (mountain) regions.
9. His audition went well and he's fairly ________________ (hope) about getting the
part.
10. We must never let any ________________________ (accident) success go to our
heads.
11. They'd soon be ______________ (penny) and_______________ (home) if she
couldn't find a _______________ (suit) work.
12. The climate is usually _____________ (rely) in June, but this year, it was very
______________ (rain) and _______________ (wind).
13. ____________ (Fog) mountains are mysteriously___________________ (attract).
14. Interest rates are an important instrument of ______________ (economy) policy.
15. Tom had some_____________________ (excite) adventures in Egypt.
16. The beef was overcooked; it was _______________ (taste) and_______________
(chew).

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17. The keyboard is hidden inside a _____________ (decorate), ____________ (wash)
tablecloth.
Task 6: Choose the correct spelling.

1. Most infectious diseases are now curable / curible.

2. Their extravagant / extravagent life-style plunged them into debt.
3. Mr. Robertson would be a credible / credable candidate.
4. Most spiders weave webs that are almost invisable / invisible.
5. Put breakable / breakible objects out of the reach of children.
6. Peter is always the most arguementative / argumentative of the class.
7. He's very knowledgable / knowledgeable about German literature.
8. These clothes aren’t suitable / suitible for this kind of weather.
9. Students may feel reluctent / reluctant to ask questions.
Task 7: Choose the correct answer for each question.

1.The word desireable has __________morphemes and ___________syllables

A. 2 - 2 B. 2 - 3 C. 2 - 4 D. 3- 4
2. The word gentlemanliness has __________morphemes and ___________syllables

A. 3 - 2 B. 4 - 3 C. 5 - 4 D. 4 - 5
3. The word desireablity has __________morphemes and ___________syllables

A. 3 - 6 B. 4 - 3 C. 5 - 4 D. 6- 4
4. The word crocodile has __________morphemes and ___________syllables

A. 2 - 2 B. 2 - 3 C. 1 - 3 D. 3- 4
5. The word boy has __________morpheme(s) and ___________syllable(s)

A. 2 - 1 B. 2 - 2 C. 1 - 3 D. 1- 1
6.Which are free morphemes and bound morphemes in the word tables?
A. ta-bles B. table -s C. tab -les D.table-es
7. Which are free morphemes and bound morphemes in the word football?
A. foot-ball B. foot & ball- C.- football D.bal l- foot

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8. Which are free morphemes and bound morphemes in the word walking?
A. walking- B. -walking C. walk - ing D.ing - walk
9. Which are free morphemes and bound morphemes in the word bicycle?
A. bi-cycle B. - bicycle C. bicycle- D.cycle - bi
10. Which are free morphemes and bound morphemes in the word tables?
A. ta-bles B. table -s C. tab -les D.table-es

Tài liệu tham khảo:

[1].Loredana Punga (2007). Words about words. An introduction to English lexicology.
Academia.edu. retrieved August 10th ,2021 from
https://www.academia.edu/38057855/Words_about_words_An_introduction_to_English_Lexico
logy

Vocabularies

1. Free morphemes (n): Hình vị tự do

2. Affix (n): Phụ tố
3. Derivation (n): Nguồn gốc từ
4, Bound morphemes (n): Hình vị giới hạn
5. Stem (n): Thân từ
6. Suffix (n): Hậu tố
7. Conversion: Chuyển đổi từ loại/ chuyển loại
8. Root (n): gốc từ
9. Prefix (n): Tiền tố
10. Morpheme(n): Hình vị

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