What is Morphology?

- the study of the internal structures of words, and of the rules

by which words are formed.
- the study of morphemes and their different forms
(allomorphs) and the way they combine in word formation.

INTERNAL STRUCTURES OF WORDS = MORPHEMES

1/ Morphemes:
Morphemes are abstract units. They are the minimal
(smallest), meaningful units in a language.
2/ Morphemes, words and syllables:
a morpheme can be a word, part of a word, contains one or
more syllables.
e.g: boy = 1 word = 1 syllable = 1 morpheme (boy)

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boys = ? = ? =?

boys = 1 word = 1 syllable = 2 morphemes {boy + s (plural)}

boy’s = ? = ? =?

boy’s = 1 word = 1 syllable = 2 morphemes {boy + ‘s (possessive)}

boyish = ? =? =?

boyish = 1 word = 2 syllables = 2 morp.s {boy + ish (characteristic)}

boyishness = ? =? =?

boyishness = 1 word = 3 syllables = 3 morp.s {boy + ish + ness}

independently = ? =? =?

independently = 1 word = 5 syllables = 4 morphemes

{in + depend + ent + ly} 2
3/ Morpheme and morph:
a morph is a unit which is a segment of a word-form. It has a
constant form and realizes or is related to a constant meaning.
4/ Allomorphs and morphemes:
allomorphs are morphemic variants. They can be understood as any
of the different forms of a morpheme (i.e alternative representations
of a morpheme).
4.1/ Phonetically conditioned allomorph: is determined or
conditioned by the following phonetic sound.
e.g: a -> an when the following noun begins with a vowel.
a book, a university, a green apple.
an apple, an uncle, an old man.
4.2/ Lexically conditioned allomorph: the plural marker –en is
determined by the particular words:
e.g: ox -> oxen; child -> children
but box -> boxes; kid -> kids
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 TYPES OF MORPHEME

1/ Free: Free morphemes are those which can be used as minimal

free forms. They do not need to be attached to other morphemes.
They can be used as words.
e.g: book, boy, girl, depend, house
2/ Bound: Bound morphemes must be joined to other morphemes.
They are always parts of words and never words by themselves.
e.g: boys, boy’s, boyish, independent, uncomfortableness
Bound morphemes are of the following two kinds:
2.1/ Inflectional/ Grammatical morphemes
2.2/ Derivational/ Lexical morphemes

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 INFLECTIONAL/GRAMMATICAL MORPHEMES
1/ Definition:
Inflectional morphemes (IM) are bound morphemes that are
purely grammatical markers, representing such concepts as tense,
number, gender, case ...
IM do not change the parts of speech of the words or morphemes to
which they are attached. They modify a word’s form in order to mark
the grammatical subclass to which it belongs.
2/ Forms and meanings:
+ S/ -ES: plurality e.g: boys, boxes
+ ‘S : possession e.g: boy’s boxes
+ S/ -ES : third person sing., simple present tense e.g: works
+ ING : present participle; gerund e.g: working
+ ED : past participle e.g: worked
+ ER : comparative degree of comparison e.g: taller
+ EST : superlative degree of comparison e.g: tallest 5
 DERIVATIONAL/LEXICAL MORPHEMES
1/ Definition:
Derivational morphemes (DM) are bound morphemes that add
new meaning to an existing word. When they are conjoined to other
morphemes or words, a new word is derived or formed.
The derived words may be in a different grammatical class or in the
same grammatical class.
e.g: nation (n) => national (adj)
man (n) => superman (n)
2/ Types and meanings: (for further information, see illustration file
attached_Most common prefixes, suffixes and their meanings).
2.1. Prefixes: A prefix is a bound derivational morpheme which is
placed before and connected to a root to form a new word with a
new meaning. E.g: kind (adj) => unkind (adj).
2.2. Suffixes: A suffix is also a bound derivational morpheme which
is placed after and connected to a root to form a new word class
with a new lexical meaning. E.g: kind (adj) => kindness (n) 6
Most Common Prefixes

Prefix Meaning Key Word

anti- against antifreeze

de- opposite defrost

dis-* not, opposite of disagree

en-, em- cause to encode, embrace

fore- before forecast

in-, im- in infield

in-, im-, il-, ir-* not injustice, impossible

inter- between interact

mid- middle midway

mis- wrongly misfire

non- not nonsense

over- over overlook

pre- before prefix

re-* again return

semi- half semicircle

sub- under submarine

super- above superstar

trans- across transport

un-* not unfriendly

under- under undersea 7

Most Common Suffixes

Suffix Meaning Key Word

-able, -ible can be done comfortable

-al, -ial having personal
characteristics of
-ed* past-tense verbs hopped
-en made of wooden
-er comparative higher
-er, one who worker, actor
-est comparative biggest
-ful full of careful
-ic having linguistic
characteristics of
-ing* verb form/ running
present participle
-ion, -tion, act, process occasion, attraction
-ation, ition
-ity, -ty state of infinity
-ive, -ative, -itive adjective form plaintive
of a noun
-less without fearless
-ly* characteristic of quickly
-ment action or process enjoyment
-ness state of, condition of kindness
-ous, -eous, -ious possessing the joyous
qualities of
-s, -es* more than one books, boxes
-y characterized by happy 8
 ROOT, BASE and STEM

1/ Root:
a root is a morpheme in a word that has the principal
meaning. Roots constitute the nuclei/cores of all words.
(a morpheme, not necessarily surviving as a word in itself, from which words
have been made by the addition of prefixes or suffixes or by other modification).
Note: Most roots are free morphemes, but some are not.
e.g: Euro-crat, octo-pus, wis-dom, phonet-ic v.v...

For more information, see Appendix 1

2/ Base:
a base is anything we attach affixes to (either inflectional or
derivational or both), whether it is just a root or something bigger than
a root.
3/ Stem:
a stem is the actual form to which an inflectional suffix is
attached to
e.g: nation: root = base; national: base; nationalize: base
work: root=base; worker: base=stem => workers 9
 APPENDIX 1
Root Words, Roots
 Many English words are formed by taking basic words and
adding combinations of prefixes and suffixes to them. A basic
word to which affixes (prefixes and suffixes) are added is
called a root word because it forms the basis of a new word.
The root word is also a word in its own right. For example,
the word lovely consists of the word love and the suffix -ly.

In contrast, a root is the basis of a new word, but it does not

typically form a stand-alone word on its own. For example,
the word reject is made up of the prefix re- and the Latin
root ject, which is not a stand-alone word.

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Analyze the following words into number of morphemes, number
of syllables; indicate roots, bases, stems, inflectional morphemes
(IM), derivational morphemes (DM), and then give the meanings of
IMs and DMs:

1/ PERSONALITIES 2/ DEACIDIFICATION
3/ MULTIPROGRAMMING 4/ UNNECESSARILY
5/ OVERSTRETCHED 6/ RELATIONSHIPS
7/ HUMOURISTS 8/ UNDEREMPLOYED
9/ INDUSTRIALISTS 10/ REFORMERS
11/ MISPRONOUNCING 12/ IMPOSSIBILITIES
13/ INEQUALITIES 14/ ORGANIZATIONALLY
15/ UNPREDICTABILITY 16/ UNIMAGINATIONS
17/ BABYSITTERS 18/ GREENHOUSES
19/ IMPRACTICALITY 20/ MICROWAVES
21/ UNIDENTIFIED 22/ HOUSEHOLDERS

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23/ ABANDONMENT 24/ INDIVISIBILITY
25/ REINSTITUTIONALIZATION 26/ ANTIEXPANSIONISM
27/ INSTITUTIONALIZATION 28/ UNSYSTEMATICALLY
29/ INCOMPATABILITIES 30/ UNCOMFORTABILITY
31/ RATIONALIZATION 32/ ANTIDISESTABLISHMENTARIANISM

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 WORDS
1/ Definition:
A word is a linguistic sign, i.e, an arbitrary union of a sound and a
meaning.
A word is a minimal free form.
A free form is an element that can occur in isolation and whose
position with respect to neighboring elements is not entirely fixed.
2/ Types of words:
2.1. Simple words: are those made up of only one stem and can not
be broken down into smaller meaningful units. E.g: house, car...
2.2. Compound words: composed from the combination of two or
more free morphemes. E.g: classroom, armchair,....
2.3. Complex words: are those made up of stem(s) and one or
more inflectional and/or derivational affixes. E.g: workers, houses,...
3/ Word classes:
3.1. Open: lexical words: nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs.
3.2. Closed: function words: pronouns, determiners, prepositions,
conjunctions. 13
How many words, different words, simple, compound, complex
words are there in each of the following sentences?
1/ They were going to a better school with the most modern
equipment.
2/ My friends are presently working in the international sales division at
an international firm.
3/ Diana’s hair is shorter than Becky’s hair.
4/ I once was lost but now I am found.
5/ Those old men have drunk ten small barrels of red wine easily.
6/ The old man is getting/ got better and better every day.
7/ She had been a teacher, and made sure the girl went to good
schools.
8/ She walked to town yesterday and she has walked there this
morning.
9/ They had had so many singles before they had this award.
10/ The girl put her white mice into her gift boxes.
11/ The students didn’t report that serious event to the professor.
12/ Those students had their hair cut in a lady beauty salon. 14
13/ These heaters had warmed the refugees throughout the severe
winter.
14/ The hungry wolves have attacked their enemies fiercely.
15/ The students said they had invited the professor.
16/ Those students thought they could pass the exam easily.
17/ The food was cooked just the way I like it.
18/ The girl went into her brother’s room to annoy him.
19/ The students were told to invite the professor for the party.
20/ The children decided to do their homework quickly.
21/ The students are thinking seriously about the solution to the class
problem.
22/ These ragged clothes had warmed the refugees throughout the
severe winter.
23/ They have been learning English for 15 years.
24/ The stories greatly upset parents and children alike.
25/ These students failed the exam because their marks are below 4.5.
26/ They have been working for five hours. 15
27/ Not many banks have branches on the banks of the Avon.
28/ She walked to town yesterday and she has walked there this
morning.
29/ They had had so many singles before they had this award.

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 WORD-FORMATION PROCESSES
1/ AFFIXATION
Affixation is the process of coining new words from the existing ones
by adding affixes to a base. Affixation is classified into prefixaftion and
suffixation
+ Prefixation: adding a prefix to a base, with or without a change of
word class. (see appendix 1, pp 431-435, kinds of prefixes)
+ Suffixation: adding a suffix to a base, with or without a change of
word class. (see appendix 1, pp 436-441, kinds of suffixes)
2/ COMPOUNDING => COMPOUNDS
is a process of forming new words by adding one base to another.
e.g: girlfriend, classroom Noun + Noun
icy-cold, deaf-mute Adj. + Adj.
Note: Most compounds are self-explaining; that is, the meaning of the
whole compound reflects the meanings of individual parts. However,
the meanings of the individual parts of a compound may be
expressed wholly in the meaning of the compound.
3/ BLENDING => BLENDS
is a process that creates words from parts of two already existing
lexical items, usually the first part of one word and the last part of the
other. 17
 e.g: motel = motorist + hotel; brunch = breakfast + lunch
netizen = internet + citizen/ network + citizen; huda =
4/ CLIPPING/ ABBREVIATION
Clipping is a process whereby a new word is created by subtracting
of one or more syllables from a word. The shortening may occur at:
+ the beginning of the word
e.g: telephone => phone; aero/airplane => plane
+ the end of the word
e.g: photograph => photo; examination => exam; lab; gym
+ at both ends of the word
e.g: influenza => flu; refrigerator => fridge; Elizabeth => Liz
5/ ACRONYMY => ACRONYMS
Acronymy is a process in which a word is formed from the initial
letters (or larger parts) of words.
New acronyms are freely produced, particularly for names of
organizations
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e.g: U.N = United Nations; F.D.I = Foreign Direct Investment
Note: Many acronyms are pronounced as words
e.g: laser = light amplification by stimulating the emission of
radiation.
radar = radio detecting and ranging
scuba = self-contained underwater breathing apparatus
6/ CONVERSION
Conversion is the derivational process whereby an item changes its
word-class without the addition of an affix. It is also called zero
derivation.
e.g: love (v) => love (n); bottle (n) => bottle (v);
daily (adj) => daily (n); calm (adj) => calm (v);
7/ BACK FORMATION
Back formation is the reverse of affixation. It is a process whereby a
word whose form is similar to that of a derived form that undergoes
a process of de-affixation, i.e the removal of an affix from an existing
word.
e.g: typewriter (n) => typewrite (v); television (n) => televise (v) 19
8/ COINAGES
Coinages are words created outright to fit some purpose, especially
used in the advertising industry.
e.g: OMO, VEDAN, CAMAY, VISO, DASO
9/ WORDS FROM NAMES
are derived from proper names of individuals or places.
e.g: sandwich, hamburger
10/ REDUPLICATIVES
are either identical or only slightly different
e.g: tik-tak, goody-goody, walkie-talkie, zig-zag
11/ ONOMATOPOEIC WORDS
are the words created to sound like the things to which they refer.
They may imitate the sound of animals, of natural phenomena v. v...
e.g: cock-a –doodle-doo, meow/ miaow, chirp, bow, buzz, squawk
(parrot), croak (frog), squeak (mouse)
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Analyse the word formation process (both the structure and its
name) responsible for the creation of each of the following words
1. establishment 16. f.fwd 31. forth - with(adv)
2. Fahrenheit 17. film (v) 32.inexcusable.
3. govt. 18. telex 33. demand (n)
4. cupboard 19. C.P.U 34. insult(v)
5. excl. 20. Watt 35. selectric
6. illogical 21. res 36.interdependence
7. unapproachable 22. Facebook 37.fire-engine
8.undesirable 23.dirty (v) 38.doc.
9.laser 24.smog 39.televise
10.unemployment 25.sandwich 40.mail(v)
11.daydream 26.photo. 41.C.O.D
12.unforgetable 27.baby-sit 42.heavy-weight
13. mindful 28. butter (v) 43. reorganization
14. conduct (n) 29. netizen 44. lab.
15. orientate (v) 30. A.D.B 45. depressing. 21
telex = teleprinter /teleprompter + exchange
excl. = exclusive/ excluded
selectric = selective + electric
res. = residence

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