CHAPTER 3

The English word

formation system

Identifying morphemes.
Words are made up of meaningful word parts: morphemes. Morphemes can be identied through the process of comparing words and word parts in one word with the words and
word parts in other words. These words have been divided into morphemes:
photo
photo
photo
photo
photo
photo

graph
graph
graph
graph
graph

ic
ic
ic
y

al
al

ly

Notice that by comparing the rst word photo with the other words in the list, it is possible to
isolate the morpheme photo in all the words. By comparing photograph with the other
words, it is possible to isolate the morpheme graph in all the remaining words, and so on.
A note on spelling. With frequent but fortunately often principled exceptions, an individual morpheme is usually spelled the same way. The spelling of morphemes is usually
invariant despite variation in the actual pronunciation of the morpheme; notice the word-toword variation in the pronunciation of the underlined vowels:
photo
photograph
photography
photographically

\ow\
\\
\a\
\\

--\\
\\
\\

Chapter 3: Identifying morphemes.

In the morpheme photo light, there is an alternation in the pronunciation of the second vowel
(and, as some of you may already have noticed, in the pronunciation of the consonant -t-);
also, in the morpheme graph write, there is an alternation in the pronunciation of the vowel.
Despite this alternation in pronunciation, these morphemes have a single spelling. Although
in one sense these spellings are related to sound, in another sense these spellings are morphemic (that is, related to word parts).
EXERCISE 3.1: PRACTICE IDENTIFYING SOME MORPHEMES: COMMON ROOTS.
This exercise is to give you some practice identifying morphemes you run into every day.
Divide off the morpheme with the core of the word's meaning using slashes (/). This
morpheme, by the way, is often called the root or base. Sample answers are given at the end
of the chapter.
Aqua-lung
aquarium
aqueduct3

hydrant
hydrate1
dehydration

biology
biopsy
biography

Kodachrome
chromides2
chromatin4

corpulent
corps
corporation

synchronize
chronological
chronometer

pedal5
podiatrist
pedometer

urban
suburbs
urbane

1. Compound or complex ion formed by the union of water with another substance.
2. Small brightly-colored African sh.
3. The spelling of the rst morpheme is unexpected.
4. The part of the cell nucleus that stains well with dyes.
5. In this group, one of the variants is from Latin, the other from Greek.

34

Practical English Grammar

Chapter 3: Identifying morphemes.

EXERCISE 3.2: PRACTICE IDENTIFYING SOME MORPHEMES: NUMBERS.

This two-part exercise is designed to give you some practice identifying morphemes, some of
which you run into every day.
Divide the following words into morphemes using slashes (/). That most of the words
are in sets should be helpful. The months make more sense once you realize that, when the
months were originally given their names, there were only ten months, not twelve. Thus,
December was originally the tenth month. Sample answers are given at the end of the chapter.
monotone
monograph
monotheism

bilateral
bisexual
bicycle

triangle
tripod
tricycle

tetragram
tetralogy1
tetragon3

uniform
unison
unicycle

dual
duplex
duo duet

quadrant
quadrangle
quad

pentagon
pentagram
Pentateuch4

sextet
sextuplet

September
septivalent5

octopus
October

November

hexagon
hexagram
hexachord6

heptameter
heptagon
heptachord

quintuplet
quintet2
quints

decade
December

1. A group of four related dramas. Cf. trilogy.

2. Any group of ve (things or people).
3. A rare word that refers to a plane gure with four sides.
4. The rst ve books of the Old Testament.
5. In chemistry, having a valence of seven.
6. This is now a musical theory term, but it originated as the name of a six-stringed instrument.

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35

Chapter 3: Identifying morphemes.

Having divided the words into morphemes, nd which of them go with the meanings
given below. The meanings of some of the words are given in footnotes; these meanings give
clues to the meanings of the morphemes. The letters provide obvious clues as to which are the
Greek and which are the Latin roots. Sample answers are given at the end of the chapter.
Greek

Latin

morpheme

morpheme

Example(s)

one

m______ ______

____________; ______________

two

-------

____________; ______________

_____, ______

three

_______

___________________________

four

t______ _______

___________________________

ve

p______ _______

____________; ______________

six

h______ _______

____________; ______________

seven

h______ _______

____________; ______________

eight

-------

_______

___________________________

nine

-------

_______

___________________________

ten

_______

___________________________

In the above exercise, were there some morphemes that were unclear? If so, exactly what
parts were unclear? What made them unclear to you?

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Practical English Grammar

Chapter 3: Classifying morphemes: roots, afxes, and so on

Classifying morphemes: roots, afxes, and so on

The root or base is the main part of the word.1 Words may contain afxes (from adto, toward + -x attach), meaningful parts added before the word (prexes; from prebefore + -x attach) or after the word (sufxes; from sub- after + -x attach).
Note: It is important to realize that the morpheme is a unit of meaning, not a unit of
pronunciation. For instance, the word cats has two morphemes: cat + -s, with cat being the
root and -s being a plural-marking sufx. Cats, however, consists of only one syllable.
EXERCISE 3.3: PREFIXES, ROOTS, AND SUFFIXES.
Divide the following words into morphemes, and then write the morphemes under prex (P),
root (R), or sufx (S), as appropriate. Answers are found at the end of the chapter.
.
prex

root

example:
undone

sufx

un-

done

words

__________

__________

__________

kitchen

__________

__________

__________

Arizona

__________

__________

__________

faster

__________

__________

__________

reworking (in a verb)

__________

__________

__________

cucumbers

__________

__________

__________

policeman

__________

__________

__________

1. Roots may be further classied as free or bound, depending on whether they can occur by themselves or
whether they can only occur attached to another morpheme.

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37

Chapter 3: Inectional versus derivational.

EXERCISE 3.4: PREFIXES, ROOTS, AND SUFFIXES.

Divide the following words into morphemes, and then write the morphemes under prex (P),
root (R), or sufx (S), as appropriate.
prexes

roots

sufxes

encircle

__________

__________

__________

artichoke

__________

__________

__________

dogs

__________

__________

__________

untie

__________

__________

__________

colder

__________

__________

__________

laziness

__________

__________

__________

roommate

__________

__________

__________

Inectional versus derivational.

It is traditional (and useful) to divide afxes into inectional sufxes, that is, into the
so-called grammar-marking sufxes and the derivational afxes (the word-forming afxes).
The forms and the meanings for the eight inectional sufxes are listed:

-ing
-ed
-en/-ed
-s

verbs:

nouns:

PROGRESSIVE
PAST TENSE
PAST PARTICIPLE
3rd person singular1

-s
-'s

adjectives:
PLURAL
-er
POSSESSIVE -est

COMPARATIVE
"SUPERLATIVE

1. The 3rd person singular (present tense) -s, is the -s added to verbs in the present tense after he, she, it, or a singular noun, for examples, I walk but He walks.

38

Practical English Grammar

Chapter 3: Inectional versus derivational.

Unless it is a root (or, base), the rest of the morphemes are derivational (the word-forming
afxes).
Notice that the inectional sufxeslike all morphemeshave both a form and a
meaning. For a morpheme to be one of inectional morphemes, it must have not only the
right form but also the right meaning:
bigger (cf. big, bigger, biggest )
Thus, to use an obvious example, not all instances of -er at the end of a word are
examples of the inectional sufx -er; instead, only those -er sufxes which indicate comparison (COMPARATIVE) are inectional. For example, in the word bigger the -er indicates that two or more things are being compared in terms of size; this is, thus, an instance of
the inectional -er.
worker
In the word worker, however, the -er indicates not a comparison but rather the general
meaning of one who _____, in this case, one who works. This sufx, then, is derivational.
linger
And, in the word linger, the -er at the end is not even a sufx. The word just happens
to end in the letters -er.
Note to students: A great strategy for learning to distinguish between inectional and
derivational afxes is to memorize the eight inectional sufxesnot just the spellings but the
meanings as well! Obviously, all the rest of the afxes will be derivational.
This division between inectional and derivational correlates directly with a difference
in how the two types of afxes are taught. Inectional sufxes, not surprisingly, end up being
learned as part of the acquisition of the basic grammar or syntax of the language.
The word-forming afxesthe derivational afxesbeing far less general end up
being learned (if they are ever really learned) much as new vocabulary words are learned; that

Practical English Grammar

39

Chapter 3: Inectional versus derivational.

is, they are learned more one at a time as the learner runs across individual words than as a
productive general rule.
EXERCISE 3.5: DERIVATIONAL VERSUS INFLECTIONAL.
The following words are made up of either one, two, or more morphemes: isolate the morphemes and decide for each morpheme if it is a (R) root, a (D) derivational afx, or and (I)
inectional sufx.
Examples:

photographically
photo-graph-ic-al-ly
R-R-D-D-D

reections
re-ect-ion-s
D-R-D-I

derivational
prex(es)

derivational
sufx(es)

example:
re-play-ed (verb)

40

re-

root(s)
play

inectional
sufx
-ed

reconnections

__________

__________

__________

__________

triliteral

__________

__________

__________

__________

reformations

__________

__________

__________

__________

bookkeepers

__________

__________

__________

__________

informality

__________

__________

__________

__________

reaction

__________

__________

__________

__________

graphically

__________

__________

__________

__________

Practical English Grammar

Chapter 3: Inectional versus derivational.

EXERCISE 3.6: DERIVATIONAL VERSUS INFLECTIONAL.

The following words are made up of either one, two, or more morphemes: isolate the morphemes and decide for each morpheme if it is a (R) root, a (D) derivational afx, or and (I)
inectional sufx.
Examples:

photographically
photo-graph-ic-al-ly
R-R-D-D-D

unhappily1
misleadingly
Massachusetts
ngers
endangered (verb)
reectively
restlessness

reections
re-ect-ion-s
D-R-D-I

derivational
prex(es)

root(s)

derivational
sufx(es)

inectional
sufx

__________
__________
__________
__________
__________
__________
__________

__________
__________
__________
__________
__________
__________
__________

__________
__________
__________
__________
__________
__________
__________

__________
__________
__________
__________
__________
__________
__________

Determining the meaning of derivational afxes. English has a large number of derivational afxes, many of which change one part of speech into another part of speech. Examine the ve words to determine the function of the -ly,2 that is, (a) to determine what part of
speech were the roots before the -ly was added and (b) what part of speech are the words now.3
man/ly

friend/ly

world/ly

woman/ly

love/ly

1. You should not let yourself be confused by the spelling of the root in this word as happi- rather than happy.
2.
3.

This -ly should not be mistaken for the -ly that occurs on some adverbs.
Determining the meaning of derivational afxes in this way serves at least two purposes. The rst is obvious; it is useful to be able to determine what the particular afxes do. Another less obvious benet is the dual benets from going
through the processes: not only is understanding of the parts of speech increased but also an increased familiarity with a
wide range of morphemes is gained.

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41

Chapter 3: Inectional versus derivational.

(a) To nd out what part of speech these words were before the sufx -ly was added,
we examine man, friend, world, woman, and love to see if there is a single part of speech
which they can all function as. We nd that they all can function as nouns,1 as can be
checked by putting the word the in front of each of them:
the man, the friend, the world, the woman, the love 2
So it appears that all the words were nouns before the addition of -ly. At this point, we know
these roots were nouns before -ly was added.
(b) To nd out what part of speech these words are after the addition of the -ly, we
examine manly, friendly, worldly, womanly, and lovely to see if there is a single part of speech
which they function as. They are not nouns; we cannot say, as the asterisk indicates, *the
manly, *the friendly, and so on, unless we consider them to have a following understood
noun. They are not verbs; we cannot say *to manly, *to friendly, and so on However, they
are adjectives; we can say things like the manly actor, the friendly dog, the worldly sophomore, and so on in which our -ly words function as adjectives.
nouns? no!

verbs? no!

adjectives? yes!

not
not
not
not
not

not
not
not
not
not

but
but
but
but
but

*the manly
*the friendly
*the worldly
*the womanly
*the lovely

*to manly
*to friendly
*to worldly
*to womanly
*to lovely

the manly actor

the friendly dog
the worldly sophomore
the womanly manner
the lovely child

1.

While any individual word might function as more than one part of speech, it would be most unusual for more than one
part of speech to functions for all ve examples.
2. The word love is of little help to us, as it can be a noun as in the love or a verb as in to love. We assume that it is functioning as a noun here because the other four are functioning as nouns.
The roots were not verbs because only two of them can function as verbs. We test this by trying each of them with the
word to in front of the root:
to man, *to friend, *to world, *to woman, to love
Two of the roots can act as verbs, man and love, but the other three, as the asterisk shows, cannot.

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Practical English Grammar

Chapter 3: Inectional versus derivational.

To put it all together, (a) the nouns man, friend, world, woman, and love (b) become
adjectives when -ly is added to them. Or, to say the same thing, formulaically:
noun

-ly

====>

adjective

That is, a noun plus -ly becomes an adjective.

EXERCISE 3.7: DETERMINING THE MEANING OF DERIVATIONAL AFFIXES.
Produce a formula like "noun +-ly ===> adjective" for each group of words. In other
words, determine (i) what part of speech the root words were before the afx was added and
(ii) what part of speech the words are after the afx has been added. Answers to this exercise
are found after Exercise 2.
1. -less:

hopeless, homeless, thoughtless, senseless, helpless

__________
2. -ion:

__________

-ion

====>

__________

-ity

====>

___________

victimize, characterize, colonize, symbolize

__________
5. -ive:

====>

morality, sensitivity, activity, irresponsibility

__________
4. -ize:

less

deviation, rotation, repression, rejection, connection

__________
3. -ity:

-ize

====>

__________

impressive, reactive, interruptive, conclusive

__________

-ive

Practical English Grammar

====>

__________

43

Chapter 3: Inectional versus derivational.

EXERCISE 3.8: DETERMINING THE MEANING OF DERIVATIONAL AFFIXES.

Produce a formula like "noun +-ly ===> adjective" for each group of words. In other
words, determine (i) what part of speech the root words were before the afx was added and
(ii) what part of speech the words are after the afx has been added.
1.

-ness: friendliness, happiness, restlessness, deviousness

__________

2.

ness

re-:

-al

un-:

__________

====>

__________

====>

__________

untie, unroll, unwrap, undo, unlock

un- + ____________
6.

====>

mis-: misspell, misanalyze, mistrust, miscalculate

mis- + ____________

5.

__________

reuse, rework, redo, reanalyze, replay

re- + ____________

4.

====>

national, ctional, colonial, mortal,1 emotional

-al:

__________
3.

====>

__________

un-: 2 unhappy, unresponsive, unlucky, ungrammatical

un- + ____________

====>

__________

1. If you have tried working with this word, you might have already realized that mort- does not really have a part of speech.
Because it is a bound not a free root, it does not occur by itself.
2. This un- is not the same as the un- of number 5. In 5, the un- means approximately 'do in reverse'; in 6, the un- means
'not'.

44

Practical English Grammar

Chapter 3: Inectional versus derivational.

Mixed morphology exercises. These exercises require sorting out various types of
morphemes. Some look alike but are actually different; some look different but are actually
the same.
EXERCISE 3.9: MIXED MORPHEMES
In each group, one word has no sufx whatsoever; after this word, write 'none'. One has a
sufx that is different from the other two remaining sufxes; after this sufx, write different.
The remaining two have sufxes that are the same in meaning, if not spelling; after these,
write 'same'.
a.

rider
colder
silver
actor1

___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________

b.

tresses
melodies
Bess's
guess

___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________

Sample answer to Exercise (a):

a.

rider
colder
silver
actor

______same________
_____different______
______none________
______same________

The word silver has no sufx. The word colder has the sufx -er, an inectional sufx
meaning more. The words rider and actor both have the same sufx (sometimes spelled -er
1. The sufx meaning 'one who does X' has two spellings in modern English, -er and -or. The -er words (from Old English)
tend to be the more common and less prestigious occupations, reecting the less prestigious position of English; the -or
words tend to be the less common but more prestigious borrowings from French, reecting the French rule in England
after the Norman invasion, and from Latin, in church matters and in business and legal matters. Among the -or words are
emperor, professor (vs. teacher), assessor, senator, contractor, creditor, governor, author, moderator, investor, conciliator,
supervisor, confessor, and sailor (vs. seafarer). Note: this is a general tendency, not an exceptionless rule: cf. lawyer.

Practical English Grammar

45

Chapter 3: Inectional versus derivational.

and sometimes-or), a derivational sufx meaning one who... Thus, rider is one who rides
and actor is one who acts.
EXERCISE 3.10: MIXED MORPHEMES
In each group, one word has no sufx whatsoever; after this word, write 'none'. One has a
sufx that is different from the other two remaining sufxes; after this sufx, write different.
The remaining two have sufxes that are the same in meaning, if not spelling; after these,
write 'same'.
c.

running
foundling
handling
ing

___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________

d.

tables
lens
witches
calculates

___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________

EXERCISE 3.11: PRACTICE IDENTIFYING SOME PREFIXES

This two-part exercise is designed to give you some practice identifying prexes, many of
which you run into every day.
Part 1: Divide the following words into morphemes with slashes (/). That most of the words
are in groups should be helpful. The rst pair is done.

46

intra/state
intra/mural

submarine
submerge
subcontract

project
progress
promote

export
expel
express
extend

interstate
intermixed
intercollegiate
intermarriage

transport
transfer

ultrasonic
ultraviolet

antedate
antecedent

prescribe
prevent

antiseptic
antitank

Practical English Grammar

Chapter 3: Inectional versus derivational.

transmit
recover
regain
rework

prex
postwar
postgraduate
postpone

ambidextrous miscalculate
ambisexual mistrust
ambivalent
misspell

incapable
injustice
indecent

uncertain
unjust
unhappy

atheist
amoral
atypical

retrorocket
retrograde
retroex

miniature1
miniskirt

Part 2: Having divided the above words into morphemes, nd which of the above prexes go
with the meanings given below. The rst one is done.
morpheme

example

morpheme

example

within

_intra-___

__________

between

_________

__________

forward

_________

__________

wrongly

_________

__________

under

_________

__________

across

_________

__________

beyond

_________

__________

backward _________

__________

again

_________

__________

after

_________

__________

against

_________

__________

small

_________

__________

both

_________

__________

not

_________

__________

not

_________

__________

not

_________

__________

before

_________

__________

before

_________

__________

out, outside_________

__________

1. Historically, the mini- in this word is the root, not a prex. Thus, it is divided into mini- -at(e)- -ure.

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47

Chapter 3: Collocations

Collocations
Collocations are what an analysis of the term would imply: words that occur together
(col- from con- with + location ) as set, relatively invariable phrases. Although there is considerable variation not only from speaker to speaker but also from region to region, for each
native speaker of English, for the majority of these there is only one way that they sound
right. Also for the majority of these, switching the order makes the collocation sound
"wrong". For the learner of English, these must be learned one-by-one just as new words must
be learned.
Pairs with and:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.

comb and ____________________

shoes and ____________________
tables and ____________________
stop and _____________________
top and ______________________
arms and _____________________
up and _______________________
heel and _____________________
in and _______________________
thunder and __________________
thick and ____________________
chills and ____________________
needle and ___________________
cops and _____________________
north and ____________________
fact and ______________________
lost and ______________________
sticks and ____________________
duke and _____________________
fame and _____________________

Pairs with or:

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Practical English Grammar

21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
40.

cowboys and _________________

Greeks and ___________________
straight and __________________
ladies and ____________________
pros and _____________________
far and ______________________
safe and _____________________
before and ___________________
off and ______________________
various and __________________
brothers and _________________
sweetness and ________________
silver and ____________________
hit and _______________________
pure and _____________________
aches and ____________________
forgive and ___________________
judge and ____________________
supply and ___________________
do's and ______________________

Chapter 3: Collocations

41.
42.
43.
44.
45.

more or ______________________
trick or ______________________
win or _______________________
rain or _______________________
double or _____________________

46.
47.
48.
49.
50.

better or ____________________
this or ______________________
heaven or ___________________
friend or ____________________
truth or _____________________

58.
59.
60.
61.
62.
63.
64.

healthy, wealthy, and _________

friends, Romans, and __________
on land, on sea, and ___________
ready, willing, and ____________
solid, liquid, or _______________
lost, strayed, or _______________
win, lose, or __________________

Triplets:
51.
52.
53.
54.
55.
56.
57.

knife, fork, and _______________

tall, dark, and ________________
love, honor, and _______________
eat, drink, and ________________
blood, sweat, and ______________
how, when, and _______________
morning, noon, and ____________

Similies with as:

65.
66.
67.
68.
69.
70.
71.
72.
73.
74.

as busy as ______________________ 75.

as cheap as _____________________ 76.
as sick as _______________________ 77.
as nutty as ______________________ 78.
as cool as _______________________ 79.
as stubborn as ___________________ 80.
as at as _______________________ 81.
as slippery as ____________________ 82.
as hairy as ______________________ 83.
as dry as _______________________ 84.

as straight as ___________________
as stiff as ______________________
as sober as _____________________
as old as _______________________
as scarce as _____________________
as naked as _____________________
as easy as ______________________
as hard as ______________________
as sharp as _____________________
as heavy as _____________________

Similies with like:

85.
86.
87.
88.

roars like _____________________

shuts up like ___________________
drinks like ____________________
cracks like ____________________

93. shakes like ___________________

94. leaps like ____________________
95. cuts like _____________________
96. multiplies like ________________

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49

Chapter 3: Terms

89.
90.
91.
92.

spins like _____________________

climbs like ____________________
laughs like ____________________
goes out like ___________________

97.
98.
99.
100.

bounces like __________________

barks like ____________________
sells like _____________________
sticks like ____________________

[No answers are given for this exercise. The original list was attributed to Charles Fillmore.]

Terms
To check yourself, see if you can briey describe each of the following terms and illustrate it in a phrase or sentence (underlining the relevant part).
morpheme
root (or base)
afx
prex
sufx
inectional
verbs:
-ing
-ed
-en/-ed
-s

nouns:

PROGRESSIVE
-s PLURAL
-er
PAST TENSE
-'s POSSESSIVE -est
PAST PARTICIPLE
3rd person singular

derivational

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adjectives:

Practical English Grammar

COMPARATIVE
SUPERLATIVE

Chapter 3: Terms

Sample answers to Exercise 3.1:

aqua water
corp- body

hydr- water
chron- time

bio- life
ped-, pod- foot"

chrom- color
urb- city

Answers to Exercise 3.2:

mono- one
uni- one
sext- six
hexa- six

bi- two
du- two
september
hepta seven

Greek
morpheme
one
two
three
four
ve
six
seven
eight
nine
ten

mono
-------

tri- three
tetr- four
quadr-, quad- four
octo- eight
nov- nine

Latin
morpheme
du-,
tri-

tetrpentahexahepta-------------

unibiquadrquint
sextseptaoctonov-

dec-

quint- ve
penta- ve
dec- ten

Example(s)
__copy from examples given____
____________; ______________
___________________________
___________________________
____________; ______________
____________; ______________
____________; ______________
___________________________
___________________________
___________________________

In the above exercise, were there some morphemes that were unclear? If so, exactly what
parts were unclear? What made them unclear to you?
For morphemes like quad-/quadr-, there are two variants, one used in combinations
and the other used when the morpheme is the whole word. For the morphemes like those in
the month November, it is not clear where the number part ends and where the next morpheme
begins; it is clear that nov- is at least part of the number, but it is not clear if the following -egoes with the nov- or with the -mber that follows.

Practical English Grammar

51

Chapter 3: Terms

Answers to Exercise 3.3:

words
kitchen
Arizona
faster
reworking
cucumbers
policeman

prexes

roots

sufxes

--------re-----

word
kitchen
Arizona
fast
work
cucumber
police; man

-s
-----er
-ing
-s
---

Answers to Exercise 3.4:

encircle
artichoke
dogs
untie
colder
laziness
roommate

prexes

roots

en-

circle
artichoke
dog
tie
cold
laziroom, mate

un-

sufxes

-s
-er
-ness

Answers to Exercise 3.5:

derivational
prex(es)
reconnections
triliteral
reformations
bookkeepers
informality
reaction
graphically

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re-, contrireinre-

root(s)

derivational
sufx(es)

inectional
sufx

-nect-literform
book, keep
form
act
graph

-ion
-al
-at-, ion
-er
-al, -ity
-ion
-ic, -al, -ly

-s

Practical English Grammar

-s
-s

Chapter 3: Terms

Answers to Exercise 3.6:

derivational
prex(es)
unhappily
misleadingly
Massachusetts
ngers
endangered (verb)
reectively
restlessness

unmis-

derivational
sufx(es)

root(s)
happy
lead
Massachusetts
nger
danger
ectrest

enre-

inectional
sufx

-ly
-ing, -ly

-ive, -ly
-less, -ness

-s
-ed
-s

Answers to Exercise 3.7:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

noun
verb
adjective
noun
verb

+
+
+
+
+

-less
-ion
-ity
-ize
-ive

===>
===>
===>
===>
===>

adjective
noun
noun
verb
adjective

+
+
+
+
+
+

-ness
-al
verb
verb
verb
adjective

====>
====>
====>
====>
====>
====>

noun
adjective
verb
verb
verb
adjective

Answers to Exercise 3.8:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

adjective
noun
remisunun-

Answers to Exercise 3.9:

a.

rider
colder
silver
actor

same:
different:
none
same:

derivational:-er meaning one who

inectional: -er meaning more
derivational:-or meaning one who

Practical English Grammar

53

Chapter 3: Terms

b.

tresses
melodies
Bess's
guess

same:
same:
different:
none

-s meaning plural
-es meaning plural
-s indicating possessive

Answers to Exercise 3.10:

c.

running
foundling
handling
ing

same:
different:
same:
none

inectional: -ing indicating progressive

derivational: -ling indicates little
progressive: -ing indicating progressive

d.

tables
lens
witches
calculates

same:
none
same:
different:

inectional: -s plural
inectional: -es plural
inectional: -es third person singular

Answers to Exercise 3.11:

Part 1: Divide the following words into morphemes with slashes (/). That most of the words
are in groups should be helpful. The rst pair is done.
intra/state
intra/mural

sub/marine
sub/merge
sub/contract

pro/ject
pro/gress
pro/mote

ex/port
ex/pel
ex/press
ex/tend

inter/state
inter/mixed
inter/collegiate
inter/marriage

trans/port
trans/fer
trans/mit

ultra/sonic
ultra/violet

ante/date
ante/cedent

pre/scribe
pre/vent
pre/x

anti/septic
anti/tank

re/cover
re/gain
re/work

post/war
post/graduate
post/pone

in/capable
in/justice
in/decent

un/certain
un/just
un/happy

a/theist
a/moral
a/typical

retro/rocket

mini/ature

ambi/dextrous mis/calculate

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Practical English Grammar

Chapter 3: Terms

ambi/sexual
ambi/valent

mis/trust
mis/spell

retro/grade
retro/ex

mini/skirt

Part 2: Having divided the above words into morphemes, nd which of the above prexes go
with the meanings given below. The rst one is done.
morpheme
within
forward
under
beyond
again
against
both
not
before
out, outside

intraprosubultrareantiambiun-, in-, aanteex-

morpheme
between
wrongly
across
backward
after
small
not
not
before

Practical English Grammar

intermistransretropostminiun-, in-, aun-, in-, apre-

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