Foundational Concepts: Morphology

What is morphology?

• The study of social aspects of languages

• The study of grammar rules

• The study of word meaning and structure

• The study of speech sounds

Which term refers to the smallest units of meaning within a word?

• Syntax

• Phrase

• Lexeme

• Morpheme

How many types of morphemes are there based on their function?

• Two

• Three

• Four

• Five

Answer explanation

(Free morphemes carry meaning independently; bound morphemes depend on another morpheme to convey meaning.)

A root word combined with an affix results in a ____________.

• Word family

• Compound word

• Derived word

• Inflected form

Which type of inflection indicates tense in verbs (e.g., walk vs walked)?

• Pluralization

• Possessive

• Tense

• Comparison

Choose the correct derived word for the base word 'happy'.

• Happiness

• Happyest

• Unhappy

• Rehap

Are both compound words and blends examples of morphologically complex words? Why or why not?

• Yes, because they both combine multiple morphemes

• No, only compound words do since blends involve merging parts of words instead of separate morphemes

• Only compound words are considered morphologically complex