Practice: Morphological Analysis

Analyze each of the items below morphologically. Determine

1. how many morphemes each item contains (1 or more than 1);
2. if there is more than one morpheme, which are free and which bound;
3. if there is more than one morpheme, which one is the root; and what are the remaining morphemes: prefixes or suffixes;
4. if there are prefixes and/or suffixes, 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);
5. whether the word(s) is(are) simple, compound, or complex
   and finally,
6. if a word is inflected, is the inflection 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.

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

Examples:

A. slept:

1. 2 morphemes
2. both bound
3. root: slep-   suffix: -t
4. suffix -t inflectional (marks past tense on a verb)
5. complex word
6. suffix -t: irregular
   

B. dehumidifiers

1. 5 morphemes
2. free: humid   bound: de- (prefix), -ify, -er, -s (suffixes)
3. root: humid
4. derivational: de-, -ify, -er inflectional: -s
5. complex word
6. inflectional suffix  -s: regular

1 re-established
2 spaghetti
3 apologize
4 statements
5 snowboarding
6 nationality
7 security blanket
8 preregistration
9 relationship
10 burnt (as in burnt toast)
11 apology
12 American
13 antennae
14 bolder
15 uneaten
16 apologetic
17 gradually
18 kindnesses
19 microwave
20 wavelength
 
 

 answer key