LINGUISTICS EXAM QUESTIONS AND
CORRECT ANSWERS.
morphology
the area of grammar concerned with the formation of words
morpheme
the smallest meaningful units in a language. A word like 'meaningful' has three _____ : 'mean',
'ing' and 'ful'.
free morpheme
a _______ _____ can stand alone, i.e. a word, e.g. 'mean'
bound morphemes
______ _____ can't stand alone, e.g. 'ing' and 'ful' need to be attached to a word
affixation
adding prefixes and suffixes to a word is ______
compounding
the process of joining 2 or more words
These can be written in different ways:
a) with a space: sleeping bag, fire hydrant, cup holder
b) with a hyphen: pick-up truck
c) no separation: fireplace, cupcake
conversion
the process of changing the word class without any change to the form, e.g. to google something
Back formation - e.g. bum from bummer, chemist from alchemist, absorb from absorption,
babysit from babysitter, edits from editor (most change the word class and the form).
The creation of a new lexeme (word) by removing an affix from an old word. Give examples.
, blend
when 2 words are merged into one
brunch
motel
smog
mockumentary
clipping / truncation
If a word is shortened,
phone
ad
exam
gym
flu
lab
math
burger
rifle ( from rifle gun)
Types of [...]: back [], fore [], middle [] (flu) and complex [] ( sitcom). Shortened word does not
change word class (part of speech), usage or meaning.
inflectional morphology
The process of word formation connected with grammatical relations, e.g. noun plurals, 3rd
person 's', past tense 'ed' / past participle with 'ed', 'ing' for present participle, comparative forms
with 'er'/'est' and negation with 'n't'. It is called ________ _________.
derivational morphology
The way lexical words are formed, by, for example, affixation and compounding, e.g. 'able'
attached to a word means 'something is possible'. It is called ________ _______
root
CORRECT ANSWERS.
morphology
the area of grammar concerned with the formation of words
morpheme
the smallest meaningful units in a language. A word like 'meaningful' has three _____ : 'mean',
'ing' and 'ful'.
free morpheme
a _______ _____ can stand alone, i.e. a word, e.g. 'mean'
bound morphemes
______ _____ can't stand alone, e.g. 'ing' and 'ful' need to be attached to a word
affixation
adding prefixes and suffixes to a word is ______
compounding
the process of joining 2 or more words
These can be written in different ways:
a) with a space: sleeping bag, fire hydrant, cup holder
b) with a hyphen: pick-up truck
c) no separation: fireplace, cupcake
conversion
the process of changing the word class without any change to the form, e.g. to google something
Back formation - e.g. bum from bummer, chemist from alchemist, absorb from absorption,
babysit from babysitter, edits from editor (most change the word class and the form).
The creation of a new lexeme (word) by removing an affix from an old word. Give examples.
, blend
when 2 words are merged into one
brunch
motel
smog
mockumentary
clipping / truncation
If a word is shortened,
phone
ad
exam
gym
flu
lab
math
burger
rifle ( from rifle gun)
Types of [...]: back [], fore [], middle [] (flu) and complex [] ( sitcom). Shortened word does not
change word class (part of speech), usage or meaning.
inflectional morphology
The process of word formation connected with grammatical relations, e.g. noun plurals, 3rd
person 's', past tense 'ed' / past participle with 'ed', 'ing' for present participle, comparative forms
with 'er'/'est' and negation with 'n't'. It is called ________ _________.
derivational morphology
The way lexical words are formed, by, for example, affixation and compounding, e.g. 'able'
attached to a word means 'something is possible'. It is called ________ _______
root
