Chapter Three: Types of Morphemes
Types of bound morphemes based on (whether they form new
words)
1. Inflectional morphemes (only suffixes)
2. Derivational morphemes (both prefixes and suffixes)
1-Inflectional morpheme (suffix): It is a bound morpheme that has
a grammatical function.
Inflectional suffixes and their grammatical functions:
1-Plural –s: indicates number
e.g. The dogs are barking. e.g. The oxen are big.
2-Singular possessive ’s: indicates possession
e.g. Jack’s books
3-Plural possessive ’s, s’: it indicates possession
e.g. men’s books
e.g. boys’ books
4-Third person singular –s: it indicates person
e.g. She pledges to do her best.
5-participle –ing: indicates aspect (continuous)
e.g. We were discussing the editorial.
6-Past –d: indicates tense
e.g. They waited at the dock.
7-Past participle –d: indicates aspect (perfect)
e.g. He has waited at the dock.
8-Comparative –er: indicates comparison
e.g. The grass is greener on the other side of the fence.
9-Superlative –est: indicates the superlative degree
e.g. Which is the longest route?
2-Derivational morphemes (prefixes and suffixes):
• It is a bound morpheme that adds new meaning to an existing
word.
• It is called derivational because when they are added, a new
word is derived.
e.g. sing → singer e.g. doubt → doubtful
Differences between inflectional and derivational morphemes
Characteristics of inflectional and derivational morphemes
Inflectional Morphemes Derivational morphemes
1-They do not change the part of speech. 1-They usually change the part of speech.
e.g. cough (v) → coughed (v) e.g. accept V → acceptance N
e.g. cold (Adj) → colder (Adj) e.g. passion N → passionate Aj
Exceptions: write V → rewrite V
2-They are always marginal. 2-They can be marginal or central.
e.g. realizations e.g. decolonization
e.g. industrializing e.g. creatively
3-They are highly productive. 3-They are not fully productive.
e.g. He eats, drinks, dreams, ……. e.g. –ness → kindness, happiness, loudness,
e.g. longer, shorter, higher, lower, ….. sadness * possibleness
4. They close the word. 4-They do not close the word.
e.g. gratifications e.g. care → careless → carelessness
e.g. higher e.g. economy → economic → economical
5. They are grammatical. 5. They are lexical.
Suffixes that can be used as both inflectional and derivational
1. -er
taller → inflectional, why?
teacher → derivational, why?
2. –ing
They are reading the new book in class. Inflectional, why?
Painting is one of my favorite hobbies. Derivational, why?
That was an interesting lecture on linguistics. Deriv., why?
3. –ed
She walked to the university this morning. Inflec., why?
The students were excited about the workshop. Deriv., why?
Noun feminine suffixes
In English, some derivational suffixes are used to change a noun from
masculine to feminine.
Feminine Suffix Masculine Form Feminine Form
-e Fiancé Fiancée
-enne Comedian Comedienne
-ess Patron Patroness
-etta Henry Henrietta
-ette Farmer Farmerette
-ina George Georgina
-ine Hero Heroine
-ster Spinner Spinster
Note: In English, there are about fifty pairs of words with separate forms
for the masculine and the feminine:
bull, cow uncle, aunt gander, goose
Noun diminutive suffixes
In English, there are six diminutive suffixes which can be used to express
a meaning of smallness or endearment or both:
Diminutive Suffix Diminutive Nouns
-ie, -i, -y auntie, Betty, sweetie, Willy
-ette dinette, towelette
-kin, -ikin, -kins lambkin, manikin
-ling duckling, darling
-et circlet
-let booklet, starlet
Note: 1. The suffixes {-ie, -i, -y} are pronounced /i/ and are often
attached to one-syllable proper and common nouns.
e.g. doggie, Geri, Jonny, birdie, Jackie
Exercise 1 Noun feminine suffixes
Write the feminine form of these words:
1. Chanteur
2. Protégé
3. Songster
4. Czar (tsar)
5. Executor
6. Carol
Exercise 2: Noun diminutive suffixes
Give a noun diminutive form for each of the
following words.
1. Bob
2. Goose
3. Drop
4. Cigar
5. Table
6. Baby
Exercise 3: Write the meaning of the underlined
derivational prefixes.
1. Antifreeze
2. Copilot
3. Devitalize
4. Contradict
5. Proceed
6. Retroactive
Exercise 4: Identify the inflectional suffixes in the
following sentences and write their grammatical
function.
1. He never locks the door.
2. The sheets were soon ironed.
3. Have you taken calculus yet?
4. Which is the longest route?
5. The students’ projects were discussed.
Exercise 5: Match the derivational suffixes to the
words.
1 happy -hood
2 friend -age
3 girl -ship
4 compose -ness
5 shrink -ure
Exercise 6: Add a derivational suffix to each of these
words to change them into nouns.
1. Formal
2. Familiarize
3. Conspire
4. Rehearse
5. Accept
Exercise 7: Add an inflectional suffix to each of these
words.
1. kindness
2. Beautify
3. Friendly
4. Orientate
5. Quarterly