HOMEWORK : "TYPES

OF AFFIXES"
UNIVERSITY OF GUAYAQUIL- SCHOOL LANGUAGE
LINGUISTICS

SUBJECT : LINGUISTICS
TEACHER: MSC. ANTONIETA MORALES
STUDENT: GABRIELA RESABALA HERNANDEZ.
COURSE: 7MO.
CLASROOM:A3

COURSE: 7MO. CLASROOM:A3

RESABALA HERNANDEZ

STUDENT: GABRIELA MIRIAN

Definition
A morpheme is the smallest meaningful unit in the grammar of a
language.
Discussion
Current approaches to morphology conceive of morphemes as
rules involving the linguistic context, rather than as isolated pieces
of linguistic matter. They acknowledge that

meaning may be directly linked to

phonological units, such as tone or stress.

the meaning of a morpheme with a given form may vary,

depending on its immediate environment.

Unladylike

suprasegmental

The word unladylike consists of three morphemes and

four syllables.

Morpheme breaks:

un- 'not'

lady '(well behaved) female adult human'

-like 'having the characteristics of'

None of these morphemes can be broken up any more

without losing all sense of meaning. Lady cannot be
broken up into "la" and "dy," even though "la" and "dy"
are separate syllables. Note that each syllable has no
meaning on its own.

COURSE: 7MO. CLASROOM:A3

RESABALA HERNANDEZ

Dogs

STUDENT: GABRIELA MIRIAN

The word dogs consists of two morphemes and one

syllable:

dog, and

-s, a plural marker on nouns

Note that a morpheme like "-s" can just be a single

phoneme and does not have to be a whole syllable.

Technique

The word technique consists of only one morpheme

having two syllables.

Even though the word has two syllables, it is a single

morpheme because it cannot be broken down into
smaller meaningful parts.

What Are Affixes?

An affix is added to the root of a word to change its meaning.
An affix added to the front of a word is known as a prefix. One added to
the back is known as a suffix. Sometimes, prefixes are hyphenated.
Examples of Affixes
Here are some examples of affixes:incapable
(The affix is the prefix in.)

ex-President

(The affix is the prefix ex-.)

COURSE: 7MO. CLASROOM:A3

RESABALA HERNANDEZ

STUDENT: GABRIELA MIRIAN

laughing

(The affix is the suffix ing.)

Most Common Prefixes. The four most common prefixes
aredis-, in-, re-, and un-. These account for over 95% of prefixed words.
Most Common Suffixes. The four most common suffixes are-ed, -ing, ly, and -es. These account for over 95% of suffixed words.
A List of Common Prefixes
Here is a list of common prefixes with some examples:
Prefix
a-, ananteantiautocircumcocom-, concontradedisenexextra-

Meaning
without
before
against
self
around
with
with
against
of
not
put into
out of, former
beyond,
more
than
heterodiferent
homosame
hyperover, more
il-,
im-, not, without
in-, irininto
interbetween
intrainside
macrolarge
microsmall
monoone
nonnot, without
omniall, every
postafter
pre-, pro- before, forward

Example
amoral, atypical
antecedent, antenatal
anti-establishment
autopilot
circumvent
co-conspirator, co-pilot
companion, contact
contradiction
delist, devalue
disappear
enclose, envelop
extract, ex-governor
extracurricular
heterosexual
homonym, homophone
hyperactive
illegal,
impractical,
inconsiderate,
irresponsible
insert
internet, intersection,
intranet, intravenous
macronutrients
microscope
monocle
nonentity, nonstarter,
omnipresent, omniscient
post-mortem
precede, project

COURSE: 7MO. CLASROOM:A3

RESABALA HERNANDEZ

STUDENT: GABRIELA MIRIAN

subsyn-

under
same time

submarine, substandard
synchronize

supertrans-

above
across

supervisor, superhuman
transmit

triununi-

three
not
one

tripod, triceratops
undone, unfinished,
unicorn, unilaterally

A List of Common Suffixes

Here is a list of common suffixes with some examples:
Suffix
-able, -ible

Meaning
can be done

Example
comfortable,
passable
-al, -ial
having the characteristics of
personal
-ed
past-tense verbs (weak verbs) danced, jumped
-en
made of
golden, wooden
-er
comparative
tidier, nicer
-er, -or
one who
actor,
narrator,
worker
-est
superlative
nicest, greatest
-ful
full or full of
cupful, careful
-ic
having characteristics of
linguistic, sarcastic
-ing
verb form (present participle dancing, singing
and gerund)
-ion,
-tion, act or process
attraction, attrition
-ation, ition
-ity, -ty
state of
humility, infinity
-ive,
-ative, adjective form of a noun
expensive, plaintive
itive
-less
without
topless, fearless
-ly
adverb ending
nicely, quickly
-ment
action or process
enjoyment,
entrenchment
-ness
state of, condition of
eagerness,
kindness
-ous,
-eous, possessing the qualities of
erroneous, joyous
-ious
-s, -es
plural
tables, foxes

COURSE: 7MO. CLASROOM:A3

RESABALA HERNANDEZ

-y

STUDENT: GABRIELA MIRIAN

characterized by

fatty, happy, jumpy

Bound vs. Free Morphemes

A bound morpheme cannot stand alone as an English word. It includes
many prefixes and suffixes like -ity in cordiality.
A free morpheme can stand alone: cordial, and both halves of over-take
and code-book. When two free morphemes combine, like codebook, it
gives a compound word.

Linguistics/Affixes
Affixes are our "workhorse" morphemes--the tools we use again and
again to assemble new words. There are several kinds of affixes:
1. Suffixes. Suffixes are morphemes that attach to the end of a word.
Examples are:
-ion in motion
-ate in investigate
Suffixes are written with an initial hyphen, as above.
2. Prefixes. Prefixes attach to the beginning of a word. Examples are:
re- in redo
un- in unthinkable
Prefixes are written with a terminal hyphen, as above.
3. Infixes. Although English generally does not have infixes, or
morphemes that go "in the middle" of a word, other languages do. An
exception in English might be -frickin- in
Q: Are you going to the concert tonight?
A: Absofrickinlutely.
Infixes are written with initial and terminal hyphens, as above.
3. Circumfixes. Circumfixes are affixes that "surround" the word,
attaching to the beginning and end of the word. Although English has
few examples of this type of affix, other languages use it. The circumfix
is probably most widely known from the German past participle (ge-t for regular verbs). Probably the only circumfixes in English are:

COURSE: 7MO. CLASROOM:A3

RESABALA HERNANDEZ

STUDENT: GABRIELA MIRIAN

en- -en in enlighten

em- -en in embolden
In older usage, however, the present participle could be formed using
the circumfix a- -ing:
a- -ing in a-flying
a- -ing in a-caroling
Circumfixes are written with initial and terminal hyphens, as above.