Morphological Classification of Words. Word Composition in the English Language

1.

MORPHOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION OF WORDS.
WORD COMPOSITION IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

2.

What Is a
Morpheme?
A morpheme is the smallest part of a word that has meaning.
For example, the word unhappy consists of two morphemes:
* un- means “not”
* happy is the main part of the word.
Another example is teachers:
* teach is the root.
* -er means a person who does something.
* -s shows the plural form.

3.

There are two main types of morphemes: free and bound morphemes.
Free morphemes can be used as independent words. For example: book,
house, happy, and work.
Bound morphemes cannot be used alone. They must be connected to other
morphemes. For example: un-, re-, -ness, and -ful.

4.

According to their morphological
structure, English words can be
divided into four main groups.
1. Simple Words
Simple words consist of one root
morpheme.
Morphological
Classification of
Words
Examples:
2. Derived Words
* Cat
Derived words are formed by adding prefixes or suffixes to a root.
* Dog
For example:
* Book
* Happy → unhappy
* Sun
* Kind → kindness
* Water
* Teach → teacher
* Care → careful
These words do not contain prefixes
Prefixes are added to the beginning of a word, while suffixes are added to the end.
or suffixes that form new words.
For example, the prefix un- changes the meaning of happy to its opposite: unhappy.
The suffix -ness changes the adjective kind into the noun kindness.

5.

Compound Words
Compound words are formed by
combining two or more roots.
Examples:
* Sun + flower = sunflower
* Tooth + brush = toothbrush
* Class + room = classroom
* Rain + coat = raincoat
* Foot + ball = football
Compound words are very common in
English.
They can be written as one word, two
separate words, or with a hyphen.
For example: bedroom, ice cream, and
mother-in-law.
. Compound-Derived Words
Compound-derived words contain
two or more roots and a derivational
affix.
For example:
* Blue-eyed
* Long-legged
* Kind-hearted
* Old-fashioned
The word blue-eyed consists of two
roots, blue and eye, and the suffix -ed.
These words are often used to
describe people or objects.

6.

Word Composition in English
Word composition means the structure of a word and the way its parts are connected.
The main parts of a word are the root, prefix, and suffix.
The root is the main part of a word. It carries the basic meaning.
For example, in the words help, helpful, and helpless, the root is help.
A prefix is added before the root.
Examples:
* Unhappy
* Rewrite
* Disagree
* Impossible
A suffix is added after the root.
Examples:
* Happiness
* Teacher
* Beautiful
* Quickly
Prefixes usually change the meaning of a word. Suffixes can change its meaning or grammatical category.
For example, beauty is a noun, but beautiful is an adjective.

7.

Ways of Forming New Words
• There are several important ways of forming new words in English.
• Affixation means adding prefixes or suffixes.
• For example: happy → happiness.
• Compounding means joining two words together.
• For example: black + board = blackboard.
• Conversion means changing the grammatical category of a word without changing its form.
• For example:
• * Water (noun) → to water (verb)
• * Work (verb) → work (noun)
• Shortening means making a word shorter.
• For example:
• * Advertisement → ad
• * Examination → exam
• * Laboratory → lab
• Blending means combining parts of two words.
• For example:
• * Breakfast + lunch = brunch
• * Smoke + fog = smog
• These processes help the English language develop and create new vocabulary.

8.

Why Is Morphology Important?
Morphology is important because it helps us understand how
English words are formed.
For example, if we know that the prefix re- means “again,” we
can understand words like rewrite, reread, and rebuild.
If we know that the suffix -less means “without,” we can
understand words like hopeless, careless, and homeless.
Morphology is especially useful for students learning English as
a foreign language.
It helps students improve their vocabulary, spelling, reading,
and understanding of grammar.