English Morphology
Worksheets
I. The words in column A have been created from the corresponding words in column B. Indicate the word
formation process responsible for the creation of each word in column A. There may be more than one example
of each and not all of the processes are exemplified: conversion -- blending -- creation of eponyms --
clipping -- reduplication -- affixation -- stress shift -- alphabetic abbreviation -- acronym -- backformation --
compounding
Column A Column B (origin of words in column A)
stagflation stagnation + inflation _______________
van Caravan___________________
Amerindian American Indian____________________
CD compact disc________________________
RAM random access memory___________________
televise Television_____________________
xerox Xeroxography_________________
skateboard skate + board______________
helplessness help______________
elect Election________________
reddish red____________________
scuba self-contained underwater breathing apparatus_____________
Achilles’ Heel Achilles the hero in Greek mythology _______________
Water (v) Water (n)_______________
Croissant Croissant (French)_______________
Laser light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation___________________
Franglais Français + Anglais (French)____________________
Girlfriend Girl + Friend________________________
Maths Mathematics___________________
Baby (v) Baby (n)_____________________
donate donation_________________
produce(n) produce (v)__________________________
La-la Land Refers to Los Angeles, which is widely referred to as L.A.______________
FBI Federal Bureau of Investigation______________
Tupperware From Earl Tupper’s Company of plastic containers________________
emote emotion____________________
Snowball(v) Snowball (n)_____________
Hitchcockian (adj) Alfred Hitchcock (film maker) _______________
Aspirin From Bayer’s acetylsalicylic acid Trade Mark_______________
creationism Create______________________
II. Which is the proper derivation of the following words, according to the most logical order or attachment
(hierarchical structure)? Circle the most appropriate option.
1. Misunderstandings
2. Unreliability
3. Disadvantages
III. For the following words, provide an analysis where you indicate the morphs, separating the roots from the
affixes. Indicate whether the particle is a derivational morpheme or an inflectional morpheme and their
function.
NOTE: You should indicate if there is INTERNAL CHANGE, SUPPLETION or ZERO FORM occurring as
well
Ex: disadvantages
dis- (derivational prefix:negative or opposite meaning) + advant (bound root) + -age (derivational suffix:
nominalizer) + -s (inflectional suffix: plural)
Example 2: Came
Come (free root: verb) + inflectional process indicating change in tense through internal change> Came.
1. possessions
2. greater
3. professionally
4. regularizing
5. strengthened
6. unwisest
7. taught
8. worse
9. dogs
10. replay
11. carrots
12. inescapable
13. disfunctionally
14. undervalued
15. hairbrush
16. unlikely
IV. Read the following text, then answer the following questions about the parts of speech:
1 Social networks connect people at low cost; this can be beneficial for entrepreneurs and small businesses
looking to
2 expand their contact base. These networks often act as a customer relationship management tool for
companies
3 selling products and services. Companies can also use social networks for advertising in the form of banners
and text
4 ads. Since businesses operate globally, social networks can make it easier to keep in touch with contacts
around the
world.
a) In line 1, ‘social networks’ is
1. An adjective and a compound noun 2. A compound adjective 3. A compound noun 4. A proper noun
b) In line 1, ‘connect’ is
1. a transitive verb 2. An intransitive verb 3. A ditransitive verb 4. A complex transitive verb
c) in line 1, ‘low’ is
1. a predicative adjective 2. An attributive adjective 3. A complex word 4. A bound root
d) in line 1, ‘can’ is
1. a main verb 2. An infinitive verb 3. A modal verb 4. A copular verb
e) in line 1 ‘beneficial’ is
1. a predicative adjective 2. An attributive adjective 3. A compound adjective 4. A bound root
f) in line 2 ‘act’ is
1. a phrasal verb 2. A complex transitive verb 3. A ditransitive verb 4. A prepositional verb
g)in line 2, ‘costumer relationship management tool’ is
1. a multiple-word compound noun 2. Four independent nouns 3. a proper noun 4. An uncountable noun
h) in line 3, ‘banners’ functions as
1. an uncountable noun 2. the object of a preposition 3. A subject 4. A direct object
i) in line 4, ‘businesses’ functions as
1. the subject 2. The direct object 3. The indirect object 4. The object of the preposition
j)in line 4, ‘globally’ is
1. an adverb of manner 2. A sentence adverb 3. An adverb of degree 4. An adverb of time
k) in line 4 ‘around the world’ is
1. an adverbial of manner 2. An adverbial of time 3. An adverbial of place 4. A sentence adverbial
V. Name every part of speech in the following sentences:
Example: They were doing a lot of homework in the old cottage last night
They (subject pronoun, third person, plural)
were(auxiliary verb, past tense)
doing(main verb +inflectional aspect suffix.- Indicating continuous aspect)
a (determiner –indefinite article)
lot (determiner-quantifier)
of (preposition)
homework( uncountable noun: compound noun)
in (preposition of place)
the (determiner- definite article)
old (attributive adjective)
cottage (countable noun, common noun)
last night (adverbial of time: determiner+noun)
a) His newfound courage was worthless when it came to facing his mother
b) When we remember we are all mad, the mysteries disappear and life stands explained
c) The swift December dusk had come tumbling clownishly after its dull day, and, as he stared through the
dull square of the window of the schoolroom, he felt his belly crave for its food.
d) Everything is funny, as long as it’s happening to somebody else.
e) And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are
always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it.
