I. MORPHOLOGY : 1. What is a free or independent morpheme?
Give 2 examples and explain. (2pts)
2. Divide the following words into immediate constituents using the tree diagram to show
their structures (3pts) :
irresponsibility
reservations
illegally
unsuccessfully
predetermined
II. SYNTAX
1. What is a noun phrase. Give 2 examples and analyze them.
2. What is a verb phrase? Give 2 examples and analyze them.
3. What is a prepositional phrase? Give 2 examples and analyze them.
4. What is an adjective phrase? Give 2 examples and analyze them.
Test 2:
I. Morphology:
1. What is a dependent or bound morpheme? Give 2 examples and explain.
2. Divide the following words into immediate constituent showing their layers of
structure
bookings
unreliability
components
decentralized
undermined
Summary:
1. Morphology
Morphemes
A morpheme is the smallest unit of meaning or grammatical function in a
language.
● Characteristics of Morphemes:
○ A morpheme cannot be divided further into smaller meaningful
parts.
○ It can carry lexical or grammatical meaning.
● Types of Morphemes:
○ Free Morphemes: Can stand alone as words (e.g., "dog," "run").
○ Bound Morphemes: Cannot stand alone and must attach to a
root or base (e.g., "-s" in "dogs").
Inflectional and Derivational Affixes
● Inflectional Affixes:
○ Modify a word to express different grammatical categories like
tense, number, aspect, or mood.
○ They do not change the word's category (e.g., "run" →
"runs" (plural)).
● Derivational Affixes:
○ Create new words or change the grammatical category
(e.g., "run" (verb) → "runner" (noun)).
○ Can change the meaning of the word (e.g., "happy" →
"unhappy").
Other Subgroups of Bases and Affixes
● Base: The core part of a word to which affixes are added (e.g., "act" in
"action").
● Root: The most basic form of a word without any affixes (e.g., "love" in
"lovely").
● Stem: A base that may already have affixes but can accept more (e.g.,
"lovely" in "loveliness").
More Discussion on Derivational Affixes
● Noun Feminine Derivational Affixes:
○ These affixes denote feminine gender (e.g., "-ess" in "actress").
● Noun Diminutive Derivational Affixes:
○ These indicate smallness or affection (e.g., "-let" in "booklet," "-y"
in "kitty").
Homophones, Homographs, Minimal Pairs, and Allomorphs
● Homophones: Words that sound the same but have different meanings
or spellings (e.g., "pair" vs. "pear").
● Homographs: Words that are spelled the same but have different
meanings and sometimes different pronunciations (e.g., "lead" (to
guide) vs. "lead" (a metal)).
● Minimal Pairs: Words that differ by only one sound and have different
meanings (e.g., "bat" vs. "pat").
● Allomorphs: Variants of a morpheme that occur in different contexts
(e.g., plural morpheme in "cats" [s], "dogs" [z], and "boxes" [ɪz]).
Immediate Constituents
● A method used to break down words into smaller parts to analyze the
internal structure. This allows the identification of morphemes and how
they combine.
Words
● Simple Words: Consist of a single morpheme (e.g., "book").
● Complex Words: Consist of multiple morphemes (e.g., "unhappiness").
Word Formation Processes:
1. Invention: Creation of entirely new words (e.g., "Google").
2. Borrowing: Taking words from other languages (e.g., "café" from
French).
3. Blending: Combining parts of two words (e.g., "smog" from "smoke"
and "fog").
4. Acronymy: Using initial letters to form a new word (e.g., "NASA").
5. Conversion: Changing a word’s category without changing its form
(e.g., "to Google" (verb) from "Google" (noun)).
6. Compounding: Combining two or more words to form a new one (e.g.,
"toothbrush").
7. Affixation: Adding prefixes or suffixes (e.g., "unhappiness").
8. Back-Formation: Creating a new word by removing an affix (e.g., "edit"
from "editor").
9. Echoism: Words that imitate sounds (e.g., "buzz").
10. Antonomasia: Using a proper name to refer to a type (e.g.,
"Einstein" for a genius).
11. Reduplication: Repeating all or part of a word (e.g., "bye-bye").
2. Syntax
Grammar and Sentences
Syntax refers to the rules governing the structure of sentences in a language. It
involves arranging words to create meaningful sentences.
● Word Classes: Words are categorized based on their function in a
sentence:
○ Nouns: Name people, places, or things (e.g., "dog").
○ Verbs: Express actions or states (e.g., "run").
○ Adjectives: Describe nouns (e.g., "beautiful").
○ Adverbs: Modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs (e.g.,
"quickly").
○ Prepositions: Show relationships between nouns and other
words (e.g., "in," "on").
○ Pronouns: Substitute for nouns (e.g., "he," "they").
Phrases
● A phrase is a group of words that act as a unit.
Noun Phrase (NP):
● A noun or pronoun as the main word, often accompanied by modifiers.
○ Example: "The tall man with glasses."
Verb Phrase (VP):
● Consists of a verb and its objects, complements, or modifiers.
○ Example: "She is reading a book."
Adjective Phrase (AdjP):
● A phrase where an adjective is the main word, often accompanied by
modifiers.
○ Example: "Very beautiful."
Adverb Phrase (AdvP):
● An adverb as the main word, often modified by other adverbs.
○ Example: "Quite quickly."
Prepositional Phrase (PP):
● A preposition and its object (which is often a noun or pronoun).
○ Example: "In the garden."
Clause 1: Structure and Types
A clause consists of a subject and a predicate. There are two primary types:
● Independent Clause: Can stand alone as a sentence.
○ Example: "She sings."
● Dependent Clause: Cannot stand alone and is often introduced by
subordinating conjunctions (e.g., because, if).
○ Example: "Because she sings."
Clause 2: Dependent Clauses
● Relative Clauses: Provide more information about a noun (e.g., "The man
who called me is my friend").
● Adverbial Clauses: Modify the verb in the main clause (e.g., "She cried
because she was sad").
● Noun Clauses: Function as a noun within the sentence (e.g., "I believe
that she is right").
