SOLUTIONS TO EXERCISES, CHAPTER 4

Word Class Exercise (data, obviously, will differ from person to person)
nouns
data
intern
The interns are afraid of the president. (plural inflection)
glass
Two glasses of milk have a lot of calcium. (plural inflection)
disk
The disks directory is damaged. (possessive case inflection)
computer
Two computers are better than one. (plural inflection)
president
The presidents interns are afraid of him. (possessive case inflection)
kiss
He smothered her with kisses. (plural inflection)
flash
Muldor saw two flashes through the window. (plural inflection)
divorce
The divorces outcome was predictable. (possessive case inflection)
class
He takes four classes per semester. (plural inflection)
exercise
These exercises sure are fun. (plural inflection)
challenge
I take on many challenges every semester. (plural inflection)
error
Nevins two errors lost the game for the Padres. (plural inflection)
paper
I wrote three papers last week. The papers quality impressed me. (plural &
possessive case inflections)
coin
I like the dollar coins. (plural inflection)
emotion
His emotions were out of control. (plural inflection)
verbs
intern
resign
strangle
impeach
kiss
flash
create
divorce
exercise
complain
challenge
intend
write
acquire
coin
adjectives
goofy
quick
silly

data
Monica interned at the White House. (past tense inflection)
Bill almost resigned because of her. (past tense inflection)
Hillary almost strangled him because of her. (past tense inflection)
Congress impeached him because of her. (past tense inflection)
Surely he kissed her. (past tense inflection)
Perhaps his life flashed before his eyes when he did. (past tense inflection)
This created quite a stir in Washington. (past tense inflection)
I thought they would have divorced by now. (past tense inflection)
He was simply exercising his presidential power. (present participle aspect
inflection)
The public complained vehemently about it. (past tense inflection)
They challenged him to come clean. (past tense inflection)
He never intended to do so, however. (past tense inflection)
Instead, he wrote lies about the meaning of verbs. (past tense inflection)
Thats a mighty bad habit that he acquired. (past tense inflection)
Dubya coined the phrase Im-a-gonna. (past tense inflection)

crazy
hot

data
That Disney dog is goofier than the duck. (comparative inflection)
Mosely was quicker to the punch than De la Hoya. (comparative inflection)
Is there anything sillier than a man with a bad comb-over? (comparative
inflection)
Thats the craziest thing Ive ever seen. (superlative inflection)
Comb-overs are the hottest fashion around these days. (superlative inflection)

adverbs
incessantly
voraciously

data
He speaks incessantly. [modifying the verb speaks]
He ate voraciously. [modifying the verb ate]

pronouns
he
she
they
me

data
He hit him. (subject & object case inflections)
She likes her. (subject & object case inflections)
They saw them. (subject & object case inflections)
I saw him give me the finger. (subject & object case inflections)

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DERIVATIONAL MORPHEME EXERCISE

Because the meanings of some of these morphemes, especially the suffixes, are vague, your responses might be somewhat different. Hopefully,
youre at least in the same ballpark regarding the meanings and in complete agreement regarding the functions.
adjective derivational affixes (affixes that derive adjectives):
prefixes

meaning/function

example words

suffixes meaning/function

example words

in-

opposite quality [antonym]

intolerant

-like

noun adjective (having the

qualities of some noun)

childlike

un-

opposite quality [antonym]

unhappy

-ant

verb adjective (the quality of

performing some verb)

resistant

pro-

for or in favor of

pro-war

-ful

noun adjective (having the

quality of some noun)

helpful

anti-

against

anti-war

-able/
-ible

understandable/
convertible

omni-

all

omnipotent

-ive

verb adjective (the quality of

being capable of some verb in a
passive sense)
verb adjective (having the
quality of some verb)

super-

extra

supersonic

-ous

noun adjective (having the

quality of some noun)

humorous

ultra-

extreme

ultrasensitive

-ory

verb adjective (having the

quality of some verb)

obligatory

-less

noun adjective (the quality of

the absence of some noun)

speechless

-like

noun adjective (having the

quality of some noun)

life-like

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active

noun derivational affixes (affixes that derive nouns):

prefixes
non-

meaning/function
not (opposite)

example words
nonfactor

neo-

new

neoclassicism

suffixes
-age

-ist

meaning/function
adjective noun (a state/situation
characterized by some adjective)
verb noun (a state/situation
characterized by some verb)
one who does

example words
shortage
leakage
sexist

-ture

verb noun (the happening of some

verb)

departure

-ment

verb noun (a feeling/situation

characterized by some verb)

excitement

-ness

adjective noun (a state characterized happiness

by some noun)
quality/status
leadership

-ship
-tion

verb noun (the happening of some

verb)

contraction

-ity

adjective noun (a state/situation

characterized by some adjective)
a way of thinking about some noun

scarcity

adjective noun (a state or emotion

pertaining to some adjective)

realism

-ism

sexism

suffixes

meaning/function

example words

-ant

verb noun (one who

does some verb)

assistant

-al

verb noun (the happening of some

verb)

arrival

-er

verb noun (one who

does some verb)

writer

-ance

verb noun (the happening of some

verb)

acceptance

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verb derivational affixes (affixes that derive verbs):

prefixes meaning/function

example words

suffixes

function

de-

opposite action

deconstruct

-en

en-

endanger

re-

noun verb (to bring about the

meaning of a noun)
again

un-

opposite action

undo

dis-

opposite action

disassociate

-ify

be-

make or become

befriend

-ate

adjective verb (to create the quality harden

of some adjective)
noun verb (to create the quality of lengthen
some noun)
adjective verb (to give something sensationalize
the quality of some adjective)
noun verb (to give something the rubberize
quality of some noun)
glorify
noun verb (to give something the
quality of some noun)
oxygenate
noun verb (to bring about the
presence of some noun)

rewrite

-ize

adverb derivational affixes (affixes that derive adverbs):

suffixes
-ly
-wise

function

example words
happily

adjective adverb (in the manner of some

adjective)
noun adverb (in a manner pertaining to some
noun)

lengthwise

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example words

Morpheme Practice
1. governments
govern: free, root (lexical)
-ment: bound, derivational suffix (grammatical)
-s: bound, inflectional suffix (grammatical)

6. thoughtfully
thought: free root (lexical)
-ful: bound, derivational suffix (grammatical)
-ly: bound, derivational suffix (grammatical)

2. senselessly
sense: free root (lexical)
-less: bound, derivational suffix (grammatical)
-ly: bound derivational suffix (grammatical)

7. paraphrasing
para-: bound, derivational prefix (grammatical)
phrase: free root (lexical)
-ing: bound, inflectional suffix (grammatical)

3. thickeners
thick: free root (lexical)
-en: bound, derivational suffix (grammatical)
-er: bound derivational suffix (grammatical)
-s: bound, inflectional suffix (grammatical)

8. contradictions
contra-: bound, derivational prefix (grammatical)
dict: bound root (lexical)
-tion: bound, derivational suffix (grammatical)
-s: bound, inflectional suffix (grammatical)

4. unspeakable
un-: bound, derivational prefix (grammatical)
speak: free root (lexical)
-able: bound, derivational suffix (grammatical)

9. protracted
pro-: bound, derivational prefix (grammatical)
tract: bound root (lexical)
-ed: bound, inflectional suffix (grammatical)

5. repeatedly
repeat-: free, root (lexical)
-ed: bound, inflectional suffix (grammatical)
-ly: bound, derivational suffix (grammatical)

10. dishonorable
dis-: bound, derivational prefix (grammatical)
honor: free root (lexical)
-able: bound, derivational suffix (grammatical)

For most people, the hardest part of this exercise is recognizing suffixes like -able -less and -ful,
all of which share the same form as, and similar meaning to, free lexical morphemes. Remember, form
and meaning/function are not the same.

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Morphology Trees
N

N
N

N
V

V
Adj

V
*N
re vaccin at ion s

*Adj
in abil ity

*N
re en act ment s

N
V

Adj

V
V

dis

*V
establish ment

Adj

*Adj/N
re capital iz ation

*V
un reason able ness

Adv

N
V

N
V

Adj

V
Adj

de

*Adj
humid ify er

*N
en camp ment s

Asterisks (*) denote root morphemes

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*N
un character istic ally

Bound Roots in English

English words
convoke
convert
revoke
revert
invoke
invert
divert
subvert
provoke
evoke

Meaning (dictionary definitions)

to cause to come together in a meeting
to change into another form or state
to void by recalling, withdrawing or reversing
to return to a former condition
to call upon for assistance, support or inspiration
to reverse the position, order or condition of
to turn aside or deflect
to destroy completely
to cause to take action; to bring on by inciting
to summon; to call to mind or memory

English Word Creation Practice

Classify each of the words beneath the table according to the process used to create the word.
Coumpounding
Waterbed, keychain, sunburn, wastebasket, handbook, doorknob
Borrowing
Piano, linguini, pretzel, robot
Blending
Telecast, chunnel, infotainment, gasohol
Acronyming
NOW, zip, UNESCO, PIN

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