Grammar I (Prof.

Martín Califa)
Morphology
Lesson Handout

Exercises

(Exercises marked * are taken and/or adapted from Huddleston & Pullum 2005: 289-290)

Overview of morphology

How many words are there in the sentence below?

They like their teacher and Nancy likes her teacher too.

1. How many word-forms and lexemes do you recognise in the following sentences?

a. My phone is not working now.

b. John is tall, but Megan is taller.
c. Ms. Walls painted the wall green.
d. The publisher is going to publish a new book.
e. The editor stopped editing the magazine.
f. Mike tied the ribbon and then I untied it.

2. Spot the word which is not an inflectional form of the same lexeme and then specify the
latter in CAPITAL LETTERS.

a. dumbest, dumber, dumbass, dumb

b. risen, raised, rising, rose
c. backpack, backpackers, backpackers’, backpacker
d. read, read, Reading, reading
e. awoke, awakes, awake, woke
f. child, children’s, childish, child’s
g. tiptoe, tipped, tiptoed, tiptoeing
h. warm, warmer, warming, warmed

Words have internal structure.

Independent? Type?
tall-er
tall- ‘of more than average height’ free root
-er ‘superiority comparative’ bound suffix

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 un-tie-ed
un- ‘reversing the action’ bound prefix
paint- ‘fasten together’ free root
-ed ‘past tense’ bound suffix

3. Divide the following words into morphemes. Then decide:

● if they’re free or bound; and

● if they’re the root or prefixes/suffixes.

a. misplace
b. punched
c. tenderness
d. unreliably
e. strangest
f. scumbag
g. xenophobia
h. bloody
i. bloodshed

4. Are the following simple or complex words? When complex, show the root and affix(es).

a. disobey
b. silly
c. attend
d. bored
e. distant
f. achromatic
g. glamorously
h. incitement
i. nifty
j. noisy
k. nation
l. empowerment
m. missile.

Inflectional vs. lexical morphology

Lexeme Inflectional forms

CHAIR chair chairs chair’s chairs’

BLACK black blacker blackest
COOK cook cooks cooked cooking

CHAIRN > CHAIRV

BLACKAdj > BLACKENV → derivation

> BLACKBIRDN → compounding

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COOKV > COOKERN

5. Explain why -ing is an inflectional suffix in a) but a lexical one in b).*

a. They’re building more townhouses at the end of the street.

b. We left the building by the back exit.

6. Explain why the suffix -ish in the following words is NOT an inflectional suffix.*

greenish, sweetish, newish

Inflectional processes

Modification

tooth teeth
lead /li:d/ lead /led/
wolf wolv-es

Shape-sharing

hit hit hit

look look-ed look-ed

sheep sheep
fish fish

Alternation

cat-s /-s/ worm-s /-z/ birch-es /-ɪz/

work-ed /-t/ groan-ed /-d/ land-ed /-ɪd/

Regular vs. irregular forms

add added added

hit hit hit (cf. let, set)
dream dreamed dreamt
dreamt dreamt

7. Discuss the choice between the -es and -s alternants of the plural suffix with the following
nouns, after gathering evidence about how they are actually spelled in real texts.*

a. cameo
b. echo
c. eunuch
d. garage
e. innuendo
f. lunch
g. mango
h. patio
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i. photo
f. piano

8. What’s the morphological relation between the base form of the lexemes and the
inflectional forms on the right?

Lexical base Inflectional forms

SOFTEN softens
RIDE ridding
MAKE make
BUY bought
LIE lay
LIE lied

Verb inflection

English create, creates, created, creating

Spanish creo, creás, crea, creamos, crean, creé, creaste, creó…

Present forms

1sg I dance
2sg You dance
3sg He/She/It dances → the verb inflects for person, number, and tense
1pl We dance
2pl You dance
3pl They dance

The present form of the verb be

1sg I am
2sg You are
3sg He/She/It is
1pl We are
2pl You are
3pl They are

The gerund-participle

dance danc-ing
run runn-ing
have hav-ing
be be-ing

Nominal context Jen thought of [going for a jog].

Jen thought of [an excellent idea].

Adjectival context [The most popular project] will be the winner.

[The project getting the most votes] will be the winner.
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The past form (‘preterite’ in H&P 2005)

dance danc-ed /t/

sigh sigh-ed /d/
float float-ed /ɪd/

The past participle

dance danced danced

sigh sighed sighed
float floated floated

The past form of the verb be

1sg I was
2sg You were
3sg He/She/It was
1pl We were
2pl You were
3pl They were

Morphological class I: past form same as past participle

let let let

keep kept kept
mean meant meant
seek sought sought
stand stood stood

Morphological class II: past from different from past participle

see saw seen

blow blew blown
choose chose chosen
swim swam swum

9. Look at the following verbs and consider their past and past participle forms. Group them
into morphological classes.

a. prove
b. write
c. begin
d. ride
e. show
f. sing
g. drive

Does fling, flung, flung belong in any other morphological classes you recognised?

10. Is goes an irregular present form?

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11. Are the following words gerund-participles?

morning, cunning, ceiling

Noun inflection

Number and case

CAT cat cats

cat’s cats’

Plural number inflection alternants

cats /s/
seals /z/
foxes /ɪz/

Plural inflection in nouns ending in /f/

knife knives
thief thieves
wife wives

proof proofs *prooves

brief briefs (in the sense of instructions)
chief chiefs

dwarf dwarves dwarfs

hoof hooves hoofs

Irregular plural inflection

man men
woman women
foot feet
tooth teeth
goose geese
mouse mice
louse lice
ox oxen
child children
person people / persons

Shape sharing between singular and plural forms

sheep sheep
fish fish

Burmese Burmese
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 Javanese Javanese

species species
headquarters headquarters

Foreign plurals
vertebra /ˈvɜːtɪbrə/ vertebrae /ˈvɜːtɪbrɪ/
formula formulae formulas

stimulus stimuli /ˈstimjʊlaɪ/

focus foci /ˈfəʊsaɪ/ focuses
nucleus nuclei /ˈnju:kljaɪ/ nucleuses

criterion criteria
phenomenon phenomena
bacterium bacteria

analysis /əˈnælɪsɪs/ analyses /əˈnælɪsi:s/

thesis theses
diagnosis diagnoses
crisis crises

Plural-only nouns
scissors *scissor
clothes *one clothe
shenanigans *shenanigan
pants *pant
trousers *trouser
remains *remain

Case inflection

Nominative I saw John yesterday.

Accusative John saw me yesterday.
Genitive John saw my sister yesterday.

Genitive inflection

clock clock’s /s/

airplane airplane’s /z/
Plurals guys guys’ → shape sharing
Singular in -s species species’
Proper nouns in -s Jesus Jesus’ /ɪz/ (optional; Jesus’s also possible)

12. Nouns with lexical bases ending in /f/ either have a) obligatory modification of the base
in plural formation; b) optional modification; or c) no modification. Give the plurals of the
following nouns, grouping them into these three morphological classes.*

a. elf
b. handkerchief
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c. life
d. oaf
e. self
f. sheaf
g. shelf
h. spoof
i. waif
j. wharf

Obligatory modification Optional modification No modification

13. Give the plurals of the following nouns, grouping them into three morphological classes:
a) those with only foreign plurals, b) those with only regular plurals, and c) those that have
foreign and regular plurals as variants.*

a. alumnus
b. amoeba
c. appendix
d. crucifix
e. desideratum
f. foetus
g. mausoleum
h. millenium
i. phobia
j. radius

Only foreign plural Only regular plural Both

Inflection in lexical other categories

Grade inflection

mean meaner meanest

fat fatter fattest
silly sillier silliest

soon sooner soonest

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Irregular forms

good/well better be-st

bad/badly worse worst
far farther/further farthest/furthest
old older/elder oldest/eldest
little less least

common commoner/more common commonest/most common

gentle gentler/more gentle gentlest/most gentle
clever cleverer/more clever cleverest/most clever

few fewer fewest

little less least
much more most
many more most

14. Decide if the following sentences are grammatical or ungrammatical.

a. When I was a kid I was more shy than now.

b. Jerry is the least in his class. (Talking about his size)
d. Can you drive a bit slowlier?
e. Ben’s running quicker now.

15. Construct examples (grammatical and ungrammatical) to show that the adjective kindly
can inflect for grade, but that the adjective kindly cannot be inflected for grade at all.*

Lexical morphology: Derivation

CHAIRN > CHAIRV

BLACKAdj > BLACKENV

COOKV > COOKERN

Productivity and lexicalisation

tweet-ableAdj
Trumpi-nessN
(word coined by comedian Stephen Colbert when Trump won in 2016)

kingdom, martyrdom, stardom, boredom, freedom, nerdom

redden, fatten, weaken, blacken

printable → ‘that can be printed’

cookable → ‘that can be cooked’
doable → ‘that can be done’
considerable → NOT ‘that can be considered’
‘large, significant, or notable’
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 clumsiness → ‘the abstract property of being clumsy’
arbitrariness → ‘the abstract property of being arbitrary’
lateness → ‘the abstract property of being late’
business → NOT ‘the abstract property of being busy’
‘the activity of buying and selling goods and services’

Derivational processes: Affixation

Category-changing vs. category-preserving derivation

jeopardyN > jeopard-iseV

richAdj > en-richV

purpleAdj > purpl-ishAdj

writeV > re-writeV
understandV > mis-understandV

braveAdj > brave-lyAdv

cowardN > coward-lyAdj

goodAdj > good-lyAdj

kindAdj > kind-lyAdj

Affixation and base modification

sillyAdj > silli-nessN → change in spelling

createV > crea-tionN → change in spelling and pronunciation
/kriˈeɪt/ /kriˈeɪʃn/

Nominal derivation

V>N perform > perform-ance

announce > announce-ment
organise > organis-er
paint > paint-ing

Adj > N pure > pur-ity

fierce > fierce-ness
radical > radical-ism

N>N drop > drop-let

hero > hero-ine
New York > New York-er
mother > mother-hood
logic > logic-ian

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Verbal derivation

N>V
bug > de-bugV
terror > terror-ise
beauty > beauti-fy
slave > en-slave

Adj > V
loose > loos-en
feeble > en-feeble

V>V enter > re-enter

tie > un-tie
compose > de-compose
entangle > dis-entangle

hear > over-hear

do > over-do

16. For each of the words below:

● segment it into morphemes (establish the root and affixes);

● identify the base form; and
● determine whether it’s a case of category-changing or category-preserving derivation.

a. weakness
b. establishment
c. rearrange
d. subjective
e. pinkish
f. mispronounce
g. sanity
h. derail

Derivational processes: Base modification and conversion

Base modification: Sound change

complimentN > complimentV

/ˈkɒmplɪmənt/ /ˈkɒmplɪment/
certificateN > certificateV
/sɛˈtɪfikɪt/ /sɛˈtɪfikeɪt/
graduateN > graduateV
/ˈgrædʒuət/ /ˈgrædʒueɪt/
separateAdj > separateV
/ˈsepᵊrət/ /ˈsepəreɪt/
houseN > houseV
/ˈhaʊs/ /ˈhaʊz/

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Conversion (or zero-derivation)

butterN > butterV

readV > readN
localAdj > localN
cleanAdj > cleanV
worryingV > worryingAdj
GoogleN > GoogleV

17. Decide if the underlined words are instances of conversion or homonyms. If so, determine
what is the lexical base (N, V, Adj…).

a. Can you please dim the lights?

b. Let me email you the invite for my birthday.
c. We need to book a suite to stay at the hotel.
d. Bill flashed a smile when he got the long-awaited package.
e. Keira put on her best dress to go to the ball.
f. A healthy diet includes eating plenty of greens.
g. Sandy grabbed a bat to break the glass.
h. The referee blew the whistle to stop the game.
i. She’s great at playing musical instruments. She’s a true natural.

Derivational processes: Minor morphological operations

Back-formation lip-readingN > lip-readV

sculptorN > sculptV
baby-sitterN > baby-sitV
disabledAdj > abledAdj

Blending stagnation + inflation > stagflation

sex + exploitation
smoke + fog
situation + comedy
documentary + drama
Brad + Angelina
> sexploitation
> smog
> sitcom
> docudrama
> Brangelina

Clipping doctorN > docN

microphoneN > micN / mikeN
violoncelloN > celloN
parachuteN > chuteN
influenzaN > fluN
refrigeratorN > fridgeN

Initialism and acronymy

teaching English to speakers of other languages > TESOL /ˈti:səl/

white Anglo-Saxon protestant > WASP /wɒsp/
radio detecting and ranging > radar
self-contained underwater breathing apparatus > scuba

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Abbreviations

Central Intelligence Agency > CIA

Los Angeles > LA
disc jockey > DJ (also deejay)
headquarters > HQ
master of ceremonies > MC (also emcee)

master of ceremonies > MCN (also emcee) > emceeV

not in my backyard > nimbyAdj > nimbyismN

Lexical morphology: Compounding

NOUN greenhouse sweetheart cotton-plant newspaper

ADJECTIVE rock-solid sugar-free high-brow MIT-trained
VERB black-list stir-fry gift-wrap over-do

Compound vs. phrase

a green house
a sweet flavour
a cotton shirt
some old paper

Can it be surrounded by pauses?

*a green#house a green#house
*a sweet#heart a sweet#flavour
*a cotton#plant a cotton#shirt
*a news#paper some old#paper

Is it spelled together?

makeup make-up make up

Does it have syntactic independence?

*a green and blue house a green and blue house

*a sweet and tender heart a sweet and tangy flavour
*a cotton tall plant a cotton and nylon shirt
*a news and gossip paper some old and torn paper

Where does the stress fall?

a greénhouse a green hóuse

a sweétheart a sweet flávour
a cótton-plant a cotton shírt
a néwspaper some old páper

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Is its meaning compositional or is it lexicalised?

a hótshot → not a kind of shot

a loud shót → a shot that is loud

bláckmail → not some type of mail

urgent máil → mail that is urgent

18. The items on the left are compounds and the ones on the right are phrases. Provide at least
one piece of evidence (graphic, phonological, syntactic, or semantic) to account for the
classification.

a blackbird a black bird

a blackboard a black board
freshwater fresh water
a coolbox a cool box

Compound nouns

V+N
Compositional punchbag workbench payday dance-hall
Lexicalised copycat crybaby playboy glow-worm

Adj + N
Compositional smalltalk blackbird mainland tightrope
Lexicalised busybody hotbed wet nurse greenhouse

P+N
intake outlookoffshoot upkeep

N+N
bedtime ashtray palm-tree pillow-case
honey-bee goldfish place name breadcrumb

er-derived N taxi-driver church-goer nutcracker clothes-drier

ing-derived N dressmaking sightseeing fox-hunting town-planning

He’s very good at telling stories. → He’s a very good storyteller.

This device is used to open cans. → It’s a can-opener.

The activity of making cars. → Car-making is very profitable.

The activity of feeding pigeons. → Pigeon-feeding can be very relaxing.

19. Classify the following compound nouns according to the lexical category of their
elements.

grandmother searchlight tearoom song-composing

song-writer hangman outpatient horsehair
blueprint radio-operator underdog song-writing
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 fry pan hotline bulldog inflow

V+N Adj + N P+N N+N

20. Find six compound nouns you don’t know. Make sure half of them are lexicalised.
Classify them according to the lexical category of their elements. Use the dictionary if
necessary.

Compound adjectives

Adj + Adj bitter-sweet shabby chic pale-green dark-blue

P + Adj over-zealous underrated
N + Adj Compositional feather-light crystal-clear paper-thin ice-cold
tax-free user-friendly camera-shy carsick
Lexicalised footloose colour-fast headstrong threadbare

ing-derived Adj breathtaking heart-breaking animal-loving

This is a cat that eats carrots → a carrot-eating cat

A pan to fry bananas → a banana-frying pan
A trick to solve Sudoku puzzles → a Sudoku-puzzle-solving trick
Students who love UNAHUR → UNAHUR-loving students

ed-derived Adj drug-related home-made taxpayer-funded Paris-located

A revolt led by women → a women-led revolt

A campaign controlled by citizens → a citizen-controlled campaign
A affair linked to corruption → a corruption-linked affair
A student trained at UNAHUR → an UNAHUR-trained student

21. Figure out the compound adjective to paraphrase the sentences.

a. We implemented policies to cut costs.

b. I reviewed a catalogue of patterns to knit sweaters.
c. Ferrero Rocher is a company based in Rome.
d. Every day, Rosy plays chess from 8 to 6.
e. The course is based on learning that is assisted by computers.

22. Classify the following compound adjectives into types according to the categories of their
elements.

deaf-mute bone-dry overworked time-consuming

razor-sharp red-hot safety-tested brick-red

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 Adj + Adj P + Adj N + Adj

Compound verbs

V+V freeze-dry blow-dry cook-chill

N+V chain-smoke daydream hand-wash mass-produce

Adj + V blackmail fast-track shortchange

P+V downsize background outsource bypass

over-V over-achieve, over-do, over-cook, over-explain

under-V under-achieve, underestimate, underrate, undersell
out-V outperform, outnumber, outshine, outdo, outsell

Phrasal words

a. Reality show contestants generally end up as has-beensN.

b. He was a wannabeAdj rock artist for a while but then gave up.
c. It’s a do-it-yourselfAdj programme. DIY.
d. She always keeps a happy-go-luckyAdj attitude.

a couldn’t-care-less attitude
a let-me-help-you look
a shut-up-now look

23. Find four phrasal words and specify their category (noun or adjective). Use the dictionary
if necessary.

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