Name reg no

JAPHET MARAGA EB01/PU/40899/21

VICTOR ONDIEKI EB01/PU/40815/21

YVONNE MWOLE EB01/PU/40889/21

AIMEEY CHEREDI EB01/PU/40811/21

SALOME KEMUMA EB04/PU/41190/21

VELMA N WASIKE EB04/PU/41155/21

ROONEY OKOTH EB01/PU/40855/21

PURITY MWIKALI EB01/PU/40687/21

TITUS ONKUNDI EB01/PU/40898/21

WEKESA SIMIYU EB01/PU/40768/21

Task: Introduction to Grammar of English assignment.

Unit code: ALE B102

Lecturer: Mr. Kebati

Discuss in details then following grammatical/morphological concepts. Give examples in
your descriptions.

Morpheme (free and bound, derivational and inflectional) (prefixes, suffixes, circumfixes,
and infixes)

Morphemes are the smallest units of a language that carry meaning. It’s a meaningful
morphological unit of language that cannot be further divided.

Morphemes can be categorized into different types based on their characteristics and functions:

1. Free morphemes- are standalone words that can function independently as meaningful
units in a sentence. Examples: “cat,” “run,” “ book.” The examples listed cannot be
broken into smaller morphemes without losing the word’s meaning.
2. Bound morphemes- are morphemes that can appear only as part of a larger expression.
They need to be attached to free morphemes to convey meaning. Examples: “-s” on
adverbs, third person singular, present tense (he runs, she walks) “-s” is added to “run,”
and “walk” in order to convey meaning. “-s” cannot stand on its own. “-ed” on verbs:
past tense: (I walked, they joined).
3. Derivational morphemes- these are bound morphemes that are added to a root or base
word to create a new word with a different meaning or part of speech. Example: adding
the suffix “-ly” to the adjective “quick” creates the verb “quickly.”
4. Inflectional morphemes- are bound morphemes, but they do not change the part of speech
or fundamental meaning of a word. Instead, they indicate grammatical information. It’s
added to a noun, verb, adjective or adverb to assign a particular grammatical property to
that word such as: tense, number, possession or comparison. Example: adding the suffix
“-s” to “cat” creates “cats”, indicating plural form.
5. Prefixes- are bound morphemes that are added to the beginning of a root word to modify
its meaning. Example: “un-“is a prefix in “undo”, where it negates the action.
6. Suffixes- are an affix which is placed after the steam of a word. Common examples are
case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns and adjectives, and verb
 endings, which form the conjugation of verbs. Suffixes can carry grammatical
information or lexical information. Example: “-s” in “books” marks the plural form.
7. Circumfixes- are bound morphemes that enclose a root word, typically to change its
meaning or grammatical category. Example: “un-” and “-able” in “undoable”, meaning
something cannot be done. Here, the root word “-do-” is enclosed by affixes.
8. Infixes- are inserted into the middle of a root word to create a new word or modify its
meaning. Example: “fan-fleakin-tastic”, where “fleakin” is an infix added for emphasis.
9. Root- is the core part of the word to which other morphemes (prefixes or suffixes) can be
attached. Root words hold the most basic meaning of a word. Most root words need a
prefix and suffix to create stand-alone words. It carries the fundamental meaning.
Example: in “happiness”, “happy” is the root that conveys the core meaning.

Stem- is a slightly broader concept than the root. It includes the root along with any
affixes added to it. Example: in “unhappiness,” “un-” is a prefix, “happy” is the root, and
“ness” is a suffix. The stem is “unhappy”.

Word- is the largest unit of language that can stand alone and is typically separated by
spaces in written language or a single distinct meaningful element of speech or writing,
used with others (or sometimes alone) to form a sentence and typically shown with a
space on either side when written or printed. Example: “communication” is a word
consisting of a root and a suffix, conveying the concept of transmitting information.
Guide

Understanding these grammatical concepts, including morphemes, free and bound morphemes,
derivational and inflectional morphemes, prefixes, suffixes, words and stems, it is crucial for
dissecting and comprehending the structure and information of words in language. These
concepts play a fundamental role in linguistics and language analysis.
References

Celce-Murcia, M., &Larsen-Freeman, D. (1983). The grammar book: An ESL/EFL teacher’s

course. Rowley, MA: Newbury House Publishers.