Roots, affixes, stems and bases

1. Roots and Affixes:

 A root is the core part of a word that carries its primary meaning. It's
the foundation upon which other morphemes can be added to create
new words. Roots are usually morphemes that can stand alone as
words.
 An affix is a morpheme added to a root or base to modify its meaning
or grammatical function. Affixes can be prefixes (added to the
beginning of a word), suffixes (added to the end of a word), or infixes
(inserted within a word).
 Example:
 In the word "unhappiness," "happy" is the root, carrying the
main meaning of the word. "Un-" is a prefix added to indicate
negation, and "-ness" is a suffix added to form a noun
indicating the state or quality of being unhappy.
2. Stems and Bases:
 A stem is a form to which affixes can be attached. It may consist of
just the root or a combination of the root and other morphemes.
 A base is a more general term that encompasses both roots and
stems. It refers to any form to which affixes can be added.
 Example:
 In the word "unhappiness," the stem is "happy," to which the
affixes "un-" and "-ness" are attached.
 In the word "running," the base is "run," and the stem is also
"run," to which the suffix "-ing" is added.
Understanding roots, affixes, stems, and bases helps linguists analyze the
structure of words and how they are formed through processes like derivation
and inflection.