WHAT IS

MORPHEME?
 MORPHEMES:
• Word can be divided into segment of sound

• Book can be divided

For example: the word books is composed of two

morphemes
book and the suffix –s, signifying a plural noun.

• Word into phoneme, or word into syllable

• Morpheme VS Syllable
Examples:

• The word SOFA pronounced

• The world BALLOON pronounced
(The words above contains two syllables)

• The word CAMERA pronounced

• The word HOOLIGAN pronounced
(the words have three syllable)

All the words above only have one morpheme. On

the hand, the word BOOKS has one syllable, and
two morphemes.
The same string of sounds may cumulatively
represent several morphemes. The –s ending in
English verbs, walks, signals three morphemes;
namely third person, present tense and singular
number.

• Another example:

√ Last week I cut the grass.

√ I put the scissor in the dressing table yesterday.
√ Last night they shut the factor down

The past tense morpheme represented by –ed is

called zero allomorph.
What is an allomorph of a morpheme?

√ An allomorph is a morph that has a unique set of grammatical or

lexical features. All allomorphs with the same set of feature forms a
morpheme. A morpheme then, is a set of allomorphs that have the
same set of features. So, each morpheme may have a different set of
allomorphs.

What is an example of an allomorph?

√ Examples include:
• “buses”, “houses”, and “waltzes”. Other plural allomorphs
include the
• * “en” of words as oxen
• the “ren” of children, and
• “ae” of words such as antennae.
These are all plural allomorphs as they serve the same as the more
common “s” and “es” suffixes.
 What is the difference between morpheme and
allomorph?

√ Is that, MORPHEME studies the structure and meaning of

words
But ALLOMORH focuses on the sound of word.