WORD STRUCTURE (MORPHOLOGY)

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Word structure (morphology)
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The word is the basic unit which relates the grammar of a language to its vocabulary. Words have internal structure which indicates their grammatical identity (e.g. that the word is plural, or past tense) and their lexical identity (e.g. that the word unhappiness is a noun with negative meaning referring to emotions).
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Grammar is generally divided into the study of the structure of sentences, which is called syntax, and the study of the internal structure of words, which is called morphology.Words are composed of morphemes. A morpheme is the smallest unit of meaning. Some words consist of just one morpheme; some consist of several.In the table below, the words dog and drink cannot be broken down into smaller meaningful units. They are words which consist of one morpheme.
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Examples of words and their morphemes
Word morpheme(s)
dog dog
drink drink
dogs dog + s
drank drink + irregular past a
drinkable drink + able
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impenetrable im + penetr + able
intolerable in + toler + able
irregular ir + regular
midday mid + day
homesick home + sick
homesickness home + sick + ness
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Affixes
Some of the morphemes are attached to the beginning or the end of words. These are affixes. Affixes attached to the beginning of words are prefixes; those attached to the ends of words are suffixes.
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Inflectional morphemes
Some of the affixes express grammatical relations (e.g. the -s on dogs indicates plural, the past form drank contrasts with the present drink). These are inflectional morphemes.
Derivational morphemes
Some of the affixes express lexical relations by forming new or different words when attached to basic words (e.g. -able indicates that something is possible, mid- indicates the middle part of something). These are derivational morphemes.
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Allomorphs
Some morphemes have a variation in form, even though their meaning is the same (e.g. im-penetrable, in-edible, ir-regular, all meaning ‘not’; -ible and -able both meaning ‘can be done’). These variations are known as allomorphs. Allomorphs are also seen in inflections , e.g. noun plurals (books, glasses) and verb endings (seems, watches).
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Compounds
Whole words may combine with each other (e.g. home and sick). Such
combinations are called compounds.
Word, stem and base 258b
The form of a word to which prefixes and suffixes attach is called the stem. A simple word of one morpheme consists of a stem only. Words consisting of a stem plus prefixes and/or suffixes are complex words.
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Examples of words showing stems and affixes word stem prefixes/suffixes
1. Snowy snow -y
2. Untraceable trace un- -able
3. Deduce, reduce, produce -duce de- re- pro-
4. Capture, captive capt- -ure -ive
5. Recapture capt- re- -ure
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The stem may not necessarily be a whole independent word, as can be seen in the table.
Snow and trace are free stems; they can stand alone.
The forms – duce and captare bound stems; they can only be used in combination with prefixes or suffixes.
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The stem on its own may be restricted to certain combinations. In example 5 in the table the prefix re- can only attach to capture (we cannot say recaptive). In recapture, capture is called the base. A base may already include an affix. In the following words, the base is in bold:
grammarian
grammaticality
ungrammatical
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Inflection
English does not make much use of word structure to express grammatical meanings and, unlike other languages, the inflection of words is limited. Inflections in English are realised by the suffixes in the table below.
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Inflectional suffixes
Suffix examples
noun plurals (e.g. -s,-es,-en) cars, bushes, oxen
3rd person singular present tense -s he works, it rises
past tense -ed we walked; I smoked
-ing form as progressive aspect she’s running; we were laughing
-ed form as -ed participle they’ve landed, he was beaten
comparative forms -er, -est he’s smaller, I’m smallest
negative verb inflection -n’t I can’t; they won’t
Inflection also sometimes occurs through internal vowel or consonant change.
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Examples of inflection through vowel or consonant change goose geese plural hang hung past tense far further comparative advise advice verb to noun. Sometimes an inflected form is identical to its non-inflected form (for example, where the singular and plural have the same form). This is called syncretism
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Word formation
Present-day English has four main processes of word formation: prefixation, suffixation, conversion and compounding.
Prefixation
Prefixation involves adding a prefix to a base or stem:
antenatal, anteroom
decriminalise, deform
post-1945, postgraduate
pro-life, pro-Europe
untidy, unhappiness, unusual, undemocratic
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Suffixation
Suffixation involves adding a suffix to a base or stem:
ageism, terrorism
kingdom, freedom
identify
reasonable, unprofitable
unhappily, slowly
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Conversion
Conversion involves the change of a word from one word class to another. For example, the verbs to screen and to fax are formed from the nouns screen and fax. The verb to narrow is formed from the adjective narrow; the noun love from the
verb to love:
The film is an absolute must for all lovers of Westerns.
(noun from verb)
Can we microwave it?
(verb from noun)
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Internet downloads can be expensive.
(noun from verb)
They decided that they had to broaden his appeal.
(verb from adjective)
Less often, internal vowel change or one form replacing another (suppletion) may indicate a change in word class or sub-class.
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Examples of change in word class through vowel change and suppletion
hot heat adjective ➛ noun
rise raise intransitive verb ➛ transitive verb (change in sub-class)
deep depth adjective ➛ noun (plus suffix; similarly, wide ➛ width)
mouth oral noun ➛ adjective (suppletion)
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Some words can change class by a shift in stress from one syllable to another. Typically, the stress is on the first syllable when the word is a noun and on the second syllable when the word is a verb, e.g. record (noun, with stress on the first syllable) becomes record (verb, with stress on the second syllable).
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Compounding
Compounding involves linking together two or more bases to create a new word. Normally, the first item identifies a key feature of the second word. For example, the two bases head and ache can combine to form the compound word headache:
award-winning
helpline
house-proud
input
long-running
postcard
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The main prefixes used in English
prefix meaning examples
a- (i) in a particular way or condition (i) awake, asleep (first syllable pronounced /ə/)
(ii) without (note different (ii) atypical, amoral (first syllable pronunciation) pronounced /e/)
anti- against or opposed to antibiotic, anticlimax, anti-nuclear
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ante- before antenatal, antechamber
auto- self autobiography, autograph
de- to reverse, to alter decommission, deform, destabilise
dis- to reverse, to remove disarm, disagree, dismantle, disqualify
down- to lower, to reduce downsize, downgrade
dys- not regular or normal dyslexia, dysfunctional
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Extra- beyond extramural, extraordinary, extraterrestrial
half one of two equal parts halfway, half-moon
hyper- extreme hyperactive, hyperinflation
hypo- less than usual, too little hypothermia, hypotension
il-, im-, not illegal, impossible, intolerant, irresponsible
in-, irinter- between interactive, intercontinental, international
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intra- within intra-departmental, intramural
intro- directed within introvert, introspection
mega- very big, important megabyte, megastar
mid- middle midday, mid-September
mis- incorrectly, badly misinterpret, misunderstand, misinform
non- not non-smoker, non-stick, non-believer
over- too much overeat, overindulgent
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Prefixes which change the class of a word
Prefixes do not typically change the class of a word. One example is the prefix be-, which can change a noun into a verb (e.g. bewitch, besiege), or an adjective into a verb (e.g. belittle, becalm). Similarly, the prefixes em- and en- can create a verb from a noun or adjective (e.g. embitter, embolden, encode, endanger, enlarge, enlighten).
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Suffixes 262
Prefixes have a semantic role; suffixes also have a semantic role but they additionally change the class of a word. The tables below show the common suffixes by word class (together with an indication of the most common types of class change where appropriate).
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Suffixes which form nouns
suffix examples
-age (count to non-count noun) baggage, mileage
-al (verb to noun) arrival, burial, withdrawal
-ant/-ent assistant, coolant, deodorant, student
-ance/-ence (verb to noun) defiance, insistence, pretence
-arium/-orium aquarium, crematorium, sanatorium
-dom boredom, freedom, stardom, wisdom
-ee absentee, devotee, trainee
-ar/-er/-or (verb to noun) registrar, singer, indicator
-ie/-y kiddie, daddy, puppy
-hood childhood, motherhood, knighthood
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Suffixes which form adjectives
suffix examples
-ble (verb to adjective) readable, workable, responsible
-al informal, criminal
-ed (noun to adjective) bearded, long-sighted, short-tailed
-en (noun to adjective) woollen, golden, wooden
-ese (noun to adjective) Japanese, Taiwanese, Vietnamese
-ful grateful, helpful, mindful
-i (noun to adjective) Pakistani, Iraqi, Omani
-ic(al) (noun to adjective) heroic, poetic, historic(al)
-ish (noun to adjective) foolish, Danish, Polish
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Suffixes which form verbs
suffix examples
-ate dominate, irritate
-en (adjective to verb) harden, lengthen, stiffen
-ify identify, magnify
-ise/-ize caramelise, Americanize
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Suffixes which form adverbs
suffix examples
-ly slowly, aggressively
-ward(s) backwards, homeward(s)
-wise clockwise, edgewise
Very occasionally, non-suffixed and suffixed forms may be used more or less synonymously (e.g. disorient/disorientate; transport/transportation).
-ish and -y in informal contexts
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The -ish suffix is used widely in informal spoken English to soften or hedge numbers and quantities when precise reference is not necessary or is inappropriate:
So we’re meeting at eleven, well elevenish.
I think she’s thirtyish but she looks a lot younger.
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-ish may occasionally be used on its own in informal conversation. It functions to make something deliberately vague and is not used only to refer to numbers and quantities:
A: Did you say you’ll be here at five?
B: Well, -ish. It depends on the traffic.
A: Are you hungry?
B: -ish. What about you?
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Conversion
Conversion involves changing a word from one word class to another but without adding any affix. For example, when the adjective solid is turned into the verb to solidify, the suffix -ify is added. When the adjective dry is turned into the verb to dry or when the noun fax is turned into the verb to fax, no affix is added and the process is one of conversion. Most examples involve the conversion of verbs into nouns or nouns into verbs. The main types of conversion are:
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Verbs converted into nouns:
cure, drink, doubt, laugh, smoke, stop (as in bus stop), walk, work
Nouns converted into verbs:
to bottle, to bully, to elbow, to email, to glue, to group, to head, to ship, to ski, to skin, to tutor
Adjectives converted into verbs (including comparatives):
to better, to calm, to clean, to dry, to empty, to faint, to lower, to smooth, to tidy, to wet
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Nouns converted into adjectives:
junk food, a rubbish explanation (common in spoken English).
Conversion is a process which continues to produce new forms constantly. For example, conversion has most recently produced forms such as to email, to impact, to text, a download.
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Other types of word formation
Abbreviation
Abbreviation involves shortening a word. This can be done by means of three main processes: clipping, acronyms and blends.
Clipping
Clipping is a type of abbreviation in which a word is shortened when one or more syllables are omitted or ‘clipped’. Proper names for people are commonly clipped:
ad: advertisement, advert memo: memorandum decaf: decaffeinated lab: laboratory medic: medical student, doctor Liz: Elizabeth
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Acronyms are a type of abbreviation formed when the initial letters of two or more words are combined in a way that produces consonant and vowel sequences found in words. Acronyms are pronounced as words:
RAM: Random Access Memory
NATO: North Atlantic Treaty Organisation
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Blends
Blends are a type of abbreviation in which parts of existing words are combined to form a new word. The process is a notable recent phenomenon:
camcorder: blend of camera and recorder
fanzine: blend of fan and magazine
heliport: blend of helicopter and airport
netiquette: blend of internet and etiquette
smog: blend of smoke and fog
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Back-formation
Back-formation is a process of word formation in which what is thought to be a suffix (and occasionally a prefix) is removed. It applies in particular to the process of forming verbs from nouns. The two major sources are nouns and compound nouns ending in -tion, or -ion and in -ar, -er, -or, -ing. But there is also a large miscellaneous group which occasionally includes back-formation from adjectives:
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emote: derived from emotion
intuit: derived from intuition
legislate: derived from legislation
televise: derived from television
air-condition: derived from air-conditioner
commentate: derived from commentator
brainwash: derived from brainwashing
sightsee: derived from sightseeing
enthuse: derived from enthusiasm
diagnose: derived from diagnosis
legitimise: derived from the adjective legitimate
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Productivity
Not all prefixes and suffixes are equally productive. Some are frequently used to create new words, while others are rarely, if ever, utilised in present-day word formation.
The suffix -ion is particularly productive in English and is used to form a large number of high-frequency nouns, e.g. reunion, confusion, extension, explosion, direction, infection, inflation, intuition, relation, resignation.
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The adjectival suffix -al produces a large number of high-frequency adjectives,
e.g. critical, crucial, dental, frontal, typical, vital.
Prefixes such as un- and de- and the -er/-or suffix are highly productive, with new words constantly being formed.
Rare suffixes such as -ose (as in verbose, jocose) and -dom are rarely used to form new words.
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Conversion and compounding are productive in modern English, and new forms occur regularly, especially in technical domains such as computing and in the sciences in general. Almost any noun may potentially combine with any other noun to form new noun compounds.
Acronyms, back-formations and loan words only account for a small amount of the new vocabulary to appear each year in English, but the processes in themselves are productive.
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