E X ERC I SE AN SWE R K EY EX3

CHAPTER 3 THE MORPHOLOGY OF ENGLISH

Exercise 3.1

This exercise lends itself to group work. It focuses students attention on their knowledge of the
underlying morphological system that enables them to create new words from nonsense words.

1. striggily
2. striggish
3. striggishly
4. striggophile someone who loves (or collects) striggs
5. striggify

Exercise 3.2

1. {dis-} + {cover} + {-able}

{dis-} changes the meanings of verbs to their opposite (disallow).
{cover} is a verb meaning to shelter, hide.
{-able} creates adjectives meaning able to be plus the action of the verb (lovable = able to be
loved).

2. {motive} + {-ate}
{motive} is a noun or adjective meaning a desire.
{-ate} creates verbs meaning to make (alienate).

3. {amaze} + {-ment}
{amaze} is a verb meaning to astonish.
{-ment} creates nouns meaning state of (excitement).

4. {dark} + {-en}
{dark} is a noun meaning without light.
{-en} creates verbs meaning to cause (lengthen).

5. {coward} + {-ice}
{coward} is a adjective meaning one who lacks courage.
{-ice} creates nouns from other words (service, justice).

6. {care} + {-less} + {-ly}

{care} is a noun meaning attentiveness.
{-less} creates adjectives meaning without (hopeless).
{-ly} makes adverbs from adjectives (sadly).

7. {boy} + {-ish} + {-ness}

{boy} is a noun meaning male child.
{-ish} creates adjectives meaning having the quality of (foolish).
{-ness} creates nouns from other words (shyness, blackness).
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8. {re-} + {write}
{re-} means repetition of the stated action (redo).
{write} is a verb meaning to form letters and symbols with a pen, pencil or other writing implement
on a surface.

Exercise 3.3

Yester | day | the | bak | er | s | old | est | daughter | ran | a | way |

with | the | bank | er | s | young | er | son

(This exercise is discussed in the text.)

Exercise 3.4

1. The | manag(e) | -er | listen | -ed | im- | patient | -ly | as | the | clerk | -s | claim | s | became |
in- | creas- | -ing | -ly | in- | cred- | -ible.

2. Fred | found | the | old | elevat- | -or | un- | bear- | able.

Exercise 3.5

1. burned, burned (British English has burnt as past and past participle.)

2. bet, bet (Some dialects use betted, betted.)

3. sprang, sprung (Some students may prefer sprung in the past tense.)

4. strove, striven (Some dialects use strived for the past tense and for the past participle.)

5. spelled, spelled (Some dialects have spelt for the past tense and for the past participle.)

6. dwelled, dwelled (Some dialects have dwelt, dwelt.)

7. bit, bitten (Some dialects have bit for the past participle.)

8. leapt, leapt (Some students may use leaped for both forms instead.)

9. dug, dug (Some dialects retain the more archaic digged.)

Exercise 3.6

1. Noun Silvano wished us many happy returns at the Trevi fountain.

Verb As we promised, we returned to Rome in the spring.

2. Noun It is difficult to match reds because each fabric soaks up a different amount of dye.
Adjective Your face became even redder when he kissed you.

3. Noun My mortgage company offers the lowest rates in town.

Verb Elmer Dill has rated our restaurant very highly for the past two years.
EX ERC ISE A N SW ER KEY EX5

4. Noun The expectation of disaster fuels my fears of earthquakes.

Verb Jan feared returning home so late after her curfew.

5. Noun Jan told her mother all the reasons behind her refusal to get married.
Verb Syd reasoned that someone else must have been at fault.

6. Noun The names on the guest list need to be reviewed.

Verb Dan names all his dogs, Sparky.

7. Noun The men hoisted the sails in preparation for departure.

Verb The USS Arizona sailed to Pearl Harbor.

8. Noun Marybeths depression has caused her to hit new lows.

Adjective Jill cried out when she hit her shin against the lowest rung of the ladder.
Adverb The criminal hung his head low when the verdict was read.
Verb The cattle are lowing.

9. Noun The blues of the afghan complement your couch.

Verb I like bluing the water to rinse my whites so that they are very bright.
Adjective The waters of Hawaii are the bluest waters I have ever seen.

Exercise 3.7

Some of the possible derivations from act are

actable, actably, action, actionary, actionless, activate, active, actively, activeness, activist, activistic,
activisticly, activity, antiaction, deactivate, enact, enaction, enactment, inactable, inactableness, inactably,
inaction, inactivate, inactive, inactively, inactiveness, inactivity, nonaction, nonactive, nonactively,
nonactiveness, nonactivity, proaction, proactive, proactively, proactiveness, proactivity, react, reaction,
reactionary, reactionless, reactionlessly, reactivate, reactive, reactiveness, reactivity, reenact, reenaction,
reenactment, semiaction, semiactive, semiactively, semiactiveness, semiactivity, superaction, superactive,
superactively, unactable, unactableness, unactably, and so on.

Students may create or discover others.

Exercise 3.8

1. sleeper
{sleep} free base
{-er} bound derivational suffix meaning one who does; creates agent nouns (ruler)

2. misconception
{mis-} bound derivational prefix meaning wrong
{concept} free base
{-ion} bound derivational suffix meaning action or process; used for non-count nouns
(starvation)
EX6 EX ER CI SE A NS W ER KE Y

3. violinist
{violin} free base
{-ist} bound derivational suffix; creates agent nouns

4. referral
{refer} free base
{-al} bound derivational suffix meaning act or process; creates nouns from verbs

5. employee
{employ} free base
{-ee} bound derivational suffix meaning recipient of the action; creates nouns from verbs (refugee)

6. enjoyment
{enjoy} free base
{-ment} bound derivational suffix meaning state, action; creates nouns from verbs (confinement)

7. duckling
{duck} free base
{-ling} bound derivational suffix meaning small

8. protoform
{proto-} bound derivational prefix meaning first in rank or time
{form} free base

9. pentagram
{penta-} bound base meaning five
{-gram} bound base meaning something written

Exercise 3.9

This exercise can be assigned as homework or it can be done in class in small groups.

acrophobia fear of heights

claustrophobia fear of being locked up, shut in an enclosed space
hydrophobia fear of water
agoraphobia fear of open spaces
gamophobia fear of marriage
orinthophobia fear of birds
ponophobia fear of work
melissophobia fear of bees
demophobia fear of crowds
thanatophobia fear of death
phagophobia fear of eating
ichthyphobia fear of fish
genophobia fear of sex
arachneophobia fear of spiders
EX ERC I SE A N SW ER KEY EX7

ophidiophobia fear of snakes

xenophobia fear of strangers
gynophobia fear of women
triskaidekaphobia fear of thirteen
autophobia fear of being alone
scopophobia fear of being looked at
hygrophobia fear of dampness
batrachnophobia fear of frogs
peniaphobia fear of poverty
alophobia fear of seeing, handling, or playing a flute or similar wind instrument

Exercise 3.10

1. somewhere cannot accept change (Speakers of some dialects somewheres.)

2. lecture accepts derivational suffixes (lecturer) and inflectional suffixes (lectures)
3. of cannot accept change
4. hot accepts inflectional suffixes (hotter, hottest) and derivational suffixes (hotly)
5. rather cannot accept change
6. slow accepts both derivational (slowness, slowly) and inflectional morphemes (slower, slowest)
7. instead cannot accept change
8. brown accepts both derivational (brownness) and inflectional suffixes (browned)
9. and cannot accept changes

Review Exercise

Morphological Analysis

1. stylistic
{style} free base; sort, kind, type; I like Madonnas hair style.
{-ist} bound derivational suffix meaning person who does; creates agent nouns; pianist
{-ic} bound derivational suffix meaning characteristic of; creates adjectives; mythic.

2. restive
{rest} free base; to repose; He rested all day.
{-ive} bound derivational suffix meaning having characteristic of; creates adjectives; disruptive.

3. carefully
{care} free base; concern, attention; The neurologist exercised care in assessing head injuries.
{-ful} derivational suffix meaning having characteristic of; creates adjectives; painful
{-ly} bound derivational suffix; creates adverbs of manner; richly

4. reachable
{reach} free base; to arrive at; Ann reached our house by noon.
{-able} derivational suffix; creates adjectives; drinkable
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5. nationhood
{nation} free base; a group of people as a political unit; Europe may become a single nation.
{-hood} bound derviational suffix; creates nouns; brotherhood

6. legalize
{legal} free base; pertaining to law; Their marriage is not legal in California.
{-ize} bound derivational suffix; creates verbs from adjectives or nouns; equalize, rubberize

7. rivalry
{rival} free base; an opponent; The count met his rival at dawn.
{-ry} bound derivational suffix meaning state or condition; creates nouns; thievery

8. reference
{refer} free base; to direct; The president will refer the question to the Secretary of State.
{-ence} bound derivational suffix meaning state or condition; creates nouns from
adjectives ending in -ent; confidence

9. playful
{play} free base; to act in jest or sport; Our basketball team plays well.
{-ful} bound derivational suffix; creates adjectives; helpful

Inflectional Morphemes

immigrants noun plural

States noun plural
brought verb past tense
dialects noun plural
was verb past tense
greater adjective comparative
come verb past participle
historians noun plural
centuries noun plural
colonists noun plural
differences noun plural
became verb past tense
moved verb past tense
accommodated verb past tense
diminished verb past participle
growing verb present participle
Englands noun possessive
encouraged verb past tense