Morpheme & its types.....

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A morpheme is the smallest unit of meaning in a word. It cannot be divided into smaller parts that have meaning. It plays an important role in the formation of words. It helps in understanding how words are created and how they change.

Types of Morphemes

1. Free Morpheme

A free morpheme can stand alone as a word. It does not need another morpheme to make sense. It carries meaning on its own. Examples:

  • "book"
  • "run"
  • "happy"

2. Bound Morpheme

A bound morpheme cannot stand alone as a word. It must be attached to another morpheme to have meaning. Examples:

  • "-s" in "books" 
  • "-ing" in "running" 
  • "un-" in "unhappy" 

Types of Bound Morphemes

A. Derivational Morpheme

A derivational morpheme creates a new word by changing its meaning or part of speech. It is used to form new words. Examples:

  • "teach" + "-er" → "teacher"
  • "happy" + "-ness" → "happiness" 
  • "kind" + "un-" → "unkind"

B. Inflectional Morpheme

An inflectional morpheme changes the form of a word but does not create a new word. It shows tense, number, comparison, or possession. Examples:

  • "dog" + "-s" → "dogs" 
  • "walk" + "-ed" → "walked"
  • "fast" + "-er" → "faster" 

Conclusion

A morpheme is the smallest unit of meaning in language. It helps in word formation. It can be a full word or a part of a word. It is divided into free morphemes and bound morphemes. Bound morphemes are further divided into derivational morphemes and inflectional morphemes. It is important in learning and understanding language.

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