MORPHOLOGY EXERCISES

MORPHLOGY
ASSIGNMENT
Student: Nguyen Thuc Hung
Class: 17CNATMCLC01



1. Consider the following words and answer the questions below.
i. For each word, determine whether it is simple or complex.
ii. Circle all of the bound morphemes. Underline all of the roots.
a. fly (s) b. desks (c) c. untie (c)
d. tree (s)
e. dislike (c) f. reuse (c)
g. triumphed (c) h. delight (c) i. justly (c)
j. payment (c) k. spiteful (c) l. suite (s)
m. fastest (c)
n. deform (c) n. disobey (c) o. preplan (c) q. optionality (c)
r. prettier (c)
s. mistreat (c) t. premature (c)
* (s): simple
(c): complex
2.
All but one of the following Persian words consist of more than one morpheme.
(Note: There is no overt morpheme for the third person singular pronoun ‘he’, so the
word [xarid] contains only one morpheme).
a. [xaridam]
‘I bought’
b. [xaridi]
‘you (sg) bought’
c. [xarid]
‘(he) bought’

d. [naxaridam]
‘I did not buy’
e. [namixaridand]
‘they were not buying’
f. [naxaridim]
‘we did not buy’
g. [mixarid]
‘(he) was buying’
h. [mixaridid]
‘you (pl) were buying’
I. Try to match each of the following notions with a morpheme in the Persian data.
a. I
 -am
e. They  -and
b. You(sg)  -i
f. Not  nac. We
 -im
g. Was/Were + -ing (continuous)  mid. You(pl)  -id
h. Buy  [xarid]
II. How would you say the following in Persian?
a. They were buying
[mixaridand]
b. You (sg) did not buy
[naxaridi]
c. You (sg) were buying
[mixaridi]
3. The following Turkish data involves allomorphic variation.
a. [lokanta] ‘a restaurant’
[lokantada] ‘in/at a restaurant’
b. [kap] ‘a door’

[kap da] ‘in/at a door’
c. [randevu] ‘an appointment’
[randevuda] ‘in/at an appointment’
d. [baʃ] ‘a head’
[baʃta] ‘in/at a head’
e. [kitap] ‘a book’
[kitapta] ‘in/at a book’
f. [koltuk] ‘an armchair’
[koltukta] ‘in/at an armchair’
g. [taraf] ‘a side’
[tarafta] ‘in/at a side’
I. Identify the Turkish morpheme meaning ‘in/at’.
II. Does this morpheme have more than one allomorph?
III. If so, what are the allomorphs? Describe their distribution as generally as possible.


 The Turkish morpheme meaning ‘in/at’ have more than one allomorph. Those are ‘da’
and ‘ta’. When you are in/at a place, you would use the allomorph ‘da’. When you want
to point in/at something, you would you the allomorph ‘ta’.
4. Consider the following words.
I. Draw a tree structure for each word.
a. Desks
b. Untie
c. Invalid (A)
N
V
A
N

Af

Desk
a. Dislike (V)
V

s

Af

Af

V

like

N

Af

Just
j. Reuse

ice

V

Re
use
m. Optionality
N

A
N
Af

Opt

ion

ed

Af

V

Pre
l. Prettier
A

V

Dis
n. Mistreat

Af

Age
less
i. Preplan (V)
V

Af

Af

A

plan

Af

obey
Pretty
er
o. Preview (V)
p. Fastest

Af
Af

V

N

Pay
ment
k. Disobey
V

V

A

In
valid
f. Ageless
A

Af

Triumph
h. Payment
N

V
Af

Af

Un
tie
e. Triumphed
V

V

Dis
b. Justice
N

V

V
Af

al

ity

Mis

V

A

N

Af

V

A

Af

treat

Pre

view

fast

est


II. For the word optionality, what is the base for the affix -ion? What is the base for the suffix
-ity? Are either of these bases also the root for the entire word? If so, which one?
 Opt is base for the affix –ion.
 Optional is base for the suffix –ity.
 Yes. It’s option.
5. Each of the following columns illustrates a different morphological process
Column 1
Column 2
a. Mouse/mice
f. Récord/recórd
b. Dive/dove
g. Ímport/impórt
c. Take/took
h. Cónvict/convíct
d. Goose/geese
i. Ímprint/imprínt
e. Eat/ate
k. Óutrage/outráge
I. What morphological process is at work in column 1? Column 2?
 In column 1 and column 2, the morphological process is conversion.
II. Describe in your own words the difference between the process exemplified in column 1
verus that in column 2.
 In column 1, a type of conversion is ablaut, which is the replacement of a vowel with a
different vowel. It is used in forming new words (replace form of verb, noun).
In column 2, another type is stress shift. It is used in inventing a new word by shifting

the place of stress, to mark the difference between related nouns and verbs.
III. Think of at least one more English example to add to each column.
Examples:
Column 1
Column 2
Man/men
Cóntest/contést
Wolf/wolves

Cóntrast/contrást

Sing/song

Cónvert/convért

6. The following words can be either nouns or verbs.
a. record
f. outline

k. report

b. journey

g. convict

l. outrage

c. exchange

h. imprint

m. answer

d. remark

i. reprint

n. import

e. surprise

j. retreat

o. cripple

I. For each word, determine whether stress placement can be used to make the distinction
between noun or verb.
 récord (n) / recórd (v)
ímport (n) /impórt (v)
cónvict (n) /convíct (v)


ímprint (n) /imprínt (v)
óutrage (n) /outráge (v)
II. Think of two more English examples illustrating the process of stress shift to mark a
category distinction.
Examples:
Affect: /əˈfɛkt/ (verb) means “to influence”.
/ˈæfɛkt/ (noun) is used in psychology for “a subjective feeling experienced in
response to a stimulus”.

Decrease: /dɪˈkriːs/ (verb) means “to become smaller”.
/ˈdiːkriːs/ (noun) is “a reduction”.
7. The following Samoan data illustrates one of the morphological processes discussed in
this chapter.
a. [mate]
‘he dies’
[mamate]
‘they die’
b. [nofo]

‘he stays’

[nonofo]

‘they stay’

c. [galue]

‘he works’

[galulue]

‘they work’

d. [tanu]

‘he burries’

[tatanu]

‘they bury’

e. [alofa]

‘he loves’

[alolofa]

‘they love’

f. [taoto]

‘he lies’

[taooto]

‘they lie’

g. [atama’i]

‘he is intelligent’

[atamama’i]

‘they are intelligent’

i. What morphological process is illustrated by these data?
 It’s REDUPLICATIVE AFFIX.
ii. Describe how this process works.
 This process duplicates one part of entire word, maybe a consonant-vowel part, or a

vowel to mark a grammatical or semantic change in that word.
iii. If ‘he is strong’ in Samoan is malosi, how would you say ‘they are strong’ in Samoan?
 If ‘he is strong’ in Samoan is malosi, ‘they are strong’ would be said malolosi’i.
8. The following data from Agta (spoken in the Philippines) illustrates a specific type of
affix.
a. [dakal] ‘big’

[dumakal]

‘grow big, grow up’

b. [darág] ‘red’

[damarág]

‘redden’

c. [furáw] ‘white’

[fumaráw]

‘become white’

I. What is the affix in Agta meaning ‘become X’?


 The affix in Agta meaning ‘become X’ is -ma-.
II. What type of affix is it?
 It’s INFIX.
III. Describe its placement.

 INFIXES are inserted within words.
9. The following words from Chamorro, spoken in Guam and the Mariana Islands,
illustrate some of the morphological processes described in this chapter.
I. Root

Derived word

a. [adda] ‘mimic’

[aadda] ‘mimicker’

b. [kanno] ‘eat’

[kakanno] ‘eater’

c. [tuge] ‘write’

[tutuge] ‘writer’

II. Root

Derived word

d. [atan] ‘look at’

[atanon] ‘nice to look at’

e. [saηan] ‘tell’

[saηanon] ‘tellable’

f. [guaija] ‘love’

[guaijajon] ‘lovable’

g. [tulaika] ‘exchange’

[tulaikajon] ‘exchangeable’

h. [chalck] ‘laugh’

[chalekon] ‘laughable’

i. [ngangas] ‘chew’

[ngangason] ‘chewable’

III. Root

Derived word

j. [nalang] ‘hungry’

[nalalang] ‘very hungry’

k. [dankolo] ‘big’

[dankololo] ‘very big’

l. [metgot] ‘strong’

[metgogot] ‘very strong’

m.[bunita] ‘pretty’

[bunitata] ‘very pretty’

i. What morphological process is involved in I? In II? In III?
The morphological process is involved in I and III is partial reduplication, the process in II is
affixation.
ii. Do any changes in lexical category take place in I? in II? In III?
There are changes in lexical category in I and II, no change in III.
In I: Verb  Noun
In II: Verb  Modifier
In III: no change


iii. Formulate a general statement as to how the derived words in I are formed. Does the same
apply to the derived words in III? If not, how would you change the statement to account for the
forms in III?
 The derived words in I are formed by duplicating the first consonant-vowel sequence of
the base. They are different from those in III which is also a partial reduplication.
Therefore, the statement would change that the derived words in III are formed by
duplicating the initial parts and the finals as well.iv. Does the affix in II have more than
one allomorph? If so what are the allomorphs? What is their distribution?
→ In II the affix has an allomorph. This is -on. It is added at the end of the word.
9. In this chapter, an argument was presented in favor of the following structure for the
word unhappiness.
N

A
Af

Af
A

Un
happy
ness
Using the same type of argument, justify tree structures for the words unforgiving, replacement,
and redefinable. (Hint: This will involve determining the type of syntactic category with which
the affixes in words can combine; see Table 4.11)
Unforgiving
Replacement
Redefinable
N
N
A
Af

N
V

V
Af

Af

Af
V

V
Af

Af
V

Un
forgive
ing
Re
place ment
Re define able
Unforgiving: The suffix -ing combines quite freely with verbs, but not with adjectives.
Therefore, the verb forgive combines with the suffix -ing first, then the compound continues to
combine with prefix un- to form a new word.
Replacement: Most of verbs often combine with prefix re- to form a new word. In this case,
the verb place is not in exception. The verb initially combines with prefix re-, then the compound
combines with suffix -ment to form a noun.
Redefinable: It is also the prefix re- which combines with the verb. This case appears suffix
-able, which also combines with verb. But the suffix is lastly added because the prefix cannot


combine with an adjective, it requires verb to combine. Thus, the suffix -able have to combine
after the combination of the prefix with the root.
11. In English, the suffix -er can be added to a place name, Examine the words in the two
columns below.
Column 1
Column 2
Winnipeger

*Denverer
Yellowknifer
*Victoriaer
New Yorker
*Vancouverer
Newfoundlander
*Torontoer
Londoner
*Ganderer
a. In general terms, what does the suffix -er mean in these words?
→ It means people who lives in those places
b. How is this -er different in meaning from the -er found in the words skater and walker?
→ The -er found in the word skater and walker is different because these -er do not mean
the people living in any places, but they mean people doing something.
c. As shown in Column 2, the distribution of -er in the above data is restricted in some way.
State the constraint illustrated above in your own words.
d. Does constraint also apply to the type of -er used in the word skater? (Hint: What would
you call “one who discovers” or “one who ploughs”?)
12. The following words have all been formed by compounding. Drawing a tree structure
for each word. If you are in doubt as to lexical category of the compound, remember
that the category of the head determines the category of the word.
a. Football

b. Billboard

N
N

N
N

Foot
ball
e. Fastfood
v
N
A

N

Fast
food
j. Tree trunk
N

N

V

N

Solf ware
j. Leadfree
A

d. In-crowd

N

N

Bill board
f. Solfware
N
A

c. Sunbather
N

V

N
Af

Sun bath er
g. Freeze-dry
V
V
Freeze
k. Shortstop
N

V
dry

Af

N

In

crowd
h. Overbook
V
Af

V

Over
book
l. Girlfriend
N


N

N

N

A

A

N

N

N

Tree

trunk

Lead

free

Short

stop

Girl

friend


13. The words in column 2 have been created from the corresponding word in column 1.
Indicate the word formation process responsible for the creation of each word in column 2.
Column 1
Column2
a. Automation
 automate
Backformation
b. Humid
 humidifier
Derivation
c. Stagnation, inflation
 stagflation
Blending
d. Love, seat

 loveseat
Compounding
e. Énvelope
 envélope
Conversion
f. Typographical error
 typo
Clipping
g. Aerobics, marathon
 aerobathon
Blending
h. Act
 deactivate
Derivation
i. Curve, ball
 curve ball
Compounding
j. Perambulator
 pram
Clipping
k. (a) comb
 comb (your hair)
Conversion
l. Beef, buffalo
 beefalo
Blending
m. Random access memory
 RAM
Acronym
n. Megabyte

 meg
Clipping
o. Teleprinter, exchange
 telex
Blending
p. Influenza
 flu
Clipping
14. Here are five instances where a new word is needed. Create a word for each of these
definitions using the word formation process suggest. Fill in the blanks with your new
words.
a. Use an acronym........... for your uncle's second oldest brother.
"We visited my USOB at Christmas.
b. Use onomatopoeia...... for the sound of a coffee percolator at work.
"I can't concentrate because my perc is sizzling.
c. Use conversion........ for wrapping something breakable in bubbles.
"You'd better bubble that ornament or else it might break.
d. Use a compound.................... for the annoying string of cheese stretching from a slice of
hot pizza to one's mouth.
"As the hot stretching cheese string hung from my lips, our eyes met!"
e.Use back formation................... for the action of backformation.
"We had to back-form words in Linguistics today."
15. Create new words for each of the following situations.
a. Use a product name...for the act of scrubbing with Ajax.
‘I ajaxed the tub after giving Fido a bath.’
b. Use a proper name...for the act of breaking dishes, which Jonathan does regularly.
‘He’s going to crash all of my best dishes.’
c. Use clipping...for a course in ovinology (the study of sheep).
‘Have you done your Ovin assignment yet?’

d. Use derivation…...for being able to be contacted.
‘The counsellor is not very contactable.
e. Use a blend....... for a hot drink made with milk and nutmeg.
"I'll have a milknut and two peanut butter cookies, please."
16. Determine whether the words in each of the following groups are related to one another
by processes of inflection or derivation.
a. go, goes, going, gone: inflection
b. discover, discovery, discoverer, discoverable, discoverability: derivation
c. lovely, lovelier, loveliest: inflection
d. inventor, inventor's, inventors, inventors': inflection
e. democracy, democrat, democratic, democratize: derivation
17. The following sentences contain both derivational and inflectional affixes. Underline all
of the derivational affixes and circle the inflectional affixes.

18. (Advanced) Each of the following corpora of data illustrates inflection of some type.
I. GERMAN
a. Der Mann ist krank.
"The man is sick".
b. Die Frau ist krank
" The woman is sick."
II. GREEK
c. o eryatis fonazi ton andra
"The worker calls the man"
d. o andras plironi ton eryati
"The man pays the worker"
c. o andras ine afstiros
"The man is strict".
III. BASQUE
f. Aitak bazuen fabrike aundi.

father owned factory big
"Father owned a big factory".
g. Aite izango da.
"Father will be (there). "
IV. ITALIAN
h. le ziè sono americane
"The aunts are American"


i. gli zii sono studiosi
"The uncles are studious"
j. la zia è studiosa
"The aunt is studious"
k. lo zio è americano.
"The uncle is American"
V. ENGLISH
l. I am biting my tongue.
m. You are biting your tongue.
n. She is biting her tongue
i. What type of nominal inflection do the German sentences illustrate?
 Noun class
ii. What type of nominal inflection is exemplified in the Greek data? It is marked
morphologically in two ways. Identify both ways.
iii. Of the two patterns of case-marking discussed in the chapter, which does the Greek data
show?
iv. How is the pattern of case-marking different in Basque from that of Greek?
v. In the Italian data, there are four different forms of the word meaning ‘the’. Name two
inflectional contrasts that are present in each of those four forms.
 Case & Noun class
vi. What type of verbal inflection is illustrated in the Italian sentences?

vii. Examine the English data in V. What types of verbal inflection are present on the verb ‘to
be’? What types of nominal inflection are present on the six pronouns in these sentences?
 Tense
19. The following data provides the possible of the regular past tense morpheme of English.
i. List the alternate forms of the past tense morpheme
-No overt change of form. E.g. ‘cut’ -> ‘cut’
-A change of vowel. E.g. ‘sit’ -> ‘sat’
-A suppletive form. E.g. ‘go’-> ‘went’
-A suffix -ed added to regular verbs. E.g. ‘want’ -> ‘wanted’.
ii. Which alternate makes the best underlying form? Why?
 A suffix -ed added to regular verbs makes the best underlying form because it doesn’t
change one part of a word such as a vowel or the whole word, it just add to verbs to make them
past, we don’t have to look up anywhere if we don’t know the rules like the change of vowel and
whole word.
iii. State in words the conditioning factors that account for the presence of the alternate forms of
the past tense morpheme.


20. Vowel harmony is a process that results in all vowels of a word sharing a certain feature
or features. Morphophonemic rules of vowel harmony are found in many languages.
Singular
Plural
a. ‘eye’
goz
gozler
b. ‘candle’
mum
mumlar
c. ‘gun’
top

toplar
d. ‘horse’
at
atlar
e. ‘sheath’
kin
kinlar
f. ‘thread’
ip
iplar
g. ‘rose’
gyl
gyller
h. ‘hand’
el
eller
i. List the allomorphs of the plural morpheme in the preceding data from Turkish.
 The allomorphs of the plural morpheme in preceding data are /ler/ and /lar/.
ii. What phonological feature is shared by the vowels of both allomorphs of the plural?
 When the examples are analyzed, it is quite obvious that vowel harmony plays an
important role in sequencing plural markers in native Turkish. Utilizing allomorphs [ler] and [lar]
depend on the vowel of the preceding syllable. When the preceding vowel in the syllable is a
front vowel, [ler] is used. For example, when the vowel of the preceding syllable is /e/ or /i/, [ler]
is used as in köpekler and kediler. On the other hand, when the vowel of the preceding syllable is
a back vowel, [lar] is used as in araba and kuş; syllables containing /a/ or /u/. So there are only
two allomorphs for plural markers in Turkish.
iii. What phonological feature distinguishes the vowels of the allomorphs?
 That is the sound /a/ and /e/.
iv. Is it possible in this case to pick one allomorph as the best underlying form?
v. If it is possible, explain why it is so and provide a representation of the underlying

representation using the feature hierarchy.