DERIVATIONAL AND INFLECTIONAL MORPHEMES: DEFINITIONS,

DIFFERENCES

I> Inflectional morphemes

II> Derivational morphemes

III> Differences between derivational suffixes and inflectional suffixes

I> Inflectional morphemes• “…alter the form of a word without changing

either its lexical category or its central meaning.” [Finegan, 1994:86]

• E.g.: -Ns & Prons: mark grammatical categories: gender, number (girl-girls, she-her)

-Vbs.: mark things: tense, number (He works, they worked)

-Adjs.: indicate : degree (taller than me)

• can be suffixes or infixes

II> Derivational morphemes• “Certain bound morphemes have the effect of

changing the lexical category of the world to which they are affixed”. [Finegan, 1994:84]

• “Derivational morphemes can produce new words from existing words in 2 ways. First, they can change the meaning of words… Second, they can change the lexical category of a word, thereby permitting it to function differently in a sentence…” [Finegan, 1994: 86]

• E.g.: un- +true+ -th+ -ful+ -ness= untruthfulness• can be prefixes or suffixes

Derivational S. Inflectional S.• Is applied to any

morpheme that adds up to the root to form a word. It influences the meaning of a word.

• In many cases, but not all, changes the word class of the word to which it is added. E.g.: discover(v)discovery(n); hope(n)hopeless(adj); vicar(n)vicarage(n)

• Is only applied to any morphemes serving to derive a grammatical form and having no lexical meaning on its own.

• Does not change the word class of the word to which it is added. E.g.: boy(n)boys(n); boy’s(n); boys’(n)

Derivational S. Inflectional S.• Goes with some stems

arbitrarily. E.g.: work(n)worker(n); agree(v)agreement(n); fail(v)failure(n)

• Needs not close off a word: after a derivational suffix one can sometimes add another derivational suffix & can frequently add an inflectional suffix. E.g.: person+ -al+ -ity+ -es=personalities

• Can pile up: many in word

• Goes with all stems of a given part of speech. E.g.: He eats, drinks, sings, enjoys, motivates,…

• Comes last in a word (lengthened, nationalizations) & closes off a word.

• Does not pile up, only 1 ends a word. E.g.: He sings; singing; worked

• exception: {s pl. ps.}, the plural possessive of the noun, can pile up after a word.

• E.g.: the students’ worries

N pl.M & N Poss.M

Relative order of morphemes in the English word:

DERIV.PREFIX_ROOT_DERIV.SUFFIX(ES)_INFL. SUFFIX

ExercisesI> Add a derivational affix to a word to change the word class of

the word according to the requirements.1. Child (n)(adj)___2. Fame (n)(adj)___3. Accuse (v)(n)4. Accomplish (v)(n)5. Casual (adj)(adv)6. Colony (n)(v)7. Vaccine (n)(v)8. Big (adj)(n)9. Important (adj)(n)10. Day (n)(adv)11. Student (n)(adv)12. Hard (adj)(v)13. Civil (adj)(v)14. Continue (v)(adj)15. Prohibit (v)(adj)

Answer key1. Child (n)(adj) childish; childless; childlike2. Fame (n)(adj) famous3. Accuse (v)(n) accusation4. Accomplish (v)(n) accomplishment5. Casual (adj)(adv) casually6. Colony (n)(v) colonize7. Vaccine (n)(v) vaccinate8. Big (adj)(n) bigness9. Important (adj)(n) importance10. Day (n)(adv) days; daily11. Student (n)(adv) studentwise12. Hard (adj)(v) harden13. Civil (adj)(v) civilize14. Continue (v)(adj) continual15. Prohibit (v)(adj) prohibitory

II> Add a derivational affix to a word but still keep the word class of the word according to

the requirements.

Moral (adj)(adj)

Mobile (adj)(adj)

Biography (n)(n)

Husband (n)(n)

Natural (adj)(adj)

Read (v)(v)

Circle (n)(n)

Marine (adj/n)(adj/n)

Vicar (n)(n)

Pun (n)(n)Friend (n) (N)

Alcohol (n) (n)

Cartoon (n) (n)

Book (n) (n)

America (n) (n)

New Jersey (n) (n)

Answer keyMoral (adj)(adj) Amoral; immoral

Mobile (adj)(adj) Immobile

Biography (n)(n) Autobiography

Husband (n)(n) Ex-husband

Natural (adj)(adj) Supernatural; unnatural

Read (v)(v) Reread

Circle (n)(n) Semi-circle

Marine (adj/n)(adj/n) Submarine

Vicar (n)(n) Vicarage

Pun (n)(n) Punster

Friend (n) (N) Friendship

Alcohol (n) (n) Alcoholism

Cartoon (n) (n) Cartoonist

Book (n) (n) Booklet

America (n) (n) American

New Jersey (n) (n) New Jerseyite