UNIVERSIDADE DO ESTADO DO RIO GRANDE DO NORTE FACULDADE DE LETRAS E

ARTES
DEPARTAMENTO DE LETRAS ESTRANGEIRAS CURSO DE LETRAS - LÍNGUA INGLESA

Prof. Paula Pope Ramos

Student: Leiliery de Lima Batista

MORFOSSINTAXE DA LÍNGUA
INGLESA 2025-1

EXERCISE LIST 1
Due May 2nd, 2025 - 4 marks - via email [email protected]

For consultation, check An Introduction to Morphology (Andrew Carstairs-McCarthy, 2002).

1. Morphemes can be broken down to three different types: root, affix (prefix and
suffix), and combining form. Give a definition of each type, and give examples (0,25
mark):
Root: The central part of a word. The root is the core part of a word that carries the main meaning. It
cannot be broken down into smaller meaningful parts. Ex: rewrite root: write
Affix: The morpheme that is added to a root to modify its meaning.
Ex: Prefix: placed before the root. disconnect Suffix: placed after the root. hopeful
Combining form: A morpheme that usually comes from Greek or Latin and is used in combination with other
morphemes to form complex words. Ex: television

2. Morphemes have allomorphs, i.e., there are many morphemes that have two or more
different pronunciations, and the choice between them is determined by context.
Plural nouns in English are formed by adding -s, which has three allomorphs [s], [z],
and [iz] or [əz]. And they happen according to these situations:

- when the preceding sound is a sibilant sound (horse, rose, bush, church), the [iz]
allomorph occurs;
- when the preceding sound is voiceless (cat, rock, cup, cliff), the [s] allomorph occurs;
- after a vowel or a voiced consonant (dog, day), the [z] allomorph
occurs. (Carstairs-McCarthy, 2002, p. 22)

Considering the information above, give other examples for each occurrence of the -s
allomorph (0,25 mark):
(Z): boy – boys name – names game – games
(S): month – months map – maps cup - cups
(IZ) (eZ): bus – buses box – boxes dish - dishes
 3. Consider the following words and divide them into morphemes, noting any
differences between the words in each pair (2 marks - 0,25 each):

(a) Reduce Re (prefix) duce (root)

Reduction Re (prefix) duct (root) ion (suffix)
The root changes from duce to duct and ion (suffix) turns the verb into a noun.

(b) Heroine hero (root)

ine (feminine suffix)

Heroes hero (root)

es (plural suffix)

Heroine refers to gender (female), while heroes indicate plural of hero with suffix ´´es´´.

(c) Preview pre (prefix: before) view (root)

Review re (prefix: again) view (root)
Both words share the root view, but the prefixes change the meaning: preview: to see before, review:
to see again.

(d) Performer perform (root) er (agentive suffix)

Performance perform (root) ance (noun suffix)
‘Er’ creates a person who performs; ´´ance´´ forms a noun that refers to the act of performing.

(e) Obfuscate
ob (prefix)
fuscat
(root)
obfuscation
ob (prefix)
fuscat
(root) ion (
suffix)
Obfuscate is a verb and obfuscation correspond like a noun form.

(f) Pachyderm
pachy
(prefix)
derm
(root)
echinoderm
echino
(prefix)
derm (root)
Both share the root derm (skin).

(g) university
univers
(root) ity
 (noun
suffix)
unfriendly
un
(prefix)
friend
(root) ly
(suffix)
University is a single lexical unit with Latin origin and unfriendly is formed with prefix:un root: friend
suffix: ly.

(h) babysitter
baby
(root) sit
(root) er
(suffix)
(i) babygate
baby
(root)
gate
(root)
Babysitter refers to a person who takes care of a baby: babygate is a compound noun for a physical
object for a baby.

4. Below you will find six verbs, each consisting of a prefix and a root. What nouns can
be formed from them by suffixation? (0,75 mark - 0,25 each)

React Reaction
Enact Enactment
Interact Interaction

Deform Deformation
Transform Transformation
Reform Reformation

Replace Replacement
Displace Displacement
Misplace Misplacement
 5. Form verbs from the adjectives below. Use prefixation, suffixation or conversion
(0,25 mark - 0,025 each).

a. Clean: to clean
b. Bright: Brighten
c. Able: Enable
d. Dry: to dry
e. Intense: Intensify
f. Large: Enlarge
g. Power: Enpower
h. Modern: Modernize
i. Open: to open
j. Sweet: Sweeten

6. Compound words are formed by combining two or more roots, usually functioning as a
single word. Phrases are groups of words that function as a single unit in a sentence but are
not morphologically combined into one word. And Phrasal words are a combination of a verb
and a particle that behave as single lexical items. Which of the following are compound
words, which are phrases, and which are phrasal words? (0,25 mark - 0,05 each)

a. give up, run into, take off, look after

Phrasal words

b. notebook, sunflower, football

Compounds words

c. pickpocket, cutback, workout

Compounds words

d. a bunch of flowers, on the table, very interesting story

Phrases

e. mother-in-law, check-in, well-being

Compound Words

7. Primary (root) compounds are made from two base words (usually nouns, adjectives, or a
mix) that are not derived from verbs and don’t involve any verbal structure. On the other
hand, Secondary (verbal) compounds are based on a verb phrase, often with an implied
action, and the noun is typically derived from a verb plus its object or complement.
Consider the compounds in Exercise 6, which are primary (or root) compounds and which
are secondary (or verbal) compounds? (0,25 mark)

Primary compounds:
notebook, sunflower, football, well-being and mother-in-law.
Secondary compounds:
check-in, pickpocket, cutback, and workout.