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Inflectional and derivative morphemes exist in Spanish and in other languages, however, in this article we will talk specifically about how they work in English.
What are inflectional morphemes
An inflectional morpheme can be defined as a suffix that adds a particular grammatical property to the word, without changing its meaning . As we mentioned before, you can indicate tense, number, gender, mood, and person, as well as possession or a comparison. These suffixes can even have multiple functions at the same time. For example, the suffix -s can indicate possession by adding an apostrophe to it, and can also make nouns indicate plurality. The suffix -ed can form past participles or verbs in the past tense. The inflectional morphemes in English are -es, ‘s, s’, -ed, -ing, -en, -er, and -est .
Types of inflectional morphemes
Inflectional morphemes can be divided into two types:
- Nominal inflectional morphemes: these are the gender, feminine and masculine morphemes; and number, singular and plural. For example: actor or / act ress , lion ess , painter , tree s , hand s .
- Verbal inflectional morphemes: they are those that provide information about the person, number, time and other characteristics of the verb. For example: loved ed , I’m reading a book now, she likes strawberries .
Examples of inflectional morphemes
In addition to the examples mentioned, we can point out the following:
- She is smarter than him . Indicates comparison.
- Russia is the biggest country in the world . Indicates comparison specifically in superlative.
- John ‘s car is black . Indicates possession.
- Charle ‘s keys are on the table. Indicates possession, specifically in the case of nouns that end in s in their nominal form .
- This movie was really amusing . Indicates the presence of the present participle.
- Apples are healthier than cookies . Indicates comparison.
- I’ve eaten too much food . Indicates the presence of the past participle.
What are derivative morphemes
Derivative morphemes can be prefixes or suffixes that produce changes in the meaning of words . By adding one or more derivative morphemes to a word, a new one is created, with a new meaning. These morphemes need other elements to form words, since they cannot constitute a word by themselves. Generally, derivational morphemes change the type of part of speech:
- Adjective to noun: -ness . Lazy → laziness . _
- Adjective to verb: -en . Drunk → drunk in .
- Adjective to adjective: -ish . Yellow → yellow ish .
- Adjective to adverb: -ly . Physical→ physical ly .
- Noun to adjective: -al . Profession → profession al .
- Noun to verb: -fy . Beauty→ beautify .
- Verb to adjective: -able . Believe→ believe able .
- Verb to abstract noun: -ance . Attend → attend ance .
- Verb to noun: -er . Paint → paint er .
Types of derivative morphemes
Taking into account the place they occupy in a word, derivative morphemes can be classified into two types:
- Prefixes: they are placed before the lexeme or root. All prefixes in English are derivative morphemes. For example: im-, un- , a-, an-, bi-, de-, dis-, mal-, self-, up-, mid- , among others.
- Suffixes: are placed after the lexeme. For example: -ly, -lly, -ful, -less , and others.
Examples of derivative morphemes
Some examples of derivative morphemes are:
- This baby is malnourished . It indicates that something is bad or wrong.
- He disagrees with the thesis . Indicates difference.
- They got some tips for self- care . It indicates a relationship to itself, the Spanish equivalent would be «auto».
- I’m usually im patient . The suffix -ly turns an adjective into an adverb; im- indicates negative, that is, it makes the word change meaning to its antonym.
- That garden is a symmetrical . It indicates negative, that is, it makes the word change its meaning to its antonym.
- This actor is a popular . Equivalent to -im or -in .
- We will have a class at midday . Indicates the middle or half of something.
Difference Between Inflectional and Derivative Morphemes
The main difference between derivational and inflectional morphemes is that the latter never change the part of a word. For example, both “old” and “older” are adjectives: the inflectional morpheme -er simply creates a different version of the adjective. However, a derivative morpheme can change the part of speech (for example, from adjective to verb, happy/happin ess ) and the meaning of a word ( attractive/ un attractive ).
Another difference is that prefixes in English are always derivative morphemes, while suffixes can be inflectional or derivative, or both at the same time. This occurs with words such as the verb teach , which becomes the noun teach er if we add the derivative morpheme -er . In this way, the suffix -er can be an inflectional morpheme as part of an adjective and also a derivative morpheme because it creates a word, in this case, a noun with a different meaning.
There is also a difference when placing more than one suffix in a word. In particular, if both a derivative and an inflectional suffix must be added, first add the derivative suffix –er and then add the inflectional ‘s to indicate the plural .
Bibliography
- Espasa. English Grammar: The Ultimate Guide for Learners of English of All Levels . (2019). Spain. Espasa.
- Murphy, R.; García Clemente, F. Essential Grammar in Use: Fourth Edition in Spanish. Basic grammar of the English language . (2016, 4th edition). Spain. Cambridge University Press.
- VOX Editions. Flash Grammar: English grammar in infographics. (2017). Spain. VOX.
