CALT Morphology and Etymology 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which Latin root meaning 'to carry' is found in the word 'portable'?
- ferre
- portare (Correct answer)
- ducere
- capere
Correct answer: portare
The Latin root 'portare' means 'to carry' and is the base of words like portable, transport, and export.
Question 2: In morphological analysis, what is the term for a bound morpheme that changes the grammatical category of a base word?
- Inflectional morpheme
- Derivational morpheme (Correct answer)
- Free morpheme
- Zero morpheme
Correct answer: Derivational morpheme
Derivational morphemes change the grammatical category or meaning of a word, such as adding '-ness' to turn an adjective into a noun.
Question 3: The prefix 'bene-' in words like 'benefit' and 'benevolent' originates from which language?
- Greek
- Old English
- Latin (Correct answer)
- French
Correct answer: Latin
The prefix 'bene-' comes from Latin and means 'well' or 'good,' as seen in benefactor and benign.
Question 4: A student reads 'unhappiness' and identifies three morphemes. Which breakdown is correct?
- un- / hap / -piness
- un- / happy / -ness (Correct answer)
- un- / happiness
- unhap- / -pi / -ness
Correct answer: un- / happy / -ness
Correct segmentation is un- (prefix) + happy (base) + -ness (suffix), showing three distinct morphemes.
Question 5: Which Greek root meaning 'light' appears in the word 'photograph'?
- graph
- tele
- photo (Correct answer)
- scope
Correct answer: photo
The Greek root 'photo' means light, making 'photograph' literally 'writing with light.'
Question 6: What is the morphological structure of the word 'teachers'?
- One free morpheme
- Two morphemes: teach + -ers
- Three morphemes: teach + -er + -s (Correct answer)
- Two morphemes: teacher + plural
Correct answer: Three morphemes: teach + -er + -s
Teachers contains three morphemes: the base 'teach,' the agentive suffix '-er,' and the plural inflection '-s.'
Question 7: The word 'telephone' combines two Greek roots. Which pair correctly identifies them?
- tele (far) + phone (sound) (Correct answer)
- tele (light) + phone (write)
- tele (far) + phone (speak to)
- tele (time) + phone (hear)
Correct answer: tele (far) + phone (sound)
Telephone combines 'tele' (far/distant) and 'phone' (sound/voice), literally meaning 'far sound.'
CALT Morphology and Etymology 4
Which Latin root meaning 'to carry' is found in the word 'portable'?