MLAT Word Structure & Morphological Analysis 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What does the prefix 'un-' indicate in the word 'unhappy'?
- Again or repetition
- Not or the opposite of (Correct answer)
- Before in time
- Excessively or too much
Correct answer: Not or the opposite of
The prefix 'un-' means 'not' or 'the opposite of,' so 'unhappy' means 'not happy.'
Question 2: In the word 'autobiography,' which morpheme means 'self'?
- auto- (Correct answer)
- bio-
- -graph
- -y
Correct answer: auto-
'Auto-' is a Greek prefix meaning 'self,' so autobiography means 'writing about one's own life.'
Question 3: Which suffix changes a verb into a noun meaning 'one who performs the action'?
- -tion
- -ness
- -er (Correct answer)
- -ly
Correct answer: -er
The suffix '-er' attached to a verb creates a noun meaning 'one who performs that action' (e.g., teacher, runner, writer).
Question 4: What is the root morpheme in the word 'invisible'?
- in-
- -ible
- vis (Correct answer)
- invisib-
Correct answer: vis
'Vis' from Latin 'videre' (to see) is the root morpheme; 'in-' means not and '-ible' means capable of.
Question 5: How many morphemes does the word 'unbreakable' contain?
- 2
- 3 (Correct answer)
- 4
- 5
Correct answer: 3
'Unbreakable' contains three morphemes: 'un-' (not), 'break' (root), and '-able' (capable of being).
Question 6: In morphological analysis, what is a 'free morpheme'?
- A morpheme that always requires a prefix
- A morpheme that can stand alone as a complete word (Correct answer)
- A morpheme found only in compound words
- A morpheme that changes a word's grammatical category
Correct answer: A morpheme that can stand alone as a complete word
A free morpheme is one that can function as a complete word on its own, such as 'book,' 'run,' or 'happy.'
Question 7: Which word pair best demonstrates inflectional morphology?
- happy / happiness
- run / running (Correct answer)
- teach / teacher
- nation / national
Correct answer: run / running
'Run / running' is inflectional because it changes only the grammatical form (tense/aspect) without changing the word's core meaning or category—it remains a verb.
MLAT Word Structure & Morphological Analysis 1
What does the prefix 'un-' indicate in the word 'unhappy'?